Cold and Wet

Well, I suppose. both of these words are relative. Damp would be a better description and cold means somewhat shivery in a pac-a-mac when caught in the wind.


We were not expecting the car until the afternoon, but Ian had a change of plans and thought that with the second public holiday weekend in a row starting in the afternoon, we should  go out early.


This was an opportunity to find Photo Warehouse on the Old North Road in Ponsonby. This is on the other side of the city centre and with SATNAV, luck and a few turns around Sky Tower we got there. It is a great shop with its own car park and we were soon away.

Under the Harbour Bridge

Centre Span

In the Marina

The plan was to go to a road that actually goes under the harbour bridge. (Later, when Zoe saw my photographs she found it difficult to believe that we had got to such a place. Walking under the bridge brings you out to the vast, Auckland Marina. If you have ever been to Auckland it is very visible, on the left as you come over the bridge from the north. I calculated that there must be millions, if not over a billion pounds worth of yachts.


Just before we got to the car we spied helmeted tourists around the office for the bridge walk and bungee jump. We sat for a moment, watching them until they disappeared into the girders below the bridge.

Going into the bridge

Adventurers Under the Bridge

The weather was still poor but we decided to go on to 'One Tree Hill' See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Tree_Hill,_New_Zealand for further details to see that political attacks on the tree here were as late as 2000. 


It is a fantastic spiral drive up the hill and there is plenty of car parking and excellent views, especially on a clear day. We first came up the hill with Zoe as a baby 2005.

One Tree Hill

I got into conversation with a man and his wife who had come up from Taupo and described their job as milking cows. It turned out the only place they had not visited was Milford Sound. After being encouraged to stay and visit other places we parted company and made our way back.

A View From One Tree Hill

Ian was talking with the nanny. Sally came home early and they were soon off for their overnight stay at the Sky Tower, leaving us with the children. Our evening went pretty well and from Sally's Facebook entry it looks like they enjoyed their special evening too.