Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Park | Auckland Travel Blog

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 12

Before heading to Auckland Harbour, I had brief stopover at the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Park. Michael Joseph Savage was one of New Zealand's best-loved Prime Ministers. He was the 23rd Prime Minister and the 1st Prime Minister from the Labour Party.

Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Park offers the best panoramic views of the city and harbour. This park feels like a place of serenity, tranquility, and splendour with the picturesque view of Auckland and ocean in the background.

There are formal gardens, a sunken pond, and a memorial in the park. The memorial was built around the grave where Savage was buried on the headland inside a historic gun bunker.

My stay was short at the park, but it was enough to learn more about New Zealand and appreciate the tranquility and grandeur of beauty the park had to offer in the middle of Auckland.

Auckland Harbour Cruise

Although Waitemata Harbour is the real name, it’s simply known as Auckland Harbour. Waitemata means sparkling waters in the Maori language. Numerous islands dot the harbour and lots of sailing boats make it obvious why Auckland is called the City of Sails.

I was given instructions where to catch the cruise ship. I had some free time and was able to capture some pictures of Auckland Harbour in the downtown area. I also met some tourists who were in my group and had a chance to talk to some of them. Some of the travelers were retired couples from different parts of the world and they were enjoying their time off traveling around the globe.

We were approached by a tour guide who was supposed to get our cruise tickets. Once he confirmed that we were the right people, he showed us the ticket counter to get our tickets to board the ship. I didn’t have to pay for the ticket because this was an all-inclusive tour.

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 1

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 2

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 3

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 4

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 5

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 6

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 7

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 8

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 9

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 10

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 11

A Walk in the Parnell Village | Auckland Travel Blog

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 11

Parnell is an upscale suburb or village in Auckland, known for being one of the New Zealand’s most affluent neighborhoods. Parnell is Auckland’s oldest neighborhood and has lots of specialty and antique shops, pubs, cafes, and restaurants.

If you walk down further south, you will hit the eternally-bursting New Market, which is a suburb known as the fashion and trend capital of New Zealand.

I was walking along Parnell roads and grabbed a coffee and a cake. I saw also lots of galleries, souvenir shops, chocolate boutique shops, restaurants, and small cafes as well. Walking down the road also gives you a nice view of the ocean.

Parnell village looked to me like an English country town straight from a history book, albeit with a modern touch. There are lots of side lanes that can be explored and it has lots of stores, each with its own charm.

After Parnell village, I boarded the tour bus and our next destination was the Auckland War Memorial Museum in Auckland Domain. However, we would only pass by the Museum and no sightseeing was on our itinerary.

The Auckland War Memorial Museum showcases New Zealand’s natural and military history, especially the history of the Auckland region. The building itself is also very historic. It is one of the most iconic buildings in Auckland, constructed in the neo-classical style in 1852 and built on the remains of a dormant volcano.

My next destination would be the Cruise around Waitemata Harbour with a short stop at Rangitoto Island from Auckland harbour.

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 1

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 2

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 3

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 4

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 5

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 6

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 7

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 8

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 9

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 10

Auckland City Highlights Tour | New Zealand Travel Blog

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 10

After returning to my hotel last night (Part 9), I was too tired to wander around downtown near my hotel. I instead grabbed a quick combo at the Burger King next door. New Zealand is unlike Australia in that they keep the Burger King name; in Australia, Burger King is called Hungry Jack. It’s surprising how fast food chain restaurants can give you the same feeling in a foreign country as when you are dining in your hometown.

The name of my tour was Auckland City Highlights Tour with Harbour Cruise and Sky Tower Admission. Basically, this tour shows the main tourist attractions in Auckland, a boat cruise, and ends up at the Sky Tower.

The total tour lasts 5 hours. Sightseeing on the bus goes for 2.5 hours and the boat cruise which starts from Waitemata Harbour or simply Auckland Harbour in downtown runs for 1.5 hours. Finally, the tour company will bring you to the Sky Tower and from there you are on your own.

The tour starts by passing on Queen Street, which cuts through the main downtown business and shopping district known as the 'Golden Mile'. Then the tour bus passes the old buildings that date back to the 1880s, New Zealand’s largest university, and modern high-rise skyscrapers.

I also passed by Auckland Harbour and Auckland Harbour Bridge. There was a short photo opportunity stop overlooking the marina from the Harbour Bridge. I noticed 2 old and rusty gigantic iron wheels which provided very nice photo opportunities. Almost everyone on the tour bus wanted to take pictures with those wheels.

Next stop would be Parnell Road, where I will have time to wander around on my own for 15 minutes and have my coffee.

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 1

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 2

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 3

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 4

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 5

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 6

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 7

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 8

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 9

Inside The Waitomo Glowworm Caves | New Zealand Travel

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 9

Once I reached the waiting area before the entrance to the Glowworm caves in Waitomo, I lined up and waited with my group to enter the caves. There was a slight delay because the group before us had to finish before we entered.

The tour guides, all of them, looked like students but they all knew their stuff and were very well organised. After waiting about 20 minutes, it was our turn to enter the caves. What made me unhappy was that no sort of photo or video was allowed inside the caves. Not even without flash or with a video camera. They were selling their own high-priced photos inside, which I decided to not take advantage of.

The caves were cold and dark. There were lights to see the whole place and it was divided into sections. The ceilings were wet and the walls had water or moisture dripping. The limestone pillars and columns were wet too and their weird straight, bent, or twisted shapes felt like miracles of nature.

It felt unreal to see something that nature created in 30 million years, but could be broken by humans in seconds. And in many parts in the world, sites like these are not well preserved and humans are always destroying them.

To see the glowing of the caves, all lights had to be turned off and then another miracle unfolded. It felt like thousands of tiny lamps placed inside these rocks making them glow. The luminescent light these worms radiate is really fascinating.

We moved further underground where there was a jetty-like platform and there were cables and boats to ride and watch the glow from an even closer angle. While riding the boat on the underground Waitomo River, it felt like I was looking at a sky of living lights created by these tiny glowworms.

Tour guides used cables to hold and push the boat forward very slowly. The boat ride was not too long, but the experience was full of excitement and it felt like everyone forgot to breathe while trying to grasp the beauty of nature.

Once we made it to the meeting point outside, we went back to our tour bus. There was still about 15 minutes before the bus left for Auckland, so I took this opportunity to shoot some videos and pictures in front of the reception area.

This was the last item on the itinerary for that day. I will be heading back to Auckland from here, which will be approximately 2.5 to 3 hours on the tour coach.

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 1

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 2

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 3

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 4

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 5

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 6

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 7

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 8

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves | Waitomo, New Zealand

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 8

From Te Puia to Waitomo is about a 1 hour-50 minute drive. I was watching the scenery pass by out the window from the tour bus and the natural beauty of New Zealand felt like I was watching something from a movie. Sometimes I felt like I was having a dream because everything can’t be so unimaginably beautiful.

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves are located in Waitomo District, Waikato Region, North Island. If you are visiting New Zealand, these caves should be one of the must-see spots.

These caves glow because of a kind of glow warm called Arachnocampa luminosa. These glowing worms are unique to New Zealand and their luminescent light is what makes the caves glow. These caves are underground and connected to the Waitomo River.

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves withstand the test of time. It took 30 million years of geological and volcanic activity to create these caves. The limestone formation started when the area was under water 30 million years ago.

The limestone is made of small marine organisms, seashells, fish and other sea animal skeletons, corals, and much more. Over millions of years, the fossilized rocks layered and compressed to create the Waitomo region.

Earth movement and sea level rise formed these caves. Air exposure and seabed movement caused cracks in the limestone, allowing water to flow through them and forming the caves slowly over time.

Also, water dripping from the ceiling and dripping over the wall caused limestone to form something like pillars and columns. These pillars can be straight, bent, twisted around each other and so many other peculiar shapes that it’s hard to believe they can all be created by earth and ocean elements without human intervention.

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 1

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 2

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 3

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 4

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 5

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 6

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 7