Auckland Town Hall

The Auckland Town Hall is not the current town hall. Rather, it has been converted into an events centre. I came here to watch a comedy show during the recently-concluded NZ Comedy Festival 2011.

I'll be sharing more of these photosynths in the future - they were taken using my >iPod Touch 4 with the excellent free Microsoft Photosynth app. I'm still blown away by how well it makes use of the iPod's hardware to stitch together such awesome panoramas.


(You'll need to install Microsoft Silverlight, a small free plugin)

Elderly

Saw this sign outside a retirement home in my suburb. Should they have drawn a walking stick?

Buskers

Queen Street has a lot of buskers, and I always see someone new when I walk along it. One of the most interesting ones so far is the quartet who plays classical pieces on request. Definitely something different from the singing dude on guitar (though I did see one guy on guitar with a great voice in Hamilton).

Homeless

Like any city, Auckland has its crime underbelly and vagrants. This is a homeless guy sleeping behind a church. When the sun sets on Queen Street, the main shopping drag, I can see all the rootless men coming out of the alleyways to claim the street as their own*.

*(I'm just being dramatic, it's not as bad as I make it out to seem).

Bus Stop and Timetable

This is an example of a bus stop and accompanying bus timetable. There are many different designs and this box type is common in suburbs. Note that they usually only have shelter on one side of the road. The opposite bus stop is only a pole with no protection from the elements.

Duck!

What would you do if you woke up to find this on your front lawn?

Queen Street and Viaduct Harbour, Auckland

Queen Street is the main shopping street of Auckland, while Viaduct Harbour has some high end flats and hotels. This is not a comprehensive coverage of either, and there'll be more photos in the future of these iconic Auckland City highlights.

Civic Theatre - old movie theatre, but with IMAX screen at the back too

Looks like a place that Clark Kent or Peter Parker would be employed

Britomart - main terminal for public transportation

Britomart details

Inside Britomart

Ferry Terminal

Ferry Terminal

Ferry Pier

Viaduct Harbour in the distance

Thrilling jet boat ride

Model sailboat on display

Voyager Maritime Museum

Sailboat

Viaduct Harbour

View from Viaduct

What bird is this?

Auckland Harbour Bridge in the distance

Albert Park, Auckland

Albert Park is the nearest park within the CBD and is really nice to walk around on a spring or summer's day. It sits in between Auckland University and Queen Street.

People sit down just to have their lunch or for a little noon siesta

Old trees extend their reach towards the concrete jungle

Walking towards the middle of the park

Park center - more people having their lunch amid the great weather

Landscaping around the park

Fountain

Albert Park

Piha Beach Cafe @ New Lynn, Auckland

As I previously wrote, we visited Piha Beach and took a brief stroll around. It was just the right time for lunch after that so we stopped by the quite-recent Piha Cafe. According to my kiwi tour guide and Lonely Planet, the opening of this cafe has been strongly resisted due to fears it'll "commercialize" the area. But it's been suggested that it's actually due to a businessman protecting his monopoly on the area.

Whichever it was, the cafe was successfully opened in 2009 and it's enjoying very brisk business with its average-tasting fare and spotty service.

Sustainable architecture (solar panels, large windows) and plenty of alfresco areas

The inside is cool even if it's a little hot outside

The self-ordering counter

It was a busy day when we went and our waiter told us so. Yes, even though there is a self-ordering counter up front, we had a waiter come take our orders. Unfortunately the kitchen proceeded to mix up our orders and serve those who came later, first. This is always a sore point for any customer, no? I've already ranted the same thing with Carnavon Street's Duck Rice.

'Cab' (cabinet) food

Since our waiter advised us that the grill is backed up, we ordered from the cabinet. Each item costs $9.50 and it's basically pre-cooked food that's been kept in the fridge and waiting to be microwaved. It's pretty pricey for things that barely qualify as entrees.

The grill

Pumpkin risotto - lacks kick



Blue Cheese pie - not bad



Bacon and avocado focacia - average but fresh

Now you know how to help stranded whales - pasted on the wall

They sell products geared towards surfers - so don't get your mind in a knot with 'sex wax'

Getting there:
GPS Coordinates: -36.952978,174.472632

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Job Hunt Update 2

I'll be starting a 3 week holiday around New Zealand tomorrow, but at my first stop in Hamilton I'll be taking some time out to attend an interview with a well-known web/software development house.

After more than 4 interviews with IT recruitment agencies, this will be the first interview with an actual employer. Excited!

Update 7pm: Oops, wrong! The interview I mentioned above would be my second real interview instead. I just got a call a couple of hours back that another big company will be doing a phone interview with me soon.

Piha Beach, New Lynn, Auckland

Piha Beach is one of the world-famous surfing beaches. Perhaps the word 'notorious' suits it better, as there's at least one drowning every year and it has spawned its own reality TV show Piha Rescue. The waves of the Tasman Sea are indeed high and strong, and it wasn't even high-tide when we visited.

And in case you're wondering how the NZ English accent sounds like:


The other key highlight about this beach is that the sand is black due to iron sediments. So it's impossible to walk bare-footed on a hot sunny day as the iron absorbs the heat and will burn you.

Ironically, the best view of the beach is from far away

The rocky outcrop divides the beach into two

Notice the black sand?

The beach is divided into 2 by a large outcrop. The left side is more sheltered and is safer for swimming with life guards on duty in summer. The right side is really wild and a sign warns you so:

It's too dangerous to swim in the surf area

Washed up seaweed. It's definitely a different species and very rubbery!

The route to Piha is quite scenic and you will pass by the Arataki Visitors Center, so make sure to stop by.

Summer Flowers in Auckland

Most houses have a small garden and they love to plant flowers. Here are 3 common ones I see. The 'black rose' is creepy. I know it's not a rose but what flower is it? Do fill me in!