Auckland, the City of Sails

New Zealand, described as the youngest country on earth...

its a strange phenomena, and Im not sure how it happens, but some places in the world have a quality....

Much as I did in Ayers Rock, I got off the airoplane in auckland, so called the city of sails because more people here than anywhere in the world have boats, with a smile on my face...

It was dark, and I could see nothing of the city, and still, I smiled...

The home of my childhood heroine, I feel like everywhere I go, I am walking in her footsteps, and so I feel safe.

I am staying in a place next door to what I believed was the only orthodox synagogue in the city, so I went in on friday, the day after I arrived, to make sure I would be able to attend the services. A south african, who now lives here, told me that people come to new zealand when they want to get away from the hectic life of the rest of the world... people are pretty easy going, crime is low, and the city is a pretty safe one...

While the Brits sent the convivts to Australia, they sent the middle class to new zealand.  And when faced with rain forest, they had to work together to make the land habitable... men and women were treated as equals, which has made new zealnad a leader in womens rights, and equality... even the whites and the local mauris agreed to live here as equals...

I spent friday afternoon looking out at the city from the Sky Tower, the tallest building in the southern hemisphere, so high that it would take 24 minutes to climb the over a thousand stairs... luckily there was a lift!!!

 I had a wuick whisk round the Auckland museum before heading back to prepare for what was a very quiet and peaceful sabbath...

On sunday, today, I did a tour to Piha beach, which, because of the iron, from the volcano there, has black sand.

we then walked through the rainforest, full of silver ferns, and kauru trees, the oldest of which (which I did not see, as it further north), is 2000 yrs old, 50 metres tall and 18 metres in diameter... I saw trees half this tall, and they were impressive to look at, so that one must be beyond words...

We climbed the rain forest path to the top of the waterfall, where I was encouraged to go swimming... because I am that crazy, I did... in the freezing water, on a cool day...It was actually quite invigorating.. although I was pleased to get dressed again afterwards!!

and so ended my few days in auckland, before I head north to do this horse riding course for the next few days... now we'll see how crazy I really am, and how well my legs can survive this of all experiences....

more from the other side of what may be agony!