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 So off we went to climb a volcano somewhere. But first, on our way to the volcano, we were going to make another stop. We passed by this well-known "landmark" (0:17) as we headed to see the Auckland Harbor Bridge up close. |
 Not as beautiful or majestic as the the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the Auckland Harbor Bridge spans the harbor, joining Saint Marys (sic) Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote on the North Shore side, but without walking or bicycle lanes (considered a big oversight in its construction). We took a few pictures, our guide took this one of us, and Teresa took this windy one of us with our guide (by the way, he said his name was "Chewie"), then, we got back on the road to the volcano. |
 Maungawhau, or Mt. Eden in English, is a cone and Tūpuna Maunga the historical, spiritual, ancestral and cultural identity of the the Māori tribes of Auckland |
 A boardwalk led the way up - I had to stop and rest occasionally - but we finally made it up the final set of stairs (there were a lot of stairs!) all the way to the top! "The summit, at 643' (196 meters) above sea level, is the highest natural point on the Auckland isthmus. The majestic bowl-like crater is 160' (50 meters) deep. The volcano erupted from three craters 28,000 years ago, with the last eruptions from the southern crater filling the northern craters" (From Wikipedia). |
 Behind us in this picture is the scoria cone of the now (and long) sleeping volcano. From here I got a good view of the boardwalk and Auckland in the distance. This was an exhausting and somewhat painful climb for me, but I was glad I did it! |
 On the way down, we were able to follow this road for a while, viewing the cone from the other side, then continuing all the way down to meet up with Teresa, Steve, and our driver. |
 So we drove through the city, arriving at the airport around 2:30, plenty of time before our 7:45 flight. We got our luggage from the van, said goodbye to our guide, and... |
 ...headed into the Auckland Airport terminal to check in. Check in, including checking in our luggage and going through security, went pretty smoothly for us, and so it was time to tend to our number one priority, ... |
 ...lunch! It was around 3:00, and we hadn't had anything since breakfast (other than the chips our tour guide provided for us), so we found a food court and an Asian food vendor. (Everyone was missing a good bowl of noodles or any kind of Chinese food really.) Mei-O and I got these; about US$26 (for both), and they were really good. |
 So now it was time to just sit around the airport and wait at our gate for our Air New Zealand flight 28 to board.... |
 At 7:30, Mei-O and I were onboard, the first to board, and ready to begin the 13½ hour flight to Houston, Texas, where we'd have an almost 6-hour layover. |
 And this, in the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, is the very last picture I have from our incredible, 18-day journey to the other side of the world. As I am creating this website looking back on it all, it all seems like a dream. A final note: Mei-O and I both came home with COVID, both pretty sick with very bad coughs, but no fever. Like most cases nowadays, within a week it was gone. Here are a few more comments about our return. Miscellaneous Pictures Top |
