Auckland
Kia ora!
We’ve been in New Zealand for a week! We spent the majority of that time in Auckland, getting set up for the rest of our trip. We opened a bank account, bought a car, got used to using the metric system and reading temperatures in Celsius (I still don’t get it), wandered grocery stores looking for uniquely kiwi foods, and got to know the streets downtown so well that we no longer needed a map. Our hostel was conveniently located right in the middle of the Central Business District (the CBD, they call it), so it was a short walk from everything.
I’ve started a travel journal! Of course, the only thing I painted so far of the city has been a tree.
Auckland is a hundred places mixed into one city. There is no one distinct vibe here. There are a ton of European and Asian influences, but there are also hints of native Maori culture, gigantic palm trees, and that pale green harbor, so a walk through the streets can make you feel like you’re passing through several different continents at once. I swear, though, I think Auckland has more Japanese restaurants than Tokyo did! And there are a lot of great vegetarian options – always a welcoming thing to find in a new city. One place called Lord of the Fries serves vegan fast food, and it was so good we ended up going back twice!
One of my favorite things about Auckland that you don’t see in America is that you can move diagonally in crosswalks! When the pedestrian signal lights up, all car traffic stops and you can walk any direction you want across the intersection. Pretty cool.
It was fun spending the first week just walking around and getting to know another city. Auckland might not be the most distinctive city in the world, but it has its own charm and there’s a lot to do. From a designer’s perspective, there were a lot of cafes and shops with beautiful typographic logos that had me stopping for photos. From my very brief experience of Auckland, it seems like a really nice place to live.
Our last view of Auckland was from the amazing vantage point at the top of Mount Eden.
