Auckland!! Where A Book?

Auckland, What a city! It is what I call a book lovers dream; it has a lot of independent bookstores if you look hard enough. So far, I have fallen in love with 3 of them.

The first being one that Is in the heart of Mount Eden , open 9-9 everyday including the weekends, with a great selection and it’s shelves filled with books, and even has a great loyalty system. It even sits near a great coffee shop, which is open from 6am till very late in the evening. It is one of the small gems that inhabit the inner city.

The second book store is one that was recommended to me by a friend at work, she said that it has such a large selection of books and is stacked from floor to ceiling with books, and boy was she right!!! This book shop, I take two trains to get too as it lives in an area of Auckland called Onehunga, and the name being ‘Hard to Find’ and no the shop isn’t hard to find, but It does have loads of selection that the big stores like Whitcholls or Paper Plus don’t have and it is like a Tardis, it seems small on the outside but is so much bigger on the inside and is wonderful and magical. There is the bottom floor, and there are two top floor sections and you could easily spend hours in there. There will always be a place in my heart for this store.

The third store being somewhat amazing, its name… Bookmark, and what a name that its. Bookmark lives on the main street of Devonport; it has a feeling of adventure to get there, crossing the ferry from the city to this store, which has so many choices and beautifully bound books, and dose of fresh air, mixed with that special aroma that comes from books. This book store becomes a part of your soul and once you leave you feel like you are leaving somewhere that you wish you could stay forever, but once you are outside you are just a few steps away from the water and the ferry, and even if you sit near the water to read or on the way back to the city on the ferry, you feel way more alive.

These three bookstores are only some of the many that lie within Auckland, so go out and explore, who knows what you will find or where you will end up. 

Jimmy Carr (Bucket List: Comedy Show)

Oh what a night it was! Just being able to watch how perform was priceless, and to hear that famous laugh of his was perfection. Jimmy Carr is a wonderful comedian. He is definitely a man to see.

What made the night more perfect, was being able to meet him and get his signature after the show. 

The comedy was gold, the evening great this is an evening I will remember forever.

Jumping off the Auckland Sky Tower (Bucket List)

What a magical feeling, knowing that I have not only completed something on my bucket list but I have jumped off the Auckland sky tower. This morning I was full of nerves, excitement, fear and uneasiness; now full of amazement that I have completed the jump.

Heading toward the Sky tower, I wasn’t that nervous but it was there, I felt somewhat calm. It wasn’t until I was in the jumping gear, and in the elevator the nerves finally hit, heading all the way up to 650ft (192m) just to have yourself jump off all the way down, I was determined to stop my fear of heights and do something that I would never do normally, and this was extremely outside my comfort zone! At the top in the jumping lounge the view out was nice, but the look down felt threatening.

After the few in front it was my turn to jump and getting myself to the edge was hard and even though I knew I was strapped in tightly with my harness and the actual bungee, I felt as though something horrible could happen. Once I was holding the sides seconds before I jump and I feel my heart racing fast, I was scared to look down and I was scared to jump; so when I was told to jump I thought I was going to freeze but I just felt myself jumping like my mind was a few seconds behind the moment and then there was the fall, something new, something frightening, yet quite exquisite.  The landing wasn’t so gracious at all but I was glad I had my feet on solid ground. I was so shocked that I had done it.

It had been a thrilling event, now that it was over and out of the jumpsuit and harness and had been given the chance to head up to the observation lounges, which was something else but going up the elevator the second time wasn’t as bad, up at the top observation deck, it was nice just to look over Auckland, the view was simply superb.

Now the event is over and I am never going to forget this amazing opportunity that I was given, it was something tat I thought I could never do, but now that I know I can do that, nothing can stop me now…..

Auckland Museum (Bucket List)

Overall Experience

The Auckland Museum was and is such a beautiful place, the way that it has been set up with the historical past it holds, which ranges from early New Zealand history (including Māori history and Māori law) to the two world wars to the oceans and volcanic history and much more. It was an amazing experience.

Points of interest

The Holocaust Room

This was a room personally dedicated to the Holocaust with pieces personally donated to the museum so that others can remember and never forget what happened. It was a monument that touched my heart to see. To see photos of some who were lost and some who had survived the horrible ordeal that had immigrated to New Zealand after later on to start fresh. This room is a great way to remember and to make sure that it never happens again.

The Mitsubishi A6M3 Model 22 “Zero” and The Spitfire planes

Seeing such planes that have been used in battle restored to a great condition were absolutely exquisite and just being in their mere presence was breath-taking.

7A Puia Street

This was an interactive section to do with volcanic eruptions; it is what would happen if you were at home at Auckland’s waterfront if a new volcano erupted. The effects of a powerful eruption would also cause quakes and most likely a tsunami. It was a good interactive experience and one that shows the power of a volcano and provides the necessary measures one should take in such measures.

Visiting the Museum

The museum is located in the heart of the Auckland Domain in the Cities CBD/Parnell suburb and is a great place to visit and is free to Auckland residents and their tours are quite frequent. I highly recommend all to go. For More information visit http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/