Category Archives: Travel

TravelBlogue/Auckland: Heading home

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We spent our final day in Auckland taking it easy.

After breakfast, we st around for a bit and then wandered back to the Auckland Art Gallery. I spent some time in the gallery of Maori portraits from the late 19th and early 20th century. They tell a story of resistance and conquest, quite different from the history of Hawaii.

Then we had a quick lunch at the museum cafe before returning to our hotel in order to catch part of a weekly Zoom call with friends from our years at Whitman College many decades ago. So those participating in today’s call were spread from Auckland to Portland, Seattle, and New York City.

At this point, we’re ready to get home and surprise the cats. It’s Wednesday night in Auckland, and we’re due to arrive in Honolulu early Wednesday morning. Kind of a Groundhog Day experience.

All in all, it has been an enjoyable visit. Good weather with the exception of a single day. This is our second year in a row that we visited about the same time of year. This could get to be a habit, although one of these trips is going to have to extend to Wellington or down to the South Island.

In any case, we’re now waiting in the Air New Zealand lounge for our late night flight back to Honolulu. Lots of food and drink to get us through the wait!

TravelBlogue/Auckland: Day 8 Shopping

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Directly across the street from our hotel is the scene of a disputed historic building caught in the tension between historic preservation and redevelopment. It’s the first thing you see when walking out the hotel onto Albert Street.

Link House was of three adjacent buildings once considered together for historic preservation purposes. The neighboring Yates Building was demolished several years ago, although the planned building slated to be built has not materialized.

This is Google’s AI Overview:

“Link House,” located at 15 Albert Street in Auckland, has a history of neglect and deterioration. Originally the home of Henry Berry & Coy, salt merchants, the building is now an “eyesore” with graffiti, broken windows, and loose plaster, according to a 2010 news article, NZ Herald. It has been unoccupied for 15 years and suffered from vandalism and damage from squatters. The building’s condition has been a point of contention, with some advocating for its heritage status and others pushing for demolition and redevelopment.

On Monday, we wandered around the central business district again. First stop was Commercial Bay, a large mall that fills most of a city block including a large food court featuring a wide variety of cuisines, restaurants and lots of shops on several floors of a high rise building just down the block from our hotel. One side faces the harbor. The mall connects through a walkway on the second floor to another building across the street, where other restaurants await.

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TravelBlogue/Auckland: Days 6 & 7-Family

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We spent much of the weekend socializing with several of my Lind cousins. We were shepherded around for several days by cousin Brad and his wife, Sapi.

On Saturday, we headed to the home of another cousin, Pene Quin, in Manukau, about a 30-minute drive south of downtown Auckland. Pene is a complete and total animal person, supported by her husband, Richard, a retired engineer.

Their talking mynah is named “Morris.” If you know your old cars, you’ll get the joke. They recently added two Pappilon puppies to the household, joining Pebbles, who looks like she could be their mother. Pene has been a star volunteer at the Auckland Zoo for over 23 years.

Rick brewed up some killer coffee (“this will grow hair on your teeth,” he warned), while we ooh’d and ah’d over the puppies, Pene’s art work on display, and their beautiful home.

Then it was off for lunch at Pepper Jack’s Cafe in the Pine Harbor Marina, where their boat, the Lady P, is moored. It’s currently for sale, but there are tough economic headwinds, so it might take a while to find a buyer.

Sunday was another family day, this time hosted by Brad’s mother, Gaewyn. Her home is in the Massey district of West Auckland, the opposite direction from where we were on Saturday. The house has a wonderful view overlooking a large public park.

Gae retired from a career in catering, and it showed in the tasty spread she served up for lunch on her deck overlooking the adjacent park.

We had all met before. We first met Pene and Rick in 2012 after my late sister, Bonnie, tracked her down through meticulous genealogical research. And we just met Brad, Sapi, and Gaewyn, and two other cousins, when we visited Auckland a year ago.

It’s felt good to see a bit more of the Auckland area, deepen these family ties and learn more details about the history of this New Zealand wing of the Lind family.

Our flight home departs late Wednesday evening but arrives in Honolulu early Wednesday morning, courtesy of the International Dateline.

TravelBlogue/Auckland: Day 5, Art

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The Auckland Art Gallery is one of our favorites. There is no admission for their general collection, but international visitors have an entry fee to see any special exhibits, such as the current “A Century of Modern Art” featuring highlights of the Toledo Museum of Art’s collection. We opted to stay with the free tier, which was plenty.

It’s not a huge museum, but its collections range from a wonderful collection of 19th century Maori portraits, drawings and paintings from the era of Captain Cook, to recent modern interpretations, traveling exhibits, and much more. Oh, and an excellent little cafe.

Here are a few photos to give you an idea of what’s awaiting at the Auckland Art Gallery.

Warning: I can’t figure out how to get these photos in the proper order, so you’ll have to figure it out!

We walked through a number of exhibits, then had lunch. And, after eating, I insisted on going upstairs to see the exhibition of works by New Zealand photographer Mark West, covering some 50 years with a camera.

So we took the elevator up to the 2nd floor and walked through the exhibit of fine photographs. At some point, we walked into an alcove and a series of photos of Samoan Tatao, traditional tattoos.

And half-way down a row of photos, cousin Brad’s wife, Sapi, exclaimed that several family members and friends were feature, including her father, uncle, and at least one cousin. It was a complete surprise to her! I have to get more specifics, but it was one of those once-in-a-million experiences, a regular museum visit suddenly escalated into a family affair!

I think we eventually spent nearly three hours at the museum, including our lunch.

And, after that, we took a little sightseeing drive that offered a number of different Auckland views before we were dropped off back at our hotel.

[I apologize in advance for the disarray in the photos. I just haven’t figure out how to get control of them when writing on my iPad. So it is what it is.]