Mt Eden

Last week Eric and I went and climbed Mt. Eden. (If you want to learn more about Mt Eden's formation and history, visit http://www.arc.govt.nz/volcanoes)

From a distance, it looks quite small. However it is 196m (643ft) high and the views from the top are spectacular.










Look at the people in the background to get an idea of the size of the crater.




We're not sure who takes care of the cows but they're free to roam around.


As we walked down they followed ...

Foggy Mission Bay

Last week we took advantage of the sunny weather and took a day trip to Mission Bay in East Auckland. We continue to be inspired by the beautiful scenery. It was a very foggy day, which made the city and scenery look like a dream.




This photo is taken from the beach, looking back toward the shops and cafes that line Tamaki Drive.


From the beach we walked up a hill and found the M J Savage Memorial Park.


This is a memorial dedicated to the first Labor Prime Minister (Michael J. Savage).




The views of the city from the Memorial were spectacular.


You can see Rangitoto, which is the largest and youngest of the volcano cones around Auckland, in the background.


We decided to walk back to the city center along Tamaki drive, which is very scenic. This pier was along the way, and had several people fishing at the end.


This is a view of the city from the pier.

NZ-centric worldview.

It sucks you in...

Sorry we haven't been posting much. It's partly due to getting settled in and receiving our stuff from the states. It's also the fact that we're so overcome with just how beautiful it is right here in the neighborhood that we've been having fun on the deck, watching the varieties of colorful birds in the yard, making various vegan recipies with the local fresh ingredients, searching out the parks and reserves within walking distance, etc.

There is a beautiful reserve 2 houses down on our street. The stream that runs behind our house gets bigger there, and its just gorgeous - looks like the middle of the jungle.. well it's the fringes of a rainforest.

Life is great.