The Auckland Sun - Night 46

For my first full day in New Zealand I was

greeted with a cloudless sky and a light westerly wind. To honor such an occasion I took a brief jog through Albert Park in the morning. After repacking my bag (post customs boot-removal incident) and doing some laundry I climbed the hill up the Auckland Museum. The museum, which is advertised on the outside as a War Memorial Museum, has three floors of exhibits, all seemingly unrelated. The first floor was composed of Maori history and artifacts, the second of the natural history of New Zealand and the third being the War Memorial. They also had a special Charles Darwin exhibit on the first floor that I truly desired to see, though I couldn’t justify spending coughing up the $15 entrance fee to this one small room (the rest of the Museum was free, though I had to pay $1 to check my backpack.)

After a short stop back the YHA, I walked toward the harbor taking a minor detour to the Magic Bus headquarters in order to confirm tomorrow’s booking. Much to my utter dismay I was delayed enroute by the Santa Parade. Downtown Auckland had become 18 linear blocks of bands, crying children, police cars, clowns, grown men dressed as elves and parents with reindeer horns on their heads. At every corner volunteers where handing out brochures and these strange pizza flavored vegetable treats. I had no desire to try them (having just eaten and trying to cull as many processed foods from my diet as possible) until I heard a small girl of about seven protest violently at her mother when she was trying to give her a bag. “but mom, these taste terrible.” I was sold. Fuck it, I thought, can they really be that bad that a seven year old wouldn’t take a free bag of them? The answer is:…..Yes, they are. The taste is something between a stale potato chip and piss warm Earl Grey tea. I threw the rest of the bag away. I walked along the port for a bit and stopped at a grocery store to stock up for breakfast on the way home.

The World's Greatest Burgers

On yesterday’s bus ride into the city I saw what I thought to be a sign for a restaurant called Burger Wisconsin. This evening I set out on mission to find it. Luckily I recall it being near Mt. Eden so not only would I have a high point to aim for but I could also climb the mountain (actually just a large hill, a volcanic remnant of some millions of years ago) while in this part of town. About an hour and three miles later I found the place. Why not take the bus you ask? Because that would not have been a proper pilgrimage. I wanted to suffer a little bit for my piece of Midwest culture. The large red sign says “Burger Wisconsin: Home of the world’s best burgers.” Inside was a sign explaining the origin of the hamburger in good old Seymour, Wisconsin. To read the complete story see their website at www.burgerwisconsin.co.nz. It turns out the place is a chain over here, so being that I didn’t eat at this one, I will most certainly be stopping at their Wellington location sometime next month.

The short hike up Mt. Eden, or Maungawhau

White Mountain from Mt. Eden

as the native know it as, was much easier than it looks from the bottom. The views are spectacular, offering a 360 degree panorama of the Auckland region. Surprisingly the entire mountain is fenced and cattle roam freely on it. I was a bit shocked at first, but then again, why not. This way they never have to mow it and the grass is continually fertilized.

What I Learned Today: Much like the symbiotic cattle/park relationship mentioned above, the people of New Zealand just seem to “get it” when it comes to environmental stewardship. Lights turn off automatically, small little reminders are everywhere reminding you to recycle, turn off the faucet, etc. While the “Green” craze is reaching a sort of fad, or pop culture, level in the U.S., it just seems to be a way of life over here. Perhaps when you live on an island you better understand the fact that supply of natural resource, though vast, are not unlimited.

The City from Mt. Eden

The Auckland Sun - Night 46

Auckland, New Zealand