Take Me Home, City Roads

Wednesday

Sherry found herself with more time on her hands than she's had for quite a while, so after straightening up the apartment 'till it couldn't get any straighter, she opened her Trade Me store online. Sort of like e-Bay (which they also have here), but Trade Me is infinitely more popular. She's trying to get rid of anything we don't want to lug back to the States.

Despite having a king hotel bed all to himself, Mark tossed and turned most of the night. Guess he's gotten so used to snoozing next to Sherry that it's hard to sleep alone. After checking out, he walked down Albert St, stopping at the Hollywood Café for breakfast. Despite being in a busy CBD, the food and coffee were actually cheaper than in The Mount.

The Asian girls in a souvenir shop on Queen St were willing to haggle, so Mark was able to cheaply knock out some of our Christmas and take-home shopping. He stopped in the All Blacks store, but it was pretty well picked over. If anyone comes to NZ looking for rugby paraphernalia, Rebel Sport is by far your better bet. He wrapped up his shopping at Whitcoulls (like Barnes & Noble), then hit the road for home.

Queen St decked out for the holidays

You can't really call SH1 heading out of town traffic-congested, because traffic implies movement. On this warm, rainy day it was a parking lot! Feeling a little adventurous, Mark started improvising a detour through the southern city streets towards SH20, which would take him over Manukau Harbour and by the airport, eventually joining up with SH1 after the traffic-jam, or so the plan went.

Conveniently, his "detour" took him by Mt Eden, necessitating a little sight-seeing side trip. Unlike Mt Maunganui, this old Maori Pa site has a paved road that goes all the way to the top. At the summit, you have a gorgeous, expansive 360 degree view of Auckland. It's probably better than the view from the SkyTower, because you can actually see the SkyTower and get a sense of the city's skyline. You can also see all the other Maori Pa sites - sacred dormant volcanic cones rising up out of the sprawl.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Eden

Auckland skyline from Mt Eden

There always seems to be a friendly Japanese tourist nearby to take a picture of you

Continuing on through the city, the suburb of Mt Eden reminded Mark a lot of the Montclair area of Oakland, with its winding streets and bustling cafés and shops. After hitting the traffic again near Rainbow's End (the local amusement park), Mark finally got onto a nicely flowing SH1. With Ronan at home, he was free to stop quickly wherever he wanted, without worrying about cajoling a restless kid back into the car. The town of Paeroa, the self-proclaimed antique town of NZ, is also the original home of the Lemon & Paeroa soft drink, so a quick stop to snap a pic of the huge L&P bottle along the main drag was in order.

The cylinder is actually made from manholes stacked together

Mark had missed out on Sherry, Cerine, and Ro's exploration of the Karangahake Gorge, but he stopped for a brief look at it. While crossing one of the suspension foot bridges across the river, who should be coming the other way but another Dream Theater fan! The German guy sported a DT t-shirt, and had, of course, been to the show last night. This was his third time seeing them on this tour, having caught them twice in Europe. He and Mark snapped pics for each other, then continued on their way.

Mark over the Ohinemuri River

By this time, Mark was feeling a bit parched. As luck would have it, the Ohinemuri Winery was just up the road, and a free tasting hit the spot. Picking up a bottle to take home, Mark had just one more stop to make: Owharoa Falls. The clouds and intermittent rain made for much better light than you usually get at the falls (it's usually very contrasty), so Mark took the opportunity to grab a few pics. Just in time, too, as the rain came with a vengeance once back on the road and stayed with him all the way home.

Our favorite stop between Tauranga and Auckland

Ro had another performance this evening at school. Does a matinee and three evening gigs seem like a lot to ask from a bunch of kindergartners, or is it just us? Before the show, Ro did a double-take looking at one of his classmates, who's mom had dressed him in tights. Perpetually sans filter, Ro loudly asked, "why are you wearing girls' tights?!?"

Together again