New Zealand 2010

A gallery of photos from my trip to New Zealand in 2010.

I probably won’t be doing a narrative travel blog for my 2010 trips to New Zealand. I went to Auckland to work for two weeks and ended-up living there for three months. Neither of those things was conducive to having a travel blog mind-set. So instead, I will select and publish a few photos (from the 5,000+ I took) that I think will give a well-rounded look at the kind of experiences I had there. I hope the photos give you a nice little peek at the very, very small part of New Zealand that I saw and with which I fell in love.

A young couple waits for the incoming ferry.

Daredevils in orange jump suits walk around the top of the Auckland’s Sky Tower, 192 meters above the ground.

The busy scene at Valentino’s Gelato, located in the Auckland Ferry Building. I discovered this place the first day I was in Auckland and I swore that I would have a cone every day. Thank God that I didn’t.

Some of the creamy selections from Valentino’s Gelato.

Auckland has more sailboats per capita than anywhere else in the world. Or so they say.

A Ferrari prowls Auckland’s CBD.

Seafood chowder at a beachside cafe on Waiheke Island.

A Waiheke vineyard accommodates a fluted boulder, remnant of a volcanic eruption which occurred seven million years ago.

The rocks? Olivine basaltic andesite, if you must know.

The Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant.

The ferry waiting to take us from Waiheke back to Auckland.

A Maori carving at the Auckland Museum.

Saturday afternoon cricket match in the park.

Bangers & Mash with a twist at Hallertau Brewbar and Restaurant. That’s kangaroo sausage, creamy mashed potato, and grilled vine tomato with a caramelized onion jus.

I washed the kangaroo down with the excellent beer sampler.

My roommate, Boon Tek, took this picture of me on the balcony of our apartment at Shed 24, next to the Hilton. Every night, we would have some wine, watch the always awesome sunsets, and then wander down the wharf for some food.

A sunset like this one, for instance.

A competitor runs towards the finish line after swimming across Auckland Harbour.

Hundreds of non-traditional Santas prepare for a 3K fun run through Viaduct Harbor to raise money for the KidsCan charity.

Victoria Park in downtown Auckland.

While out looking for dolphins and whales, we saw a lone boat that seemed to traverse a surreal place where the sea and the sky blended seamlessly together. I did not manipulate this photo in any way.