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TRIP TO NEW ZEALAND

Auckland is an attractive city of 1.5 million people, centred on an isthmus between its two harbours that is

only 2 km wide at its narrowest point. It was founded in 1840 and served as the capital of the colony for 25

years. It is still the largest city in New Zealand and the commercial capital of the country.

The city centre is on Waitemana Harbour, which opens onto the Hauraki Gulf. (Manukau Harbour on the

western side is only suitable for fishing.) The tower is the site of the Sky City casino; the picture (not mine)

was taken from the north side of the harbour.

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The Auckland region has some 50 volcanic formations – some of which are hills like Mount Eden (below);

others are islands or lakes; and a few have been quarried out of existence.

When we came through the airport, there was an ornate Maori archway that we walked through to the tune of

native music. (That’s Valerie on the right.)

Only because our secretary found a last-minute deal while he was booking our accommodation, we finished

up staying in a truly palatial hotel in the city centre. Our rooms were similarly big and had king-size beds;

plus there was a swimming pool, spa and gymnasium for those who were interested.

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One couple we were with were interested in that but there were other attractions on the ground floor, such as

the chandeliers and the bar. The latter was just barely affordable but definitely not the restaurant. (Actually,

we found food and drinks a bit expensive everywhere, even making allowance for the 10% exchange rate in

our favour. One reason is the 15% GST – as opposed to 10% in Australia) – and another is that they only sell

drinks like beer in pints and half-pints.)

The first day of the conference was held at the historic Ferndale House on Mount Albert.

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It was quite nice inside and had spacious grounds, as well. It was here that we heard the four keynote

speakers, two of whom were from overseas: Rev. Bill Darlison, President of the UK General Assembly of

Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, and Rev. Eric Cherry, Director of the UUA International Office. (I

had met the latter last year at the ICUU Council Meeting in the Philippines.) There was a fancy dinner there

in the evening, which the non-attending ladies in our group came to.

The Sunday morning started with a service at the Auckland Unitarian Church, which 112 years old and made

of kauri pine heartwood.

Inside, it has a huge old organ so priceless that they can’t afford to insure it.

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Of course, there were many people there whom we already knew from previous Conferences, and I also met

a few people who have written articles for my Quest magazine. There were representatives from groups in

Adelaide, Blenheim (NZ), Brisbane, Canberra, Christchurch, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney; also an

American couple that like to visit the region every two years.

In my spare time, I had been checking out some of the Irish pubs in Auckland, two of which were smallish

and cozy. This is the Shannon Inn, which I found in the Newmarket shopping district.

But the biggest and fanciest Irish pub, the Doolan Brothers Hotel, is also in Newmarket and we found it quite

by accident.

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The conference ended at midday on the Monday but most of our party planned to stay for a few days of

touring. So, we grabbed our luggage and headed for the main ferry terminal at the bottom of Queen Street,

which is also the main shopping district. We had lunch in a place called Botswana Butchery (note the

distinctive door handles!).

From there, it was only a 40-minute ferry ride to the island of Waiheke, in the Hauraki Gulf.

The eastern third of the island is a nature reserve but elsewhere there is plenty of housing and even some

industry. From the regularity of the ferry and bus services, I assume that many of the residents commute to

work in Auckland. We stayed in a lovely beach apartment at Onetangi which, contrary to the map, is at the

end of the easternmost road.

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While the beach was long and quite nice, there was nothing else there except a café-restaurant, so we spent

the next day riding the various bus routes. By far the best place was the main town, Oneroa, which has a

half-dozen restaurants and a nice bar overlooking the harbour.

The gardens along the main street were truly impressive.

I should mention that our companions were Michael Spicer (church secretary), Nadia Repin (treasurer and

his partner) and Peter Crawford (vice-president). They like to do a lot of hiking, so we left them to it – only

to keep running into them in one place or another through the day. It was a lovely relaxing place and I even

found a suitably rustic Irish pub in the middle of the island!

But Peter had booked to go home on the Wednesday and the other couple wanted to go to Rotorua, a

volcanic area like Yellowstone National Park. So, we all went back to Auckland, where Valerie and I stayed

in a motel on the side of Newmarket nearest the airport.

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That only left us with the afternoon for any more sightseeing, so we went to the Sky City casino. (While it is

said that most pubs in New Zealand have poker machines, we hadn’t seen any.) We found all manner of

machines, roulette tables, etc. in the hotel-cum-conference centre, I would guess that any gambling in the

tower is reserved for ‘high rollers’ – quite literally!

That evening, we went to the Doolan Brothers pub and had dinner in one of the many (mostly Asian)

restaurants in that area. In the morning, we only had time for a quick bit of souvenir shopping in Queen

Street before we went to the airport.

So, that was our holiday and I was just pleased that Valerie enjoyed it so much. We’d be happy to go there

again and see more of that beautiful country.