Yes, it's our last full day in New Zealand. And guess how JQ wants to spend it? That's right - by lounging in our motel room. [insert eyeroll here] I swear, I'm going to rent that girl a room in a motel on Idylwyld Drive, then park her in there and tell her she's in Spain. Or maybe just turn off the lights and close the blinds in her office, and tell her she's in Honolulu. She'll never know the difference! 😄 (I might just try this experiment.)
Anyway, I'm on my own again today - so glad I took this trip with myself! 😜
After perusing the "what to do's in Auckland," I am thinking I will visit the Auckland Art Gallery, and then maybe drive out to the Manukau Heads Lighthouse if I have time. The location of the lighthouse is giving me a few problems, though.
I don't want to tell you that our Navman GPS sucks, because it has definitely been handy to have around, but wow, it cannot find Manukau Heads Lighthouse no matter how many hints I give it. Hints like: "Here is the address." Navman: "Whaa? I know not of what you speak!"
I ask my cellphone, and Google says, "Oh yes, the good old Manukau Heads Lighthouse - yes, here it is. I can direct you there... if you have data, that is." Damn it - I only have wifi. I am really, really regretting keeping this phone number so that work could text me. I miss my data so much! Next time, I am getting a new SIM card and data. I will be a much happier person.
Oh well, at least my GPS knows where there's a carpark near the Art Gallery. It's 19 km away, but it doesn't take too long on the motorways, which are three and sometimes four lanes heading in the same direction. However, when I arrive downtown, I end up in a turning lane and have to turn too early, so I park at the Wilson Street Parking instead of Victoria Street. Now I have to try to find the Art Gallery from this new location. It was up the block and around the corner from the Victoria Street Parking... if I had data, I could solve this conundrum. However, I use the old-fashioned explorer method of "walk this way, then walk that way, hesitate, backtrack, then go over there, and circle three times. Repeat as required."
Eventually, I see a building festooned with "Art Gallery" banners, which makes me think it might be the Auckland Art Gallery. However, as I walk down the street, I find that there is, in fact, no door over here. Why are there all these banners and no doors? Is this a joke? Is it art? No, it's so that people in cars know where the building is. I have to circumnavigate the gallery yet another time (not counting the circular city blocks I have wandered) to finally get to the front door, which is not draped in eye-catching banners. Aargh! (The upside of this wandering was that I did get to wander through Albert Park, which is very beautiful.)
Having successfully arrived at the Art Gallery, I make the sad discovery that admission is free for Kiwis, but International people have to pay $20. Hmph. I feel like I have boosted the New Zealand economy enough, and decline to pay. I lurk around their gift shop for a bit, decline to purchase, and then head out to wander around and explore the sights and shops downtown. (Yes, I'm a philistine.)
Hey, look, there's free art decorating the city streets. Take that, Auckland Art Gallery. I'm going to admire these suffragette murals, and I'm not going to pay you. Hahahah!
Just when I'm getting hungry, I do happen to cross paths with the No. 1 Pancake Store, which was listed in some of the travel guides we were looking at. It's a tiny little food stall that sells sweet and savoury Korean pancakes. At $5, you are not going to find a cheaper lunch in Auckland.
I order a Chicken Cheese pancake, take my number, and lean back in the little 'cattle pen' waiting areas they have set up until they call my number. It is kind of like a pancake sandwich - the cheese and chicken are on the inside. Quite delicious!
I popped in and out of a few other stores, then returned to my car. I have been away from my car for just a little over an hour, and the cost of parking is an eye-popping $22.50. WTF?!?! For a moment, I believe my ticket is mistaken, and then I read the parking rates more closely. Yes, it's legit, and these parking rates are crazytown.
Yes, it seems that downtown Auckland has outsmarted me, and will have the last laugh at my expense (literally). "So don't want to pay $20 to visit our Art Gallery downtown? Well, hope you like paying $22.50 for 61 minutes of downtown parking, sucker! Muahahahah!"
Damn you, Auckland. I don't even have a good comeback to that. 😠
Today, I have learned a sad lesson about parking lots in strange countries. And about reading the signs more closely, even if other cars are piling up behind you while you peer nearsightedly at the sign. (Also, I like the way you pay $3 for 0-20 minutes. So if you venture in there, then decide it's too rich for your blood, you still have to pay $3 to leave.)
Okay, whatever. The heck with you, downtown Auckland; I'm getting outta Dodge. Since Navman doesn't know the lighthouse exists, I ran a search by postal code and address. While it couldn't find the address (because it's dumb), it has decided it will take me to the nearest possible address. That works for me - it'll get me close enough that I can figure out the rest.
Getting out of the downtown is a bit of an ordeal. Turn here, turn there, oops you missed it, do 7 left turns to get back on track - why did you miss the 7th turn?!? Aargh. I'm finally at the motorway, so now I should be zooming, right?
Wrong. Getting out of Auckland is a different kind of pain in the patootie. 😕 We've got four lanes heading south, with a speed limit of 100 km, and I am frequently going 20 km or lower. I feel like they have that big city problem of traffic waves - traffic slows, or comes to a standstill, then starts up again, for no discernible reason. No car accidents, no earthquakes, no tsunamis. Just that weird 'hey everybody let's drive slow for a while.'
Eventually, I do escape the city traffic, and am heading southwards on the highway. Yay, traffic bottlenecks behind me!
The drive is 1.5 hours, but the surrounding countryside is so picturesque. Although the roads are possibly a little more windy and twisty than before. Just to keep it interesting, a few big semis pass by close enough to make my teeth rattle.
And then the road gets even narrower. Meaning, no shoulder.
The upside of this is no more stupid giant semi trucks! The downside is "try not to fly off the road and end up at the bottom of a grassy green ravine." Fortunately, there's not a lot of traffic, so I can slow it down on the curves. And the countryside is getting more beautiful as we drive along. Several times, I'd stop and take a picture if there were any place to do so.
My Navman takes me to the last address it knows, but that's fine, because there are now signs for the lighthouse, and I just have to keep driving down this narrow road, and the lighthouse is at the end of it. The road turns into a dirt road at a gate (which has a notice that it will be locked at 5PM so don't dilly-dally), and then here we are at last!
There's a small parking lot with picnic tables, and unlike downtown Auckland, you don't have to pay to park here. (Let it go, Catherine - let it go...) It's just a short hike uphill to the lighthouse and signal station. Usually, when I think of lighthouses, I get a mental image of a tall tower situated on a rocky and barren promontories on the edge of the ocean. However, this is a lush, green and growing stretch of land. And, because it's already situated on the high ground overlooking the water, the lighthouse itself is relatively squat.
It is absolutely gorgeous here. My camera declined to take a panoramic shot, so I have lined them up in sequence above, so that you get a sense of the stretch of water coming in and around the land.
One of the reasons why the drive in was so long and winding is that we have to drive around all of that water (and all those hills). The waters here will lead into the west edge of Auckland, to the port of Onehunga.
As you can see from the map, it is slightly more straightforward for boats to travel between the two points than it is for cars. 😜
This lighthouse is not the original structure from 1874; that was demolished in 1986, although some locals actually dragged away and saved portions of it on their farms. In 2006, the lighthouse was rebuilt to the 1870 plans. The current building does have the original dome and prisms that the locals saved. 👍 It is, however, not a working lighthouse any more. I presume they have an automated one somewhere further out on the water (or that current technology means that there isn't a need for a lighthouse in this spot any more). But they've done a great job with the restoration and maintenance, and wow, it is sitting on a beautiful corner of the world here.
I've gotta say, working at this lighthouse wouldn't have been such a hardship as in some other locations. Not sure how populated the area was in the 1870s, but you'd have beautiful farmland all around. Although the high cliffside location means that you do catch a lot of wind, so it might not be quite so enticing in colder weather. But today it's perfect!
It's just pushing 4PM when I leave (plenty of time to clear the gates), and I take my time on the drive back to appreciate the view. Seriously, I wish I could strap a go-pro to my head and take you all along with me to share the drive, because this is truly beautiful countryside.
If you're visiting New Zealand, you really do want to rent a car and do the road trip option, because the road just seems to be lined with green hills and scenic views. These pictures aren't even the best examples - they were just located in safe spaces where I could pull over for a moment.
When I get back to Auckland, I find a happy JQ. Happy, because she has caught up on all the work that needs doing: she has sorted and packed all of her luggage, colour-coded her socks, and itemized and added up all of her purchases for the friendly neighbourhood Canadian Customs People.
On this front, my calculations are somewhat less precise. They go like this: "what's the maximum I can bring in, and how much am I under the maximum." A quick mental calculation will always find that I am magically under the maximum.
JQ is a bit piqued that the limit for 7 days is $800, and the limit for 30 days is also $800. And yes, it is dumb.
Anyway, we will be boarding our flight to Vancouver at 8PM tomorrow, which still leaves me a significant amount of time to pack everything. My socks won't be arrayed in colour-coded rainbows inside my suitcase, it's true, but I can live with that.
😘
Anyway, I'm on my own again today - so glad I took this trip with myself! 😜
After perusing the "what to do's in Auckland," I am thinking I will visit the Auckland Art Gallery, and then maybe drive out to the Manukau Heads Lighthouse if I have time. The location of the lighthouse is giving me a few problems, though.
I don't want to tell you that our Navman GPS sucks, because it has definitely been handy to have around, but wow, it cannot find Manukau Heads Lighthouse no matter how many hints I give it. Hints like: "Here is the address." Navman: "Whaa? I know not of what you speak!"
Oh well, at least my GPS knows where there's a carpark near the Art Gallery. It's 19 km away, but it doesn't take too long on the motorways, which are three and sometimes four lanes heading in the same direction. However, when I arrive downtown, I end up in a turning lane and have to turn too early, so I park at the Wilson Street Parking instead of Victoria Street. Now I have to try to find the Art Gallery from this new location. It was up the block and around the corner from the Victoria Street Parking... if I had data, I could solve this conundrum. However, I use the old-fashioned explorer method of "walk this way, then walk that way, hesitate, backtrack, then go over there, and circle three times. Repeat as required."
Eventually, I see a building festooned with "Art Gallery" banners, which makes me think it might be the Auckland Art Gallery. However, as I walk down the street, I find that there is, in fact, no door over here. Why are there all these banners and no doors? Is this a joke? Is it art? No, it's so that people in cars know where the building is. I have to circumnavigate the gallery yet another time (not counting the circular city blocks I have wandered) to finally get to the front door, which is not draped in eye-catching banners. Aargh! (The upside of this wandering was that I did get to wander through Albert Park, which is very beautiful.)
Having successfully arrived at the Art Gallery, I make the sad discovery that admission is free for Kiwis, but International people have to pay $20. Hmph. I feel like I have boosted the New Zealand economy enough, and decline to pay. I lurk around their gift shop for a bit, decline to purchase, and then head out to wander around and explore the sights and shops downtown. (Yes, I'm a philistine.)
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Hey, look, there's free art decorating the city streets. Take that, Auckland Art Gallery. I'm going to admire these suffragette murals, and I'm not going to pay you. Hahahah!
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| Happy pancakes, happy price! |
I order a Chicken Cheese pancake, take my number, and lean back in the little 'cattle pen' waiting areas they have set up until they call my number. It is kind of like a pancake sandwich - the cheese and chicken are on the inside. Quite delicious!
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| OMG, WTF?! |
Yes, it seems that downtown Auckland has outsmarted me, and will have the last laugh at my expense (literally). "So don't want to pay $20 to visit our Art Gallery downtown? Well, hope you like paying $22.50 for 61 minutes of downtown parking, sucker! Muahahahah!"
Damn you, Auckland. I don't even have a good comeback to that. 😠
Today, I have learned a sad lesson about parking lots in strange countries. And about reading the signs more closely, even if other cars are piling up behind you while you peer nearsightedly at the sign. (Also, I like the way you pay $3 for 0-20 minutes. So if you venture in there, then decide it's too rich for your blood, you still have to pay $3 to leave.)
Okay, whatever. The heck with you, downtown Auckland; I'm getting outta Dodge. Since Navman doesn't know the lighthouse exists, I ran a search by postal code and address. While it couldn't find the address (because it's dumb), it has decided it will take me to the nearest possible address. That works for me - it'll get me close enough that I can figure out the rest.
Getting out of the downtown is a bit of an ordeal. Turn here, turn there, oops you missed it, do 7 left turns to get back on track - why did you miss the 7th turn?!? Aargh. I'm finally at the motorway, so now I should be zooming, right?
Wrong. Getting out of Auckland is a different kind of pain in the patootie. 😕 We've got four lanes heading south, with a speed limit of 100 km, and I am frequently going 20 km or lower. I feel like they have that big city problem of traffic waves - traffic slows, or comes to a standstill, then starts up again, for no discernible reason. No car accidents, no earthquakes, no tsunamis. Just that weird 'hey everybody let's drive slow for a while.'
Eventually, I do escape the city traffic, and am heading southwards on the highway. Yay, traffic bottlenecks behind me!
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| Down the road, that's where I'll always be... |
And then the road gets even narrower. Meaning, no shoulder.
The upside of this is no more stupid giant semi trucks! The downside is "try not to fly off the road and end up at the bottom of a grassy green ravine." Fortunately, there's not a lot of traffic, so I can slow it down on the curves. And the countryside is getting more beautiful as we drive along. Several times, I'd stop and take a picture if there were any place to do so.
My Navman takes me to the last address it knows, but that's fine, because there are now signs for the lighthouse, and I just have to keep driving down this narrow road, and the lighthouse is at the end of it. The road turns into a dirt road at a gate (which has a notice that it will be locked at 5PM so don't dilly-dally), and then here we are at last!
There's a small parking lot with picnic tables, and unlike downtown Auckland, you don't have to pay to park here. (Let it go, Catherine - let it go...) It's just a short hike uphill to the lighthouse and signal station. Usually, when I think of lighthouses, I get a mental image of a tall tower situated on a rocky and barren promontories on the edge of the ocean. However, this is a lush, green and growing stretch of land. And, because it's already situated on the high ground overlooking the water, the lighthouse itself is relatively squat.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
It is absolutely gorgeous here. My camera declined to take a panoramic shot, so I have lined them up in sequence above, so that you get a sense of the stretch of water coming in and around the land.
As you can see from the map, it is slightly more straightforward for boats to travel between the two points than it is for cars. 😜
This lighthouse is not the original structure from 1874; that was demolished in 1986, although some locals actually dragged away and saved portions of it on their farms. In 2006, the lighthouse was rebuilt to the 1870 plans. The current building does have the original dome and prisms that the locals saved. 👍 It is, however, not a working lighthouse any more. I presume they have an automated one somewhere further out on the water (or that current technology means that there isn't a need for a lighthouse in this spot any more). But they've done a great job with the restoration and maintenance, and wow, it is sitting on a beautiful corner of the world here.
 |
 |
It's just pushing 4PM when I leave (plenty of time to clear the gates), and I take my time on the drive back to appreciate the view. Seriously, I wish I could strap a go-pro to my head and take you all along with me to share the drive, because this is truly beautiful countryside.
 |
 |
 |
If you're visiting New Zealand, you really do want to rent a car and do the road trip option, because the road just seems to be lined with green hills and scenic views. These pictures aren't even the best examples - they were just located in safe spaces where I could pull over for a moment.
 |
 |
On this front, my calculations are somewhat less precise. They go like this: "what's the maximum I can bring in, and how much am I under the maximum." A quick mental calculation will always find that I am magically under the maximum.
JQ is a bit piqued that the limit for 7 days is $800, and the limit for 30 days is also $800. And yes, it is dumb.
Anyway, we will be boarding our flight to Vancouver at 8PM tomorrow, which still leaves me a significant amount of time to pack everything. My socks won't be arrayed in colour-coded rainbows inside my suitcase, it's true, but I can live with that.
😘
All the driving and traffic makes me happy I stayed in the hotel room. I watched a scintillating episode of Dr. Phil while color coding my socks.
ReplyDeleteDriving and parking downtown was irksome, and sock-sorting might have been more productive. But the lighthouse was totally worth the drive.
DeleteIt looks so beautiful and peaceful! I think I would love it there too. So green! That should keep you going until we finally see green here.
ReplyDelete