Brady Wolf Photography

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Auckland at last!

So, it finally has come! I’ve arrived in New Zealand after sooooo many months of planning! Everything went smoothly right up to the bio-screening at NZ Customs … My hiking boots, which had been spotless the day before, had a bit of mud on them! Between leaving my lodging in Hawaii and arriving in Auckland, somewhere I had stepped in some mud. Wish I had thought to check them either at the Honolulu airport or at a restroom before going through customs …

New Zealand takes soil contamination very seriously – and rightly so. Their iconic Kauri (pronounced Kody) trees are threatened from a soil fungus that was brought in years ago on the tracks of some earthmoving equipment. The inspection officer was nice about it and a quick rinse and I was on my way …
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  • Greeted at the airport

    Greeted at the airport

    I’ve never been “greeted” upon arrival like this. Edward was waiting for me as I emerged from customs! Nice way to start a trip – no rush hour scrambling to figure out where I’m going and how to get there!

    ArrivalCity LightsNightSkyline

  • Auckland skyline at night

    Auckland skyline at night

    After getting settled in I went for a quick bite to eat and a walk around the neighborhood. This is just a cellphone picture that I grabbed, thinking I would be back the next night with the "real" camera ... but the weather didn't cooperate ...

    ArrivalCity LightsNightSkyline

  • A quiet freeway?

    A quiet freeway?

    The next morning I was up at 5am (8am West Coast time) and after a lovely breakfast and some work on the computer, set out to explore a bit of Auckland. Aside from the challenge of remembering to look right first then left when crossing the street, the first thing I really noticed was road noise, or more accurately, the lack of road noise! Highway 1 runs right through Auckland and it is amazingly quiet! I’m sure I was drawing stares as tried to process the trucks and cars passing by at a ¼ of the volume I expected. I didn’t find out how they do it, but apparently, it’s a combination of special asphalt, tires and noise restrictions on their vehicles. What would have been deafening in the states was nothing … you could easily hold a conversation without raising your voice. Seattle could learn a lot from this!

  • Quiet on the set!

    Quiet on the set!

    After pondering the freeway for far too long, my next stop was supposed to be the Sky Tower – I like to visit the highest spot in a new town to get a sense of the layout and the major sites (learned this from David Jullian, a Seattle photographer and Photoshop guru). Unfortunately, the observation deck was enveloped in clouds, so that would have to be saved for another day. On to Vodaphone NZ for a local SIM card.
    After getting setup with a local phone# and such, I was off again to discover the city. Determined to reach the shoreline, I headed more or less southwest … through the Parnell neighborhood and finally reaching the port. Along the way, I came across what I can only guess is a TV or low budget sci-fi filming. Wasn’t able to discover much before being chased off …

    1st DayWalk

  • Port of Auckland

    Port of Auckland

    The port was interesting … they use different vehicles than I’m used to seeing in Seattle. These reminded me of some strange “disrupters” (?) from the movie Tron.

    1st DayWalk

  • My first NZ friend ...

    My first NZ friend ...

    After finally reaching the waterfront, my phone battery died. I’ll admit, I hadn’t planned for that. I had been more/less consulting my Google maps to navigate my way to the shore and didn’t have a paper backup … The good news is that the SkyTower is pretty much visible from anywhere in Auckland and from there I could find my way back to my accommodations.
    I made my first NZ friend upon getting back to my room. Meet George.

  • Grouch on the ouside, sweetey inside

    Grouch on the ouside, sweetey inside

  • New Zealands "Seattle"

    New Zealands "Seattle"

    Weather my second day was much better. Would you believe I counted 13 construction cranes in this shot of the Sky Tower and surrounding area!

  • No Junk Mail?

    No Junk Mail?

    Started my walk heading north to make a big clock-wise loop around the city. Throughout my walk, I kept noticing that there seemed to be a recurrance of notes/instructions on the mailboxes regarding junk mail ... do these actually work? Does the postal worker actually sort out the junk? I never found a postal worker to ask ...

  • Kiwi Graffiti

    Kiwi Graffiti

    They have a wonderful walkway around the the north edge of the city and Auckland seems to be a very dog friendly city -- I was greeted by numerous smiling pups out for a walk with their humans. Along the way, I came across my first NZ graffiti.

  • Gigantic boat shed

    Gigantic boat shed

    Walking through the marine / boat yards, I was floored by the size of this "boat shed" ...

  • The proverbial selfie from the waterfront with the SkyTower in the background

    The proverbial selfie from the waterfront with the SkyTower in the background

  • Passenger ferries head all over the place from downtown Auckland (didn't spot any car ferries)

    Passenger ferries head all over the place from downtown Auckland (didn't spot any car ferries)

  • Auckland's Sky Tower

    Auckland's Sky Tower

    Auckland's version of the Space Needle provided a great view from which to get a sense of the city and its layout.

    Sky Tower

  • A shot through the glass panel in the elevator floor ...

    A shot through the glass panel in the elevator floor ...

    Sky Tower

  • View towards my accommodations in the Ponsonby neighborhood of Auckland

    View towards my accommodations in the Ponsonby neighborhood of Auckland

  • Looking from the observation deck towards the waterfront I walked earlier ...

    Looking from the observation deck towards the waterfront I walked earlier ...

  • Truly inspring tree ...

    Truly inspring tree ...

    Along my walk from the Auckland War Museum to Mt Eden, I came across this amazing tree... What determination!

    inspirationdetermination

  • Auckland from Mt Eden

    Auckland from Mt Eden

    Mt Eden

  • Proof that I did indeed go up Mt Eden on my trek around Auckland

    Proof that I did indeed go up Mt Eden on my trek around Auckland

  • Compass atop Mt Eden

    Compass atop Mt Eden

    Seattle / Vancouver is only about 6800 miles that-a-way!

    Mt Eden

  • Lots of scaffolding ...

    Lots of scaffolding ...

    They use scaffolding for every residential project it appears ... unbelievable amount of scaffolding on every home project I walked past.

    scaffoldinghome construction

  • A lot of walking

    A lot of walking

    Over the course of two days, I think I managed to walk between 20-24 miles! A lot of hills but it's the way I love to discover a city ...

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