Auckland, New Zealand

Imagine an urban environment where everyone lives within half an hour of beautiful beaches, hiking trails and a dozen enchanted holiday islands including Waiheke and Great Barrier Islands. Add a sunny climate, a background rhythm of Polynesian culture and a passion for outstanding food, wine and shopping – you’re beginning to get the picture of Auckland (Cited from Auckland Government Website)

Up to my travel to Auckland, I was thinking that New Zealand is very very close to Australia. I used to think that flying to New Zealand will only take one hour or so from Melbourne… However, on the day I went from Surabaya to Denpasar, then Denpasar to Brisbane, and Brisbane to Auckland,  I just realized that all of those images were definitely wrong! The travel time… ehm, took around 10 hours… 1 hour flight to Denpasar, plus 5 hours flight to Brisbane, and 3.5 hours to Auckland… plus 2 transit time in Denpasar and Brisbane…

My curiosity to explore new place was just getting stronger and stronger as Garuda flied accross the pacific ocean…. the water world for around 3.5 hours… and then, I saw New Zealand for the very first time. It was green, hilly, and gloomy… it was very cloudy, right in the middle of autumn ! Auckland International Airport is quite small, yet, it is very very nice one !… it looks like a sailing boat ! I knew it for once that Auckland declared itself as The CITY OF SAILS… you will get the first impression in the airport ! haha !

The wind breezed quite gracefully, sweeping down the leaves… and the colour of the leaves….green turning to yellow and red, gave you warm feeling in the heart ! It is very beautiful…and romantic ! Autumn in New Zealand, especially in Auckland is quite warm and light,  compared to Melbourne…  

…And the city’s landscape gave different taste itself. Auckland city central is very interesting. It is hilly and compact ! I loved walking from my hotel at the Quest, Auckland…in the Queen St in the uptown, down to the central and ended in the Auckland harbour… short walk yet interesting ! Normally, if you want to WALK only…down to the city center… it only takes you around 20-30 minutes…from the uptown…  However, you might be able to spend up to 5 hours if you stop by on every small yet nice store along the road !!

Walking to the downtown was very nice yet, you need to be careful of the wind…as the wind was getting stronger near the harbour. The harbour itself was nice and calm. When the wind were strong and chill, I preferred to take bus that took me circling round the city…enjoying the falling leaves…

 

 

 

Auckland itself has a landmark that is declared as the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. The SKY TOWER… located i the SKY CITY complex.

Reaching out the tallest building, I felt my adrenalin pumped ! I felt like walking airborne, yet I still had my feet in the floor ! It was a very beautiful sight, looking down the city thru the glass floor… (imagine my feeling walking ON the glass floor ), looking across the city and sea…., beautiful. Bless Me… for me being able to see one of the greatness of ALLAH SWT !

Nights in Auckland were not that cold as I imagined, haha… I even slept with the air conditioner on !! The average temperature was around 17 degree celcius… not bad yah ! The sight of the city at night was remarkable… sparkling and dazzling !.. Auckland is small yet very interesting to explore…. Out in the balcony, I saw an incredible night view of Auckland !

I went to the Auckland University of Technology to sit in the Master of Business Administration program… finding out how the teaching learning process is conducted in the program…

…as cited from AUT’s website…”AUT is New Zealand’s most contemporary university, with a unique profile reflecting our history and innovative approaches to teaching, learning and research”.