I think the whole of New Zealand finally has a taste of Summer. There has been a rumour here that if the red Pohutukawa flowers come out befere Christmas then that means we will have a good Summer season. This tree is known as the country's official iconic Christmas tree.
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While driving through Auckland city over the weekend we drove around trying to find this giant Christmas tree in Downtown Square near Britomart train station.
And on the other side of the square these Christmas balls - the same as you would put on your tree but alot bigger in size.
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I nthe heart of Devonport in Auckland is this little block of businesses. In my younger days I worked in this suburb as a legal typist for lawyers and to see it now as it is, it's made many changes over the years. This building is surrounded by older style buildings in the main street with businesses such as shoe shops, clothing shops, professionals, cafes, bars, restaurants etc. It's a very upmarket suburb with quite expensive houses along the waterfront. Vondel in the above photo is a restaurant but upon looking up their website, there wasn't alot of information about who they are.
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We are away in Auckland this week and will be back in 3 days so I will leave you with this photo I took outside my work a few weeks ago of a car at one of the 2 charging meters in the parking lot. EV cars seem to be getting more popular these days. In the background is Woolworths Supermarket that use to be named Countdown. Edited to add; this photo was taken around 7am just before I started work one morning so hardly anyone around.
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If you're a Kiwi you'll know this icon in Auckland City. It's the central fire station which sits at the top of Pitt Street. Many times over the years I've drive past this building and wondered about it's history.
Apparently it first opened on July 3rd 1902. In 1933 officers were first issued with uniforms and in 1939 after WW2 started there was the start of proper procedures, emergency drills and lessons. These days it's a very busy station still in use while travelling throughout the city.
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One taken about 6 years ago when we lived in Mount Maunganui - so nice to see people laughing and having fun.
It's been a busy week here as Christmas is getting nearer. My work started playing seasonal songs about 3 weeks ago - way too early for my liking but it's incredible sometimes to see what people spend their money on - it's mind boggling to see how much debt they go into at this time of year....and sad. I read last night that one of my favourite pie companies (Maketu Pies) are going into liquidation. Kiwis LOVE their pies and I don't mean the sweet kind. We love savoury pies usually filled with such foods as mince and cheese, or steak and mushroom but my favourite is either mussel pie or seafood pie.
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One from the archives when we lived in Tauranga, I think this was from when I was working in the city but living in Mount Maunganui. It was the sort of time frame if you didn't leave work by 2pm then you'd get stuck in gridlock traffic for over an hour considering it normally was a 15 minute drive home. Drivers were very aggressive.
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| Photo taken outside my work |
I quite often see vintage cars around town and in fact there are car shows that the owners get together and host once in a while, last one I attended was a gold coin entry last Autumn.
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| Taken at the supermarket in Hokitika |
There are major supermarket chains here in New Zealand. The main ones are Woolworths, New World and Pak n Save (the last one is cheaper than the rest because you pack your own groceries). The minor ones are Fresh Choice or Super Value or Four Square. Depending on where you live is what supermarket you have. If you're in the city you might have access to multiple ones, if you live in a small town you might have one or two to choose from. The one in this photo is New World in Hokitika and it's actually a nice place to visit compared the one in my town.
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| A spring day in Hokitika |
At last we have some regular sunshine. Spring has been very wet for the whole country but now that we are nearly into Summer it's starting to fine up. There has been alot of action here and people are in the process of marching to parliament as the government is trying to change The Treaty of Waitangi which is the country's original legislation of the partnership between Maori and the British during the first days of colonization. Many people, and rightfully so are up in arms about it. Personally I am tired of rich white people running the country into the ground. We need a positive change here but the next lot of general elections aren't until 2026..
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In Parnell, on the outskirts of Auckland is this character building named "Park Drive". From what I could see online, it has been split up into apartments and being rented in what is now a very affluent wealthy suburb.
Apparently the building use to be named the "Arthur Eady Building" who was a music publisher in Auckland and judging by the information I've found about him, he owned quite a few businesses and buildings. There was something about his name in the back of my mind until I realized that in the 1970s and 1980s there was a music store in The Strand, Auckland City named after his younger brother Lewis Eady.
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| From the Whanganui Chronicle, 14th January 1923 |
I think the whole of New Zealand finally has a taste of Summer. There has been a rumour here that if the red Pohutukawa flowers come out b...
