A few days in Auckland.

On Tuesday I head to the Auckland Art Gallery. There’s an Olafur Eliasson exhibition title Your curious journey I want to check out. It’s been a while since I’ve seen his work in person.

I walk up to Victoria Street and then cross over to Lorne Street, surprised to find so many Asian eateries. Passing Sue’s Dim Sum I see pan fried pork bao on the menu and make a note to come back for lunch.

I climb the stairs at Khartoum Place and pause to admire a mural painted in honor of the centenary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand. It’s been surprisingly controversial, as a few bids have been made to remove it. But in 2011 the Auckland City Council voted to protect the memorial in perpetuity.

The Auckland Art Gallery meets me at the top of the stairs and I cross the street to go inside. I make my way immediately to the Eliasson exhibit. My favorites are Still River, made with ice from a nearby river, and Moss Wall, composed of reindeer moss woven into a mesh. I continue to love how his work engages with time and decay.

I take the rest of the morning to explore the museum. It’s a welcoming space; the museum isn’t so large as to be overpowering, in some ways it’s almost the perfect size for the time I have. In addition to surveys of European art, there’s work by local artists and Maori. In one gallery, I’m particularly taken by Peter Robinson’s Ritual and Formation, and spend a moment deciphering a code of my own invention woven into the work.

Exiting the museum I wander through Albert Park. It’s begun to rain and I turn up my collar against the elements.

A huge tree grows alongside the path to the street. I love its trunk and sinewy branches, growing as if one half of the tree leans away from the other. They look like two dancers, frozen in time.

At the entrance to the park I encounter Chris Booth’s Gateway, a large sculpture made from boulders and stones stacked up as high as the trees, assembled from the landscape around where it’s been installed. I almost miss it for how it blends into the scene around it.

On my last day in Auckland I walk again through Albert Park, this time crossing to its other side where the University of Auckland sits. I’ve made dinner reservations at Tala, where chef Henry Onesemo has created a menu showcasing traditional Samoan cuisine through a contemporary lens.

I’m greeted by Chef Onesemo working behind the counter where I’m seated. He’s preparing a chicken that he buries under coals. It’s to be our main dish, his take on umu chicken.

We talk about the States, where he spent some time and his journey to Auckland and the restaurant. Dinner is a fantastic experience, as chef introduces each dish, linking it back to its inspiration. We finish with dessert and coffee seated in the dining room after finishing up at the chef’s counter.

I walk back the way I came, once more through Albert Park, which has become the centerplace of my explorations. I’ve spent a surprisingly little amount of time by the seafront, having visited only on my first and second days. There’s so much great food near me.

Walking out of the park back to the hotel, I pass close to the Sky Tower and make a last minute decision to head to the top for the view. It hasn’t been a priority for me, but now, on my last night in Auckland, it seems like the perfect thing to do.

I pay my entrance and take the elevator to the top. The sun is setting and the skies take on a dramatic hue. The bridge across the bay lights up with the last rays of the sun.

As I walk around the observation deck and illustration shows the tallest buildings int he world. On the far end the Burj Khalifa towers over them all. Closest to the Sky Tower are the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Fernsehturm in Berlin. New York’s Empire State Building edges them all out, to be superceded by Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl Tower.

I watch the sun set from atop the tower. It’s been a short trip to Auckland, but a rewarding one, and I’m glad to have made some time to visit. There’s definitely more to see and do in the area, and I add them a list I have running in my mind for when I return. 🇳🇿