Beyond the Edge Beyond the Bar: 14.01 Auckland: 'Hi' and 'Goodbye', Once Again

1.A Auckland Skyline View from Harbour Tour Cruise

About a third of all Kiwis live in Auckland, which has a population of around 1.5 million. It is New Zealand's largest city. Auckland is billed as the 'City of Sails', a moniker meant to suggest not only a city on water but one where a pleasant diversion can be enjoyed just beyond the shadow of skyscrapers. In July 2013, in New Zealand's winter, when Jean and I previously passed through, we can attest to at least some of the diversions, not least to the sailing.

1.B Sailboats in the Waters of Auckland's Outer Harbour

1.C Sailboats near the Auckland Harbour Bridge (from the East)

To Auckland's east lies the Hauraki Gulf (an indentation of the Pacific Ocean) and to the west lies the Tasman Sea, with ample harborage suitable for pleasure craft. In the central business district ('CBD') there are not only the theatres, restaurants, and shops you might expect, there are the opportunities for bungee jumping from the Sky Tower, the tallest edifice in the Southern Hemisphere. One can also bungee jump from the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Bungee jumping as a commercial activity began in Auckland in 1986 and has subsequently spread elsewhere around the world. Bungee jumping and jet boating, which was developed by a Kiwi (Bill Hamilton), are reflective of the robust spirit of adventure and enterprise that seem to be part and parcel of New Zealand's DNA.

1.D Sky Tower

1.E Bungee Jumping Station on the Underside of the Auckland Harbour Bridge

Jean and I are back in New Zealand not for extreme sports but, rather, for another locum tenens stint. In our previous venture Jean served with the Waikato District Health Board and we were eventually based in the lovely agricultural town of Te Awamutu. This time and for a shorter duration we're based in Napier, in the North Island, where Jean will be serving with the Hawke's Bay District Health Board. Napier, as it happens, was the destination of our first mini-trip after arriving in New Zealand in January 2013 (noted in my Post 13.03). I anticipate sharing more about Napier and about other Kiwi destinations that we manage to visit during our threesome-month stay in New Zealand.

One unlikely Kiwi destination, other than as a pass-thru, is Auckland. Auckland deserves more than a pass-thru, I suppose, especially if we've come so far from our hometown near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It warrants attention, yes, but in this post I'm more comfortable with giving Auckland merely superficial attention, a 'hi' and 'goodbye', as it were. Were Jean and I to live in Auckland for a time, presumedly a succession of Auckland postings might provide a more comprehensive view of the city or at least a less superficial one.

If you were to talk to Kiwis who live outside Auckland, perhaps you'd find a good number who'd say that one posting from Auckland is enough. And perhaps even more than a few who'd say one posting is one too many. Auckland, as might be expected, has an outsized influence and at times resented role in the life of New Zealand. In that respect it's like New York vis-a-vis the USA; it's not the country's capital city but it is New Zealand's commercial and cultural capital. Auckland is an outlier in other ways, too, not least that it is one of the few cities in New Zealand that has the feel of a city, versus the feel of an outsized town. Most Kiwis, at least emotionally, find themselves tied to town and country living. For them a place like Auckland is somewhat alien and off-putting, with all its hustle and bustle. Before hustling off, I'll share the following observations.

First, Auckland is a port city; no surprise, given that it's located on an isthmus between the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea. Jean and I favor harbour tours in maritime cities. And so I've got a bevy of photos from our previous pass-thru of the city. These photos aren't of good quality, but they do convey a sense of the current maritime trade and trademarks of maritime Auckland.

1.F Bean Rock Lighthouse in Auckland Harbour

1.G Cargo Cranes at the Ready, Auckland

1.H Cargo Cranes at Work, Auckland

1.I Auto Carrier Ship (Not an Auto Ferry)

1.J Container Ship Departing Auckland

While Auckland may or may not be New Zealand's most important port as measured by the value of its shipments, the country's largest port as measured by volume is Tauranga, south of Auckland on the North Island's Bay of Plenty. It's entirely possible that Tauranga will surpass Auckland's port on all accounts in the future because, among other factors, Auckland's current container port is hemmed in, effectively limiting expansion.

Now and in the future Auckland's most important port is its international airport, which reportedly accounts for seventy percent of all New Zealand's international travelers. There is only one other commercial airport in New Zealand able to land the long distance flights coming, say, from China or Japan or the Americas and that airport is in Christchurch, in the South Island. Absent a significant increase in population, Christchurch, New Zealand's third largest city, cannot possibly attract the rather long distance flights that end or begin in Auckland. Hence, unless one is traveling to or from Australia or one of the South Pacific islands, international travelers will almost certainly enter or leave New Zealand through the country's premier gateway, Auckland International Airport.

Secondly, while high-rise apartment buildings have sprouted around Auckland in a way that is uncharacteristic of Kiwi cities, the city continues to be characterized by numerous neighborhoods with single-level homes. In an earlier post (Post 13.10) I discussed characteristics of Kiwi homes. Herewith are some especially charming examples from Auckland's Devonport neighborhood, which is easily accessible by the ferry service connecting that neighborhood with the city's CBD. Photos below provide some sense of why Devonport is considered an attractive Auckland neighborhood (but then Auckland appears to have many such neighborhoods).

1.K A Devonport Home

1.L Another Devonport Home

1.M Devonport with Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park Beyond

1.N Devonport Seen from Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park

1.O A Tree Rooted in Devonport

1.P Departing the Devonport Ferry Dock

1.Q Auckland Ferry Docks & Ferry Terminal Building

1.R Auckland Ferry Terminal Building

1.S Britomat Transport Centre

Thirdly, Aucklanders travel to and from work by ferry, by car, and increasingly by rail. The Britomat Transport Center ('BTC'), shown above, entered transportation service in 2003, becoming the head station for various lines of the Auckland Transport rail network as well as the northern terminus of passenger service on the North Island Main Trunk Railway. It previously served as Auckland's central post office. Largely because of the opening of the BTC, annual ridership on Auckland Transport's rail lines has grown from about two million to over ten million people. The BTC is better placed in the central business district than was the previous terminus (As in real estate, in the railway business a key to success is location). All other things being equal, those visiting Auckland would be well advised to find lodging in Auckland's CBD, because of ready access there to rail and water transport and to bus lines and bus tour operators.

Finally, despite the them-versus-us factor bedeviling relations between Auckland and the rest of New Zealand, there are some deep commonalities. I already mentioned the single-level homes, which Kiwis everywhere love. High rises may now be commonplace in Auckland but one senses that (as in the rest of New Zealand) the town-like neighborhoods are cherished. And even some country practices are followed in the city. For example, sheep graze in city parks, a practice (we were told) governed by treaties that the Māori made with the incoming British colonials. And given the volcanic origins of so much of the North Island landscape, it's perhaps entirely appropriate that Auckland is the only major city on the planet that is built on an active basaltic volcanic shield. Depending on the source consulted, you'll find reports of anywhere from forty to fifty extinct or dormant volcanoes sometimes underlying and sometimes crowning the Auckland landscape. You'll see one such crown jewel below. But enough.