A day sightseeing

Thursday 17th. Peter kindly offered to take us on a sightseeing tour of Auckland today. He knew of our dislike of city centres and assured us that we would see the quieter side of the city. 

But first, a couple more views of the house. 

Sitting outside the kitchen which used to be the garage. 

A view of the front door with our hire car in the front. 

On the drive into Auckland we passed by a stunted mangrove swamp. 

Not a very good picture - sorry! 

Our route in took us down SH1 across the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Not the most direct route but it gave us a better view of the city. 

We then headed along Quay Street, passing the boat that won the Americas Cup in 2013. 

We then went through Orakei and Mission Bay to St Heliers. 

Here we stopped at Achilles Point to let the three dogs with us out for a walk. 

The Achilles referred to is HMS Achilles that fought at the battle of the River Plate in 1939. We then headed back to Parnell via Taranaki Road to see Holy Trinity Cathedral. The cathedral is a mixture of both old and new. 

The foundation stone for the chancel was laid on 13th June 1957 on a stone brought from Lichfield Cathedral, UK and was finally completed in 1973 and served as the Cathedral for twenty years before work could begin on the nave. In 1991 work on the nave was started but in a different style using wood and glass instead of stone and brick. 

Each side of the nave has beautiful stained glass panels. 

We spent a good half hour in there while Peter waited patiently outside with the dogs. We then drove past the Auckland War Memorial Museum. 

And then up to One Tree Hill for a full panoramic view of Auckland and its two harbours, one serving the Pacific Ocean, the other the Tasman Sea. 

We could easily see the hills caused by volcanic eruption, especially Rangitoto Island, its final eruptions being only 550 years ago. 

You may need to enlarge the picture because Rangitoto is to the right and I couldn't see it at first using the iPad! 

Thanks Peter for a great day out.