Auckland made it and survived the first Rugby World Cup weekend. I have to say it was not a bad one so far and especially the opening on Friday attracted may people. As far as I know more than 100.000 people have roamed the waterfront and queen street.
After all the opening was a well planned spectacle and even the fireworks have been quite spectacular although it didn’t last too long.
I’ve been watching the whole spectacle from my balcony. Here is a little impression what that looked like:
Today is the day New Zealand was waiting for such a long time. The Rugby World Cup 2011 will finally begin. Since Rugby is the national sport of NZ, the whole country was striving long for this event and how the “All Blacks” will perform.
Apparently it is the third biggest sports event in the world after the Olympics and the FIFA Football world cup, but to be honest that sounds a little bit like “the biggest something in the Southern Hemisphere” to me. Anyway, it is going to be a big event for sure and the country seems quite well prepared for it.
The Auckland Cloud - Rugby World Cup Party Central
One of the new installations is the Auckland Cloud that will function as some kind of Party Central. The temporary tent-like building can host around 7800 people and cost around 10 Million New Zealand Dollars, not bad for a tent.
Today Auckland will see an opening ceremony at the wharf with the reception of traditional Maori Boats called Wakas and then there will be a huge Haka (Maori War Dance) performed by over 600 people. Sounds like something worthwhile watching. Apparently they expect around 60.000 People for that, I am going to be one of them although I usually hate such big assemblies of people.
Before the opening game between the All Blacks and Tonga kicks off at 8pm Auckland will see the biggest firework since the Millennium, which I am already excited about in hope to snatch a few good shots.
So then, the next 6 weeks will be under the sign of the Rugby World Cup. Let’s see what face of New Zealand we are going to see. I remember the FIFA World Cup 2006 that put a cheering face on Germany we haven’t seen before. Let’s see how the Kiwis will deal with their self inflicted 6 weeks of sportive anarchy. At least they got their slogan right: “The world’s here to play”, and they certainly will.
The Wynyard Quarter is part of a formerly buzzing industrial zone in the heart of Auckland. It lies right next to the prestigious Viaduct Harbour with its expensive luxury yachts and stylish apartments and appears rather dull in comparison. For a long time the Wynyard Quarter was home for a big concrete factory with its huge storage silos. But those times are over and Auckland has to move on. Empty space in the central district of any city, directly at the water in particular, is hugely precious – nothing that is unknown to the city developers of Auckland and after years and years of planning the first part of this revived area has been opened to the public a few weeks ago.
Maybe it was just a coincidence that the opening was just before the upcoming opening of the Rugby World Cup this Friday, but although the Wynyard Quarter will become a business and housing oriented area, the actual finished projects revolve all around leisure activities, hospitality and a few other bits that might actually be useful for the world cup and attractive to visitors.
So let’s have a look at what New Zealand City developers think, a modern city needs.
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I've taken this picture in a rugged dead-end side street somewhere close to the Auckland CBD. Those narrow, dirty and dark passages are usually not very welcoming places and usually they put a very depressing face on a otherwise good image of a city. But when I took this picture I remembered something everyone should do in a big city once in a while: Look upwards towards the sky. You might find more beauty than on the ground, whatever that means. This picture is my reminder to do so.
…the Vikings from Wellington! :-)
The Vikings won a very exciting final match against Christchurch and won the tournament. As far as I can tell they deserved to win, although I’d say that Christchurch had a very good lineup as well.
For our very own Auckland team there was not much to win in this tournament unfortunately, means that we came second last, which is a little bit disappointing, because you want to be successful no matter what, but in the end the other teams were a tad better which made the difference in the end.
OK, OK and the amount of red cards we scored put us certainly down as well. Guess, I have to apologize for mine, too :-)
However, let’s move on and look towards the upcoming Auckland tournament in august. This is where we will take revenge! :-)
Thanks again to Chch for a great and well organized tournament.
Better luck next time: Unfortunately the tournament didn't allow us too many changes like here against Victoria Uni.
Christchurch Tournament pictures with courtesy of Jun Tanlayco. See more great pictures of that day on his website:
Another shot of the westcoast of New Zealand. After the sun has set the colors turn into a really surreal vibrant mixture.
The westcoast of New Zealand is harsh. Yet, Piha Beach close to Auckland is a popular tourist magnet and surfing spot. The magic of this place lay in the combination of strong rolling waves and the rugged landscape that gives this place its distinct look. When the sun is setting, even a wild place like this comes to some peace and when you are patient you can watch the sea birds flying beyond the horizon. Beyond the horizon, this is where Australia can be found.
Sorry for that shocking headline, but I though that it was worth mentioning, since New Zealand is subject to lots of Earthquakes at the moment. Auckland “got struck” by a 2.9 earthquake around 9pm tonight. I was just sitting in the living room with my flatmate when it happened and the whole house started shaking for a brief moment.
Generally, Auckland is not very prone to earthquakes, so it is actually a quite remarkable moment. According to the NZ Herald there was another 4.7 earthquake close to Te Anau at 6pm today. Direct relations between those two shakes haven’t been reported yet.
Today at 3pm Albany on the North Shore of Auckland got struck by an tornado, not even 5km away from my office and my current whereabouts.
A tornado hit Albany on the North Shore of Auckland and destroyed the roof of an shopping mall
The impact was quite severe although exact figures are not known at this point. Yet the police confirmed that there are several injuries after the tornado hit the Albany shopping mall.
According to a NZ Herald Report, the tornado had the following velocity:
WeatherWatch.co.nz reports the tornado that ripped through Albany would have had an average wind speed of 200km/hr.
The plans of the transport agency to close the Auckland harbor bridge, that is really the only connection between North Shore and Central Auckland have been revoked since the Tornado switched directions.
The whole incident really started not more than 1.5km away from where I currently am. Starting from there the tornado ripped through Albany on its way south approaching Auckland Central.
See the map for an overview about the distance between the shopping mall and Cegedim Headquarters.
Although the situation is not completely over it seem like the hardest bit has passed by. However one can still hear the constant noise of police and emergency sirens.
I will deliver more updates as soon as available.
See this YouTube Video for further tornado coverage in Albany:
Link: TVNZ Report and pictures: Tornado leaves trail of destruction in Auckland
Link: NZ Herald - Albany tornado witness: ‘It sounded like a bad car crash’ - Constantly updated
Link: TVNZ.co.nz - The path of the Auckland tornado + Pictures
The tornado seems to have died out.
NZHerald just twittered:
Emergency services say #tornado followed a straight line south from Albany before dying out near Pt Chevalier to west of Auckland Central.
According to TVNZ.co.nz have two people died due to the consequences of the tornado:
According to Stuff.co.nz there is only one dead person but 22 injured people.
I did the talk, so here is the walk. A little overview of my new place, compared to the old one, since I’ve never bothered to publish pics of the old place.
Let’s start with the most important part upfront. My bedroom:
Before and after: Yes indeed, my old room was much bigger than my new one, but do I really need so much space? Look at my belongings. I've taken this picture the day I moved out and I barely have things that belong to me, so my new room will do fine. I know it looks quite chaotic as usual, but I can hide everything nicely in my huge wardrobe, at least once I'll tidy up. Oh and the walls are not moldy so I can't get a clogged nose, which was really not very healthy at all. Since I am at the new place I can breath again.
Secondly, the kitchen and eveything that surrounds it:
I have to admin there was a certain charm to the old kitchen. It was more on the rustic side and somehow I like that, but can it really beat a brand new kitchen with a ceran stove top and considerable space to dine plus an attached balcony? I don't think so. In case you are seeking the fridge, that one is hidden behind those dark wooden doors. Neat. The stairs on the left side are leading up to the living room
Never forget to brush your teeth after dinner, hence have a look at the bathroom:
Well I don't really miss the old bathroom. It was narrow and freezing cold inside due to the ever open venting window you can see in the left side of the picture. Besides we had this huge spider family dwelling behind the toilet, which didn't really bother me, but sometimes they wanted to cuddle with you while you were occupied. The new one is much better. More space, better facilities and those double lamps surrounding the huge mirror make it feel like a 4-star hotel. Even I who is a youth hostel fanboy likes this feat.
And last but not least, something I didn’t have at the old place. A fucking living room. Hell yeah:
Hell yeah living room: I never really had a living room since I moved out of my parents house and so this is really something special to me to have a common area to hang out with your flatmates. It is quite spacious to challenge Veronica on her "Wii Fit" Console. In case you wanna know: The leather couch is very comfy indeed, I am sitting there right now. The door on the right side leads on the room of the house and to another balcony, while the glass front in the background is another balcony. My favorite one actually, since you have this fabulous view over the Auckland Skyline. Remember that picture I've posted a couple of days ago? That was taken from there.
I will show you the swimming pool and such stuff the next time. I can’t enter the facilities after 10pm and I was a little bit late today. But I will bring you more pics quite soon.
