Well today was our last full day in New Zealand, by this time tomorrow we will be in Sydney Australia. It was a great start to the day; firstly we did not get out of bed until 08.30, apart from getting up to make a cup of tea. It was 09.45 before we left the hotel and the sun was shining. That was the second good thing about today. We strolled down Albert Street towards the harbour and stopped at a corner cafe for tea and a sticky cake, which was a rather poor substitute for a full English, but never mind. We had intended to call in at the duty free shopping area which is located in the old Customs House building of all places! However, it was too early as it didn’t open until 11.00 am. Lazy buggers! Only mildly disappointed, we crossed the road to the Westfield shopping centre, just by the harbour and I’m pleased to say it was a shopping let down! We managed to get through it in just a few minutes, thinking that the Derby Westfield was about 100 times better than this one. So far so good as we have not been in a single shop yet and therefore not spent a single penny!
Having been underwhelmed with the shops, we headed up Queens Road towards Albert Park and the Auckland Art Gallery. It’s uphill all the way, then up some steps to reach the park. The sun was still shining, but some dark foreboding clouds were gathering as we had to go back downhill a bit to reach the gallery. Yet again during this holiday we have been denied access to a municipal building because it is being refurbished! They have a temporary gallery down the road in what used to be the telephone exchange, until the new gallery is completed, presumably in time for the Rugby World Cup, as is most of the building and refurbishment timescale. Having misinterpreted the directions on the hoarding outside the proper gallery, we eventually found the temporary accommodation. The art work was pretty thin on the ground and to be honest was hardly worth the effort of walking there. The best part was the portrait section which displayed the work of two artists who specialised in painting Maori chiefs in the mid 1800’s. There work was every bit as good as a photograph and both of them painted duplicates of some of their work as photography was introduced, almost as competition. Much of the rest of the gallery was reserved for what is supposed to be modern art. Personally I have great difficulty in accepting a washing line full of black dyed ladies underwear as an art form. Not that there is anything wrong with ladies underwear, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, especially in the case of Helga’s thong from the South Island, but why is it art and why does it deserve a place in a prestigious gallery? Answers in the comments if you please. Having said that, a few paintings did seem to have a meaning and were skilfully done.
Whilst we were in the gallery the heaven’s had opened and the rain was beating down on the roof, but fortunately by the time we were ready to leave, the sun was shining. It was lunchtime, so we headed for the harbour and one of the plethora of sandwich bars around. We ate lunch on the quayside with a gusting wind whistling through the chicken and bacon roll and some pretty ominous clouds were just about to obliterate the dazzling sun. As we had just finished the tucker we strolled down the side of one of the piers that had been turned into offices, apartments and a Hilton Hotel.
Two reasons for this activity – firstly it gave a super view of the ferry building and downtown Auckland which meant a great Kodak moment. Secondly, should the heavens open again we would be protected from the howling gale and also as it was under cover, from the pouring rain. It was a good move as just as we reached the end of the pier, it bucketed it down and we were able to remain warm and dry. Sheltering with us was an elderly couple from Wales, who were over here visiting their son and for the nest 40 minutes we exchanged pleasantries with them whilst the rain continued to fall out of the black clouds above.
Eventually it stopped and we bade the Welsh couple a fond farewell. . We walked back up Queen Street, which I guess is regarded as the main drag in Auckland and returned to the duty free building in Custom Street. This place was full of designer outlets predominantly staffed by petit Japanese dolls obviously languishing in the designer goods and 99% of the punters were Japanese dolls wishing they could buy all the designer goods in the building. As 20% of the population of New Zealand live in Auckland and its suburbs, it comes a s no great shock as to the abundance of people here compared to everywhere else we have been. What does come as shock is the number of Japanese people here. They must almost outnumber the indigenous population. This is reflected in the quantity of Japanese restaurants and Karaoke bars in the city. On the way back up Queen Street we passed a magic shop and could not resist poking our heads in, especially as we had such fun at the puzzle place in the north of the island. We were keen to pick up a trick/puzzle that we wished we had bought from the puzzle man, but unfortunately, he did not stock it. However , the proprietor was a keen magician and was quick to show us a trick, which regrettably for him, I got straight away. He then showed us a trick involving a coin and a bottle which was absolutely fantastic. He followed this with another trick which again we knew how it was done as it was shown to us by the puzzle man last week. It was time to go before he thought we were smart arses. Possibly it was too late, but we mitigated the circumstances by buying something from him, so friends & neighbours - prepare to be marvelled with miraculous magic when we return.
Leaving the magic shop feeling slightly smug and a few dollars lighter, we walked to the top of Queen Street in search of the ethnic shops and restaurants as described in the guide book. All we found was more Japanese restaurants and more karaoke bars. However, the sun was now back out in full bloom, so we walked back to the Sky Tower and called into the same tea shop as we had visited yesterday for our afternoon refreshment. With just a short walk back to the hotel, it completed our six weeks of sightseeing in New Zealand and we have to say just how enjoyable it has been. We thoroughly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t been yet.
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