Saturday, September 27, 2008

Coast to Coast Walk (27 Sept.)

Earlier this week, I had noticed a sign down by an area in Auckland called the Viaduct that talked about a Coast to Coast walking tour that could be done of Auckland. The tour starts in the Viaduct which is an area in Auckland right near where my office building is that has a bunch of good restaurants and bars and is right on the water. The tour is 16 kms plus a couple of extra side excursions up some old volcanos so probably around 20 Km in total and ends in a place called Onehunga which is on the opposite coast. You can see a map of the walk and find more information here. Anyway, I mentioned it to a few friends from the office and we decided to do it this weekend.

I set out with two Brits, a Scott, and a British/Zimbabwean (all other expats at my office) for the hike. It was kind of an overcast day and it rained a bit but it was a nice way to see Auckland. We took our time, walked through a bunch of parks, and did the side excursions to walk up to the top of Mt. Eden and One Tree Hill, each of which are old volcanoes within Auckland. We even took a break for afternoon tea - I'm not quite localized yet and certainly not British so I still don't understand the finer points of life which is apparently morning and afternoon tea according to people here, but I figure maybe at some point I will. For now I stuck with a good cold pop. 5 1/2 hours later, we made it to Onehunga and decided to call a cab rather than walk all the way back home. See some pictures from the hike below.




Me at the top of Mt. Eden. You can see the Crater from the Volcano behind me.


Katie, David, Paul, and Noz on the hike with me

View from the bottom of One-Tree Hill. Another volcano right in the city.

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