Otara is a largely Polynesian suburb in south Auckland. It translates from Maori as The Place of Tara, named for a Maori chief in the area. Otara gained some degree of fame in 1995 with the worldwide hit single “How Bizarre” by local hip hop artists, OMC. OMC stood for “Otara Millionaire’s Club”, a tongue in cheek reference to the suburb’s low socio-economic status. Now Otara is mainly known for its Saturday morning market which we visited for the first time. The fruit and vegetables were definitely well priced. For example, Kumara (sweet potato) that sells for over $13 at our local supermarket was selling for just over $3 at Otara market.
Back in Auckland, we decided to continue our exploration of nearby neighborhoods. This day found us in Westmere, where Mal’s dear cousin Annette not only lives but also teaches at the local primary school. Here are some of the variety of houses we saw during the walk.
We encountered some interesting fences, including one made of bamboo and another made of shells.
We also liked this classic orange and white caravan.
One distinguishing feature of New Zealand are the ubiquitous dairies (small general stores) that are often decked out in bright colors and advertising. Here are two from the neighborhood.
Mal’s brother and sister-in-law drove us out to Korumburra, the small town where they live, about 90 minutes east of Melbourne. Along the way, we stopped at the even smaller town of Loch, where we stretched our legs and wandered along its main street.
After lunch in Korumburra, Russ and Di drove us to nearby Inverloch beach where they often go for walks.
We spent a beautiful sunny morning exploring The Rocks, one of Sydney’s oldest neighborhoods, dating right back to the formation of the colony in 1788. From its earliest history it had a reputation as a slum but now it mainly consists of restaurants, bars and shops, catering to the large groups of tourists that arrive each day on the massive cruise ships that dock at the adjacent port.
We walked over to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. In particular, we wanted to see the brand new Sydney Modern Project extension to the Gallery. Opening in December 2022 it has almost doubled the Gallery’s exhibition space, cost well in excess of $300 million. Here are some of the sights and artworks we saw during our wander around its extensive spaces.
We even participated in creating an art piece. Rolling little balls out of clay to be included in a work called Archive of Mind by the South Korean conceptual artist, Kimsooja.
Deep under the new building is a very cool exhibit called The Tank. A massive oil tank had been built to provide fuel for the navy during World War II. It has now been transformed into a dramatic space with shifting light falling across industrial looking sculpture.
We then walked over to the old wing of the gallery which was also rather impressive.
We finished the day at the Landsdowne Hotel watching No Cigar play their first Australian gig. John and Fi’s son, Ned, is the band’s drummer.
We spent the next day wandering around downtown Sydney, checking out the shops and dodging the trams.
Sydney has some beautiful old shopping arcades, including the impressive Queen Victoria Building, opened in 1898.
And The Strand Arcade, opened in 1891.
In the evening we joined our good friends John and Fiona for dinner in a cool little restaurant called Love, Tilly Devine, tucked into a back alley in the trendy inner city neighborhood of Darlinghurst.
Afterwards, we walked back to our hotel through the city, checking out the rainbow lights that were everywhere as Sydney was in the middle of World Pride 2023.
Back in 1983, we lived in Sydney for a couple of months. Our home was a one bedroom bedsit in the inner-city neighborhood of Redfern. Back then Redfern had not gentrified and was a little rough around the edges. In fact, there was a riot in the neighborhood while we were there. We happened to be passing through Redfern on our way to the city and asked the cabbie to drive by our old home. We lived in half of the second floor of the middle home (the place just above the red street sign). It looked much the same. Our home was a one room bedsit with mice in the walls and a bathroom we shared with the other tenants, who we remember as mainly alcoholic old men. Being young, we weren’t particularly concerned at the less than salubrious surroundings.
Next we went for a walk down by Circular Quay and watched the ferries sailing to and from various points on Sydney Harbor. The harbor bridge and opera house provided iconic backdrops.
There is a widely told (and sometimes disputed) story that the opera house almost didn’t come into being. The design was one of 223 entries that had been received and according to the story did not make the early cut. It was not until one of the judges who had missed the early days of judging pulled the design out of the rejects pile that it went ahead. That judge was Eero Saarinen, the famous Finnish American architect who among other famous buildings, designed the TWA Passenger Terminal at JFK Airport in New York and Dulles International Airport outside Washington DC.
After a walk through the neighboring Royal Botanic Garden, we returned to the hotel for a rest before joining our old friend Chris and his wife Caroline for drinks and dinner down on the Quay, looking across to the opera house.
Out on an evening walk, we found ourselves up on Ponsonby Road, where the annual pride parade was about to begin. As the parade’s participants got themselves ready, we wandered around, enjoying the happy vibes. Particularly joyful, was the Brazilian carnival band, banging out Afro-Brazilian rhythms on an assortment of drums and other percussive instruments.
Walking along Karangahape Road (commonly known as K Road by the locals) we decided to pop into St. Kevins Arcade for lunch. The arcade is home to some funky little shops and one of our favorite Auckland restaurants, Gemmayze Street, serving incredible Turkish food. Unfortunately, it is not opened for lunch so, instead, we made do with eggs on toast from the cafe next door.
A wide staircase steps down from the arcade and directly into Myers Park, a narrow urban park that is name for Arthur Myers who had been mayor of Auckland from 1905 to 1909. In 1913, he gave the city nine thousand pounds to purchase the required land for the park.
The park is home of a full scale replica of Michelangelo’s ‘Moses’. The statue is made of marble from the same quarry as the original.
A path winds down toward Queen Street, lined with majestic palms.
Opened in 1915, the park was focused on children and included plans for a kindergarten and playground. An updated playground still stands in the park.
As we were walking through the park, we decided that living in one of the apartments or town homes that line part of the park would be ideal, being quiet and serene but also just steps from the hustle and bustle of Queen Street and downtown. Apparently, great minds think alike, because a couple of days later we dropped in on our friend Cris at her store, Pearl, on Great North Road. It turns out that she and her husband Peter have recently moved into one of the townhomes that line the park. As an aside, if you are in the market for Auckland’s most elegant clothes, go visit Cris at Pearl. She also showed us her recent bridal collection and the dresses were nothing short of stunning.
If you start at the center of downtown Auckland by the port and drive east along Tamaki Drive, you pass through a number of pretty bays before ending up at St. Heliers. With the sun finally out, we decided to drive out to St. Heliers, have an early dinner and then go for a walk along the waterfront. Mal lived in St. Heliers during his High School years, so he is always a little nostalgic going back there. In the following photo you can see the white apartment building where he lived with his parents.
And here are some photos of the St. Heliers shops and beach. It doesn’t look much different from when Mal lived there, although the restaurants are much improved.
From St. Heliers, we walked along Tamaki Drive, passing by Kohimarama Beach and ending up at bustling Mission Bay, before turning and making our way back. Anyone with doubts as to whether Auckland is truly a multicultural city, should take a trip to Mission Bay. People from many nations were out and enjoying themselves, welcoming a respite from the endless rain. On such a beautiful evening, it is hard to think of a more idyllic city anywhere in the world.
Mal and Lauren 