ShOwen off in Auckland (and first impressions)
The name above is accredited to the genius of my biggest sister, after I asked for advice on names for this blog. Though Adam's name ultimately won my overall choice, in appreciation, I have to display how I have been "shOwen" off so far. This name also fits the experiences I want to publish in this, from kayaking at night to walks in the sky. However, I also want to try to portray my first impressions of New Zealand, the people that live here, and the culture.
A Warm Welcome
When we disembarked our flight, we followed the crowd that passed under a large carved wooden archway in the airport hallway. This was accompanied by traditional Māori music and an ornate plaque. All together, this entry provided an open and warm welcome, and it was an obvious and proud display of cultural heritage. I already knew New Zealand as a country previously among the British Empire, and like Australia and the United States, the history of this appears largely solemn for it's native people. However, this first impression painted New Zealand (or Aotearoa, to recognise it's original name) as a place where this cultural history has importance, recognition and respect. Though I have since learnt that some issues persist, there has been much that I have experienced to support my first impressions, and I will try to explain more later in the post.
Similar to Australia, Aotearoa has thorough biosecurity checks aimed at protecting the natural wildlife. We respectfully complied with this process and, during it, met a friendly member of the airport staff! The kindhearted man appeared genuinely interested in conversation as he checked our luggage, and when he learnt that we were nurses, started to encourage us to emigrate - before we were done even crossing the border! A very warm welcome!
This feeling persisted until we arrived to our airbnb - a shared home inhabited by our human and animal hosts. The array of dogs and cats gave us a floof filled loveable welcome, and continued to do so throughout our stay! Unfortunately, our human hosts were less obliging towards us. Though we had use of thier shared spaces, we often felt uncomfortable among our temporary Kiwi house mates, who did not provide the friendly conversation, locals advice and fun atmosphere that we sought. This was contrary to much of our expierences with the people of Auckland, and it is an unfortunate fact that the bad fruit of the city happened to be our airbnb hosts! We considered many ways to solve the uncomfortable atmosphere in our temporary home, but landed on the most British of all - ignore the problem and hope it goes away!
Phoebe and I spent our first two days in Auckland making ourselves more acquainted with two areas: Ponsonby and the central city. First, we explored Ponsonby, where our airbnb was located. Ponsonby is a hip suburb with shops, bars and restaurants. We enjoyed three meals out here, on seperate occassions, obviously (athough I would weclome the challenge to try three places in a row)! We also explored the small and cosy second hand book store in Ponsonby, where Phoebe bought four books! In general, new books in Australia and New Zealand are twice as expensive when compared with the UK, so second hand books are the way to go.
To explore the central city we followed the lonely planet walking tour. This took us meandering through Albert Park, featured a stop at the lonely culprit cocktail bar, and finished up at Dr Rudis rooftop bar!
After these first few days, Phoebe's sister (Amelia) came from Melbourne,
Australia, to explore with us. She had recently moved
to Melbourne, shortly before we took our own flights to the southern
hemisphere, and therefore planned to have her birthday with us in Auckland! This also meant that we could spend our more quiet evenings in the comfort of her hostel, where the atmosphere was more positive and lively than our AirBnB.
A city of volcanoes
Depending on your source, Auckland is built on anywhere between 50-54 volcanoes. The most recent to erupt is the now dorment, but not extinct, Rangitoto. At 600 years old, Rangitoto formed an island that became a safehaven for wildlife, and provided a fun hike for all three of us. There has been pest threats to the natural environment on the islands
around auckland, Rangitoto included, meaning large scale conversation
efforts were in place to allow the enviornment to thrive once more. During our visit, we enjoyed the opportunity to explore volcanic caves, watch for birds, and eat lunch at the top of a volcano! The only catch, don't miss the final ferry off the island, or you end up spending more time among the wildlife than you bargined for.
Sky Walk
Put on an orange suit and a harness, take off all jewelry, and pay a considerable amount of money - then you can walk the outside of Sky Tower. I was eager for this one, Amelia took little convincing, and we had to drag a frightened Phoebe along with us. The experience was exhilerating, with breathtaking panoramic views across the city and an uncanny birds eye perspective of life below. Whilst I reassured a trembling Phoebe, Amelia executed an evil plot to dispose of us both, with a forceful kick over the edge!
In search of bioluminescence, we booked an evening Kayak trip which set out from a picturesque bay on the northern shore. Once in our sea kayaks, we paddled along the seabank, following the white light on our friendly instructor's guide boat. Though the bioluminescence was not as bright as we expected, we soon found that as our paddles struck the water it lightly sparkled. On more gentle contact by hand, the water glistened more brightly. Impossible to capture in a photograph, but magical to witness. An unexpected bonus to this excursion was the act of Kayaking at night - the cover of darkness made for a more tranquil and meditative experiance.
Māori culture and Auckland Museum
Aotearoa appears to openly embrace the Māori language, known as te roa Māori. On the bus, the first stop annoucement is in te roa Māori, and is then followed by English. Signs across Auckland frequently have te roa Māori and English translations, and the museum information displays largely featured only two languages, Māori and English. The Māori language and culture is also taught in most schools, as well as respecting the natural landscape and outdoor activities, such as kayaking and hiking.
There are other acts of recognition for the Māori culture across Auckland. For example, One tree hill was the site of an age old tōtara tree, cut down and replaced in 1852 by a Pākehā (white) settler. In 2000, the replacement tree was cut down by a Māori activist, so 2015 saw the symbolic planting of new native trees on the site, the strongest of which will become the new One Tree of the hill.
The Auckland museum has a regular Māori cultural performance, that Phoebe and I visited, as well as information on the culture and history. There was, however, limited information to be found on the New Zealand wars between Pākehā settlers and the Māori. Although the musuem provided some history in one small room, information was limited. However, the display did report that these wars are not taught in schools, suggesting that this remains a sensitive and less recognised part of the history of New Zealand. I plan to explore and understand more about the cultural heritage and events that built the Aotearoa I am visiting! Nevertheless, the Auckland Museum is an impressive building, and serves as a memorial to WWI, II and all others that followed. I thoroughly enjoyed the museum, so much so that it warranted a second visit to fully appreciate all it had to offer.
Despite the serious topics across the museum, there was some a more positive exhibition on the people of Auckland and there life here. Whilst visiting this area, we couldn't resist an opportunity to dress up and dance to part of this exhibiton celebrating music!
As this is my first post from New Zealand, I wanted to try to show my genuine experience of how we attempted to dive into life and culture here, and how I have found this. It has not all been positive, although the serious topics and issues we learnt about were spattered with more exhilerating fun. Aotearoa appears to me similar to many other countries, seeming to struggle with the guilt of it's history and make tribute to this, whilst attempting to move on towards a more positive future. Yet, this future lies on the background of a struggling economy, which some have eluded resulted in the recent election success of a centre right party that make promises of economical improvement. Despite all of this, most people we have met remain kind, geniune and friendly people, and I have yet to feel unsafe among them.
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