2018 New Zealand - Day 2 Auckland
a postscript... yesterday my Apple iPhone Health details: Walking 18.7km, Flights climbed 26 floors...
Today those statistics are... Walking 26.7km, Flights climbed 65 floors!
The short version of today: Mount Eden and Cornwall Park with One Tree Hill.
The long version... read on.
sprawling park, which sits on a volcanic cone, offers an abundance of greenery, plus unique features like the remnants of a pre-European Maori fort and the remains of Sir John Logan Campbell, the park's donor. One of the park's greatest assets is its lookout point: One Tree Hill.
My unexpected(s) in this park were the free roaming cattle and the slopes of iconic New Zealand sheep. And along the way a very colorful but somewhat shy bird.
The obelisk of One Tree Hill includes the historical commentary “The first known Maori to visit these shores was Kupe, a Polynesian navigator, in the year 925. The first settlement under TOI took place in 1150. The first organized emigration from Hawaiki took place in 1350. … the ancestors of the present Maori race arrived at various points on these coasts in the now historic canoes. In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed whereby the Maoris accepted the sovereignty of the British Crown and were thereby secured in all their rights and privileges as British subjects.” The park also includes a geological origins commentary “48 volcanoes dominate the Auckland landscape, and have been active at some time over the last 150,000 years. These volcanoes have blasted their way through an older gentler landscape of rocks of marine origin. These thick beds of sandstones and mudstones were laid down in the deep sea of the Waitemata Basin 20 million years ago, then then uplifted. … Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) is a complex scoria cone resulting from volcanic activity about 20,000 years ago. It consists of a central (intact) oval crater with 2 large horseshoe craters to the southwest and southeast. The cone covers about 21ha and rises to 183m above sea level. From here lava flows extended over more that 20 square kilometers of what is now suburban Auckland, underlying flows from other cones.”
And that's all for today!
Today those statistics are... Walking 26.7km, Flights climbed 65 floors!
The short version of today: Mount Eden and Cornwall Park with One Tree Hill.
The long version... read on.
Mount Eden
After a leisurely breakfast prepared by professional chef, Damien, I headed out for the walk to Mount Eden Park and then to ascend to its peak. This dormant volcano, which is completely covered with grass, offers some of the best views of downtown Auckland. It's also the highest natural point in Auckland.
Eden Gardens
Built on the slopes of Mount Eden and adjacent to the New Zealand Government House in Auckland. But not accessible from the Mount Eden road/trail system ;-) . These are award winning gardens, and although lovely, cannot hold a candle to the Buttchart Gardens in Victoria and I'm very familiar with.
Lunch Break
Today I chose Thai... which meant a bit of a backtrack. The Red Elephant serves traditional thai cuisine with a somewhat modern interpretation. My snapper with vegetables and lemongrass broth was excellent and wonderfully paired with a NZ Macs Black beer.
Cornwall Park and One Tree Hill
Imagine New York's Central Park but with a New Zealand twist, and you've got Cornwall Park. Thissprawling park, which sits on a volcanic cone, offers an abundance of greenery, plus unique features like the remnants of a pre-European Maori fort and the remains of Sir John Logan Campbell, the park's donor. One of the park's greatest assets is its lookout point: One Tree Hill.
My unexpected(s) in this park were the free roaming cattle and the slopes of iconic New Zealand sheep. And along the way a very colorful but somewhat shy bird.
The obelisk of One Tree Hill includes the historical commentary “The first known Maori to visit these shores was Kupe, a Polynesian navigator, in the year 925. The first settlement under TOI took place in 1150. The first organized emigration from Hawaiki took place in 1350. … the ancestors of the present Maori race arrived at various points on these coasts in the now historic canoes. In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed whereby the Maoris accepted the sovereignty of the British Crown and were thereby secured in all their rights and privileges as British subjects.” The park also includes a geological origins commentary “48 volcanoes dominate the Auckland landscape, and have been active at some time over the last 150,000 years. These volcanoes have blasted their way through an older gentler landscape of rocks of marine origin. These thick beds of sandstones and mudstones were laid down in the deep sea of the Waitemata Basin 20 million years ago, then then uplifted. … Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) is a complex scoria cone resulting from volcanic activity about 20,000 years ago. It consists of a central (intact) oval crater with 2 large horseshoe craters to the southwest and southeast. The cone covers about 21ha and rises to 183m above sea level. From here lava flows extended over more that 20 square kilometers of what is now suburban Auckland, underlying flows from other cones.”
Dinner
Well after all the day's walking I needed time to decompress (shower, snooze, and have a drink or two). Then the only energy was to go local which todays choice meant Galbraight's Alehouse - pretty good fish and chips served with their dark amber in house brew.And that's all for today!
