We’ve done all the things that were on my little list for this city, so it was time to simply take it easy.
TUESDAY (February 10th)
Our Cheeky Kiwi tour guide, Simon, yesterday recommended Occidental Belgian Beer Huis, tucked away on Vulcan Lane, off Queen Street and just a 15 minute walk from our apartment-hotel. He raved about their New Zealand beef and lamb, and green-lipped mussels.
That sounded good, so off we went for lunch.
The restaurant is very much a beer pub; lots of dark wood and tables with green leather-look inserts. The outdoor tables were all taken (a good sign), but we were seated fairly quickly at an indoor corner table blessedly close to a ceiling fan. It’s another very warm day, and so unusually muggy that there are actually notices about the humidity on all the weather apps.
We started with drinks. I chose a glass of St Hallett Gamekeeper’s Shiraz from the Barossa Valley in Southern Australia. Ted, after perusing a massive beer list, chose a glass of Belgian Leffe Brun, one of the many beers on tap.
The lunch special here is always a thick boneless Angus rump steak with fries, in either a 200 gram (7 oz) or 250 gram (9 oz) size, at $20NZD and $25NZD respectively. “Rump” is not a name we generally associate with steak in Canada, but Ted ordered the smaller size and it arrived perfectly cooked. We found out later that it is what we’d call “sirloin tip”. He thoroughly enjoyed it and the accompanying peppercorn sauce.
I had my heart and tastebuds set on green-lipped mussels, and ordered a half kilo (a little over a pound) of the delicious plump molluscs in a chunky and spicy tomato sauce liberally lashed with paprika. They came with crisp fries and house-made Belgian-style mayonnaise.
The entire meal came to $72.50NZD ($59.40 CAD/$43.85 USD).
We took a long stroll along the waterfront, and then had a quick cold supper, capped by a much shorter stroll to take advantage of the cool evening breezes.
WEDNESDAY (February 11th)
I tasked Ted with finding something to do, and he absolutely excelled at his task.
Despite having said after ascending to the Mount Victoria Lookout in Wellington that we were never going to do that again, his surprising suggestion was that we walk to the summit of Mount Eden (Maungawhau), one of Auckland’s fifty-three (yes, 53!) dormant volcanoes.
Those volcanic cones, now green hills, are what give Auckland its characteristic topography.
The first volcanic eruption here was about 2800 years ago; the last occurred in the 1400s, on Rangitoto Island, and oral history indicates that it is likely the Māori witnessed it.
The signage at Mount Eden gave a bit of history to the site, as well directions to the Visitor Centre part way up the mountain.
The Visitor Centre included a wonderful little café where we fortified ourselves to climb to the summit. (As it turned out, the climb was not at all onerous – but we weren’t to know that.)
The centre featured a short film as well as a unique interactive 3-dimensional model of the mountain and crater, the latter under a plexiglass dome.
We were able to easily correlate the 3D model to the 2-dimensional overview map along the trail.
By picking up one of the tablets connected to the model table, and aiming the tablet’s camera lens p at the crater model, a volcanic eruption appears on the screen that exactly matches your viewing perspective. The image continues to change, condensing a thousand years or more into a couple of minutes, following the eruption with the return of flora and fauna, the arrival of the Māori, and the building of volcanic stone and wooden fortifications (Māoripā), terraces, and gardens.
We learned that at one time as many as 5000 Māori called this mountain their home.
We also learned that not every one of the 50+ mountains was settled and became a pā; Mount Eden is one of Auckland region’s 14 Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountains).
At 196m/643ft tall, Maungawhau/Mount Eden is the highest volcano in Auckland, and would have certainly been the most desirable vantage point.
Many of the cones have been levelled or substantially changed, in small part due to the historical Māori agricultural and domestic use, but mostly through relatively recent quarrying of construction materials.
Fortunately many of the remaining volcanoes are now preserved as landmarks and parks.
At Mount Eden a large, well-preserved crater about 50m/165ft deep is contained within the summit cone. Because of its shape and its rich volcanic soil the Māori apparently nicknamed it the “food bowl”, although it was officially known as Te Ipu-a-Mataaho, named after the god of earthquakes and volcanoes.
To the Māori, this area is wāhi tapu (a sacred place). There were plenty of signs asking visitors to stick to the paths and respect its significance, but of course there were people whose selfie perspectives were far more important than following the rules. Sigh.
The park has done a stellar job of creating well-maintained pathways, boardwalks, metal grid stairways and platforms to allow views and photography in every direction; there’s really no need to traipse over the native plants and grasses, or circumvent fences.
From the summit, we had the most spectacular views imaginable of the city and its harbours. The Auckland SkyTower’s highest viewing platform may be slightly higher at 220m/721ft, but its location is not nearly as central for really seeing the whole city. And visiting the park has no admission fees.
Ted and I agreed that it was one of the most spectacular views we’ve seen on the North Island.
The walk back down necessitated another stop at Friend & Whau, this time for ice cream. We only have two more days in New Zealand; the wonderful ice cream will be one of the things I’ll miss as we continue our journey.
THURSDAY (February 12th)
I’ve been in the Senior Nomads Facebook group almost since the beginning of our home-free travels. It’s been a wonderful resource, and occasionally it offers the added bonus of meeting someone in person whose blog you’ve followed via that group’s sharing.
Today we got to meet fellow Canadians, and fellow bloggers, Blair and Susan, of BLAIR AND SUSAN: A Home Free Global Life. They arrived in Auckland just as we are leaving, and have very recently been in Kuala Lumpur, where Ted and I are headed in March. Those coincidences, as well as the fact that we retired and began home-free travelling right around the same time, meant we had lots to talk about.
We decided to meet for lunch at Mezze Bar on Durham Street. There was enough variety on the menu for everyone to find something to their taste, although Ted’s pepperoni pizza was unlike any pepperoni pizza we’d ever had. What was all that other stuff overwhelming the pepperoni?
As Susan so eloquently expressed, it was great to share the kinds of stories and experiences that only fellow nomads understand.
Tomorrow we check out of our Aparthotel and prepare to leave New Zealand for five busy weeks in Australia.
Rose and Ted’s Excellent Adventure 