I'm walking to the Sky Tower

This is my 200th post. Can you believe it?
To mark the occasion, this is a longer post than usual and a rather special one for me. I have accomplished a goal that I have been considering for some time.

I'm also celebrating by posting this on My November 15th, a day of great significance to this Yooper, no matter how far removed he is in space and time from his deer blind. To further mark the day, I am buying some New Zealand red-deer (farmed) venison. I might even use some of it to make jerky. I've never seen liquid smoke here though. I'll have to re-think my marinade.  

A very wise man named Fred once commented to me, "Guys gotta have projects." That is true. I was lucky in the past to have owned 133 acres of Michigan on which I enjoyed all sorts of projects. That land is gone, but now, I have a city of 1.4 million people instead. Plenty of room for all sorts of projects here, just not the same kind as in the north woods.  

This blog of mine has been a project. I knew absolutely nothing about NZ before we came here. The purpose of this blog has been, and continues to be, to provide pictures and information about our lives here, mainly to my family and friends, so you can share in what we've learned about this amazing place. It's also supposed to entertain all of you. I hope it has done that. And it provides an outlet for me. A way that I can practice my writing skills, however amateurish they may be. 

Another project of mine is walking. It was, back when I was on The Land, and cleared trails to improve access to it's many hills, meadows and secret places, and it continues here, where I have been exploring my new home. 

I've often combined the two projects since I started my blog and have been showing you photos of where I've been walking. I've shown you around our home neighborhoods, I've shown you sights in the 'downtown' areas of many of the suburbs that make up Auckland, and I've shown you lots of views of Auckland itself. 

With this post, I'd like to take on another project, and naturally, to document it for you. 

I'm sure by now, after more than 5 years of living here, that I have walked into Henderson  hundreds of times. And each time I have, I pass a spot on the sidewalk where I can see the Sky Tower in the distance. It occurred to me some time ago that I'd like to walk all the way to that landmark. The only problem is the distance. I think my age and girth would conspire to make the feat (and my feet) quite unpleasant before I finished. (not that I couldn't do it if I had to) The Law of Diminishing Returns most definitely applies to waking long distances. So, how could I do it?

Well, I came up with a plan. I could walk the route between home and the Sky Tower by utilizing the train stations.

This is the list of rail road stations between home and Britomart. Sturges Road, Henderson, Sunnyvale, Glen Eden, Fruitvale Road, New Lynn, Avondale, Mt. Albert, Baldwin Avenue, Morningside, Kingsland, Mt. Eden, Grafton, Newmarket, Parnell, Britomart. 

And I would include a caveat in my plan. Since I have already walked from my home to the Sturges Road Train Station and to Henderson countless times, I will not walk those sections again for this project. There are a couple of other short stretches I have already walked as well. I won't do them again now. For the purpose of this project, I will be walking from Henderson to New Lynn, New Lynn to Avondale, Avondale to Mt. Albert, Mt. Albert to Morningside, Kingsland to Newmarket, and from Parnell to Britomart and the Sky Tower.  

To detail my plan a little more; I'm going to start in Henderson and first walk to New Lynn along the Great North Road. That will be my longest section. I'll then continue to walk to Auckland in increments of one, or more stations at a time, using the train to carry me to my starting point and then home again as I complete each leg of my journey along the roads that lie closest to the stations. I will be filling in the gaps along the route between home and the Sky Tower that I have not walked before.

I need a theme song for my project. In fact, let's listen to several songs during the post that share the theme...a song in my head provides energy to my feet...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-eWAuFmjN0

Like Fats, I've decided to do some walking, but in my case, I'm walk-in' to the Sky Tower.  According to the 'Measure distance' function of Google Maps, I'll walk about 21 kilometers along my route, but in total a bit farther, since each time I leave the house to do a leg of my journey, I'll walk to either the bus or train and back again. (The bus stop is almost half a kilometer from our house and the train station is one kilometer) 

So, here we go. The Sky Tower is my goal and it'll be a beacon that I'll photograph to record (and prove) my progess. Who knows what surprises I will find along the way? Well, actually, you will, because I will keep a record of my travels and share them with you. 

I can see the Sky Tower here from Sturges Road, but the photo barely shows it. I'll zoom in on it for the next photo.

 The city is a long way off. And that is as the crow flies. I'll be walking a longer route. I'll be circling around to the right and ultimately approach it from it's other side. 

Amiri joined me in walking this first section to New Lynn. On our way, we went by the home of a sitting M.P.
Amiri sure can hike. He waited patiently for me at the top of a couple of the hills. We had a great time and finished off our walk with lunch at an Indian Restaurant. Lamb madras for him and chicken vindaloo for me. I like his attitude. When he selected his lunch, I assumed he had had it before. When he told me he was trying something new, I knew he is a kindred spirit. Good for you, Amiri!


Here's another energiser::  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaKpo2lFzH8

This is an interesting ad on the side of a restaurant about half way between Henderson and New Lynn. They offer a 'Boodle Fight'. It's a reservation only affair. I haven't looked into it so I don't know what it costs. 
But here's what I know: 

http://www.angsarap.net/2015/05/21/what-is-a-boodle-fight/

Along Great North Road. Getting closer. I'm zoomed in a bit on this one too so the size is about the same as the second shot on Sturges Road. I think you can tell I'm a few miles closer here though because there is less distortion due to the humidity. 

Arriving in New Lynn. 

Another walking themed song.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fqnzqi_GoE

Leaving New Lynn (second session)

Made it. Here's Avondale and see the sign?  Next on the route is Mt. Albert. (third session)

The boys both came with me for the Avondale to Mt. Albert section of the hike. We bought 'supplies' in Avondale and the boys had a run-in with the town's giant spider. You may be able to see that both boy's arms appear to be bound to their bodies by (invisible) spider silk. I'm sure they were visualizing the giant spiders that Bilbo and company ran in to in Mirkwood. 

They were excellent hikers and companions. Our actual walking time was only about 35 to 40 minutes between towns. We added somewhat to that though by stopping at a Pak 'n Save for some mango lassi and sushi. 

 We're part way up to Mt. Albert, but as you see, there is a bit more hill in the distance.

We're here. Mt. Albert proper has started, but the center of town and the highest point are a few more blocks ahead. (puff, puff) 

My next stage (4th) will run from Mt. Albert all the way to Morningside. I'm not going to stop when I pass Baldwin Avenue. The distance between Mt. A and Ms is not really that much farther than between the last two single towns I've walked. I'm really enjoying this. 

I like Mt. Albert. I discovered before I went very far down the slope toward Morningside that Mt. A. has a sense of humor, a Saturday morning mini-market, and a French deli. Look at these pictures. 

I'm taking New North Road from here. It may not be as evident to you, because I have been zooming a bit for the photos, but I've made real progress.

 Heading down the mount.  

Of course, one of the first places I pass today is an Elvis-themed barbershop. He was singing Blue Suede Shoes when I went by. I may have to go back to get a haircut and learn the story behind Vinny's Barbershop. 

Nice little market with the usual breads, cheeses, meats and ooh, free samples. 

 Statue  of a woman in a reserve I passed

Rocket Park. I tried to talk the boys into joining me on this excursion, but they didn't want to. They missed out on this place. Kids can climb to the top of the rocket. 

 Oh Boy, another French deli.  

A new place to bring Jeanne.

Step by step I'm making progress.

This mural greets those arriving in Morningside along N.N. Road.  
I'm still wondering about the story behind it.

The next leg (5th) of my journey is Kingsland to Newmarket. I'll be going through both Mt. Eden and Grafton. This hike is a bit longer. But first listen to another famous walking song...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh169rVMveA

This portion of my hike was done under clear skies.  Here are some pictures from Kingsland to Mt. Eden, to Grafton and Newmarket. 

This first section between Kingsland and Mt. Eden had a lot of industrial sites along the way. This is a factory of some sort.  

Getting much closer.

 Approaching Mt. Eden

A temple attached to the Center. 

 If I were to take the left side of the "Y" and walk toward the City Center, I could save some distance in reaching the Sky Tower, but my plan was to follow the approximate train route into the city. Therefore, I'm about to take the right side of the 'Y' and proceed on past Mt. Eden, Grafton and end today's walk in Newmarket. I'm going to circle around the Sky Tower and approach it from another side...

...Imagine a clock with the Sky Tower in the center of it. From home, I see the Sky Tower from about the 8:30 position. Right now in Mt. Eden I am at about the 6:00 position. I will eventually be approaching the Sky Tower at the end of my walk from about the 2:00 position. I will have circled it counter-clockwise during my walk. 

I showed you this store once before, when I first explored Mt. Eden. It's located down at the end of an alley and I just admire it's attitude. 

Lots of color on a sunny day. (Grafton)  

A picture of the old section of Mt. Eden Prison taken from between Grafton and Newmarket. 

How's that for timing my 'click'? I am walking through a little park.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p30NV97_MFQ

This is it. I'm in Parnell today and this will be my final walk (6th) of my project. I'm really looking forward to it. 

I am on what is called the 'Parnell Rise.' I have a steep hill to walk down. Then I'll get on to Beach Road and continue into the city. 

A little park along the way. Sky Tower, here I come. 

 And there is my goal, peeking from between the sky scrapers. 

Really close now. 

There it is. I've made it. If Jeanne were with me, (a sore knee side-lined her today) I think we'd celebrate at the Federal deli, which is located just to the left of the tower.  Well, we'll save the celebration for another time. 

I hope you enjoyed the music I chose as theme songs for this walk to Auckland. I know that music produces energy within a listener, and I needed plenty. So, where does the energy come from?  I think songs reflect the energy of the composer. Therefore, music must be the medium for the transfer of energy from composer to listener. However it happens, these songs have given me a boost and encouraged me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

I think that most of my journey was accomplished at the pace of Fat's somewhat plodding beat. (but not when one or both of the boys were with me)  Occasionally, and especially on a downhill grade, I might have been seen to a Walk like a man, or even to Walk Like an Egyptian, when I thought no one was looking. When I needed staying power as I was battling with an uphill grade, Johnny's single-minded determination and unchangable focus helped me up and over. Finally, the powerhouse from Dire Straits worked on me like a 3-Muskateers bar and a Coke would have. 

Thanks for coming with me on this adventure. I have now, at one time or another, walked every inch between our home and the Sky Tower in Auckland. In the greater scheme of things, I suppose that's a rather silly accomplishment for an old man to boast about, but as a project, it's not half bad. And it was fun. Thank you, Lord, for allowing me continued health.

But, wait a minute. I'm forgetting a song that the boys sang while they walked with me. Talk about energy! This tune is Famous for it's energy! The music comes from J. Offenbach's The Infernal Galop in Orpheus in the Underworld. It later became the motive force behind the Can-Can Dance that France first made popular in the late 1800's. Today, believe it or not, it is providing the score in The Periodic Table Song. 

The boys haven't learned the entire song, yet. I think when you hear it you'll understand that learning it completely would take some doing. But, they were belting out what they knew while we rode the train to Avondale. I wonder if some of our fellow travelers were wondering why they were singing Poe-tas-ee-um........What the heck language is that? 

I have linked to the version with lyrics so you can really follow along. Enjoy. 

(Caution: tune may stick in your head)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cqauZq4uYM

 Or, this is the version the boys like because it has pictures...take your pick.  -djf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgVQKCcfwnU