Auckland City Centre

We worked extra one day in order to have a whole day off to explore downtown Auckland.  It is unfortunate that the best weather has been on days we work, and our day off was cloudy and cold.  Boo.

First thing we did was get a rental car from "Rent a Dent" - heh, we liked the name.  This will give us much more freedom and allow us to explore the area more.

Since Chris was still getting used to driving on the other side of the road, we parked the car and walked around Auckland most of the day.  Above is yet another crazy tree close to the museum.

Our first stop was the Wintergardens.

Tropical gardens.

Tropical Pitcher Plants.  Much larger than ours back home.

It was chilly, so we stopped for a mocha.

Queen Street, downtown Auckland.

I've always wanted to cross the street willy-nilly like this. 

They're redone their old industrial waterfront area into a funky new place with lots of restaurants.  This is me in a giant lawn chair, with a information kiosk made out of old shipping containers in the background.  We ate at the "Urban Turban", which recreates Bombay street food.  Delicious.

On our way home we stopped by Mount Eden, one of the many volcamos that make up the New Zealand landscape.  Behind Chris is a huge crater, which was once the opening of the volcano.  In the distance is downtown Auckland with the sky tower overlooking the city.

Auckland is a massive, sprawling city, and these volcanos provide great views.