BOUDDI NP HAVEN - 'CAPPACINNOS AND MOUNTAIN BIKE' - 12 DECEMBER 2019

The surf was small lumpy and powerless this morning.

Jacinta and I had a walk times two around the Haven. After that, we sat on the beach rock wall and drank cappuccinos. The Haven was somewhat protected from the wind so a snorkel later when the tide was lower looked possible.

I decided on a mountain bike ride. I drove to Brisbane Water NP at Warrah Trig Road but the park was closed due to high fire danger.

I drove to Bouddi NP at Maitland Bay and the park was open. I had a fun ride on the Turkey, SW Ridge and Strom and Ferny tracks. These tracks all link together and complete a loop ride. I did a diversion along the track off the NW Ridge track for a short distance. That track was rough and dry.

New Zealand - Auckland - Skytower - 1 January 2010

The Skytower is the huge pointed building which stands out very clearly on the Auckland city landscape. It towers over all the buildings.

The views at the various levels were excellent. Of course, they were better the higher one went.

Near the top of the tower is an enclosed circular glassed viewing enclosure. Around the inside edge of the platform is a path with a floor with was periodically made of glass. This gave an oddly unnerving view of the bottom of the tower has you walked along the glass.

The elevator is an experience as well. It too has part of the floor made of glass. A great view as you plummet from the top floor to the ground floor.

New Zealand - Auckland - Rangitoto Island - 31 December 2009

We caught a 9:15am ferry from the quay to Rangitoto Island. It was a pleasant trip looking over the harbour and islands that dotted the bay.

Rangitoto Island is a dormant volcano, which erupted and formed the island about 600 odd years ago. Not very old!

The ferry pulled into a small wharf and we slowly disembarked and walked along the pier to the road leading to the start of the summit track. The walk took about an hour to reach the summit with increasing better views as one climbed higher. Along the way, there were lava flows and low vegetation. Towards the top the vegetation thicken and became lusher.

The summit view was excellent. A large walking platform provided a number of different viewpoints of the area.

On the way down, we detoured to the lava caves and crawled through one of them. Lots of fun! It was a bit narrow in parts and the rocks were cuttingly sharp. A torch is necessary.

We had a fast walk back to make the 12:45pm ferry return to the city.

New Zealand - Auckland - 30 december to 2 january 2010

First impressions of Auckland, is that it is very spread out but there is a concentration of activity around the waterfront.

We wandered along the coast and through the centre of the city. We ate at lots of good restaurants with different types of food.

 

The waterfront was the most amazing. In a short distance, there were ferries, moorings of huge boats and watertype industrial industries. This may seem not too ideal but it blends well together and it is very clean with hardly any litter.

 

We stayed at the mecure windsor hotel and were given dark noisy rooms. After the first two sleepless nights, they moved us to a better room but the air conditioning stopped working. Still, we enjoyed the city but were fairly tired most of the time.