Land of the Long White Cloud: Devonport

Auckland City is great, and we like the hustle and bustle....sometimes. Other times Denise and I like the slower, fudge and ice cream beach town pace. That is why we went to Devonport. The great thing is that Devonport is just across the bay from the city. We spent the afternoon walking the main street, ducking in and out of various art galleries and boutique shops.

The Devonport peninsula is home to two volcanic caps, Mount Victoria and Hauraki. We walked around the perimeter and up to the summit of both to capture a great views of Rangitoto, the Auckland City skyline, and the small town of Devonport.

On Mount Victoria, we discovered this interesting sculpture just off the footpath (below to the right). There was no explanation of its significance, how it got there, or who the artist was, but it reminded me of Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture "The Thinker" with a bit of a Kiwi twist.

Anyway, he was a great discovery that most people I think pass up because it is located just off the foot path.

I got an extreme close up of his mug. Maybe not as inquisitive as "The Thinker", but I love the expression anyway.

We moved on to North Head where Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park is located. This park was once an important base for the New Zealand military forces during the war times of the 20th century. Many tunnels, bunkers, and huge gun turrets were built beneath the mountain to help ward off any attackers during World War I and II. Fortunately, the fortification did not see any action during its time, and the area is now just a recreation park.

The cool part about the now abandoned fortification is that tourists can explore some of the tunnels and bunkers left behind by the military. A few of the large guns and munitions structures are still there as well to explore. We made sure to bring our flashlight in order to explore the tunnels. Some were long, dark, and kind of spooky.

Anyway, we hiked all around the mountain and the beach surrounding