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| The crater of Mount Eden with the Auckland Skyline beyond Photo by Erin Grigson |
10. Mount Eden
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| Me trying not to fall in the crater. The sign reads: Do not enter crater. This fragile and sacred area is easily damaged. Photo by Josh |
We hiked through the Tahaki Reserve and Eden Garden to get to the summit.
The difference between Mount Eden and the other volcanic peaks we climbed is that Eden has a crater. A very large crater. A very large, deep crater.
And once again, there were amazing views. The perk of this peak was that, like at One Tree Hill, you had 360 degree views of the Auckland Skyline, the sea and Hauraki Gulf Islands beyond.
We walked around the rim of the volcano before we headed back down to our last stop on the list (at least for this trip).
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| The horizon from the rim of Mount Eden Photo by Erin Grigson |
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| Sky Tower in Auckland Photo by Erin Grigson |
We took the bus to downtown so we could go to the top of one of the tallest towers in the world.
The Sky Tower in Auckland is the 25th tallest tower in the world at 328 metres and THE tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere. Finishede in 1997, it weighs 21 million kilograms, or roughly the equivalent of 6,000 elephants. The elevator (or lift) travels 18 kilometres per hour, which means that when we went from the basement to the 51st floor, it tookabout 40 seconds.
The 51st floor is the main observation level at 186 metres from the ground. The Sky Deck is on the 60th floor, which is 220 metres (or 722 feet) off the ground.
On the 52nd floor, there is a restaurant called Orbit 360 Dining, which rotates once every hour. Princess Anne, Prince William, and President Clinton have all dined there.
The tower lights up most of the year and each color means something different:
- Yellow & Orange - celebrating Matariki
- Pink - Mother's Day & New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation
- Rainbow - Pride Festival & New Zealand's Rainbow Community
- Red - ANZAC Day & Poppy Appeal and Valentine's Day
- Blue - SKYCITY Breakers
- Red & Green - Christmas
- Green - St. Patrick's Day
- Red & Gold - Chinese New Year
- Dark/No Lights - Earth Hour
This is a little piece I like to call "51 Floors in 22 Seconds."
Talk about a view. If you've ever thought you've been "in the view," you're not until you're up that high and looking out across the city, the water, and beyond.
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| Harbour Bridge from Sky Tower Photo by Erin Grigson |
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| Rangitoto Island, Devonport and Auckland from the Sky Tower Photo by Erin Grigson |
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| Mount Eden and One Tree Hill in the distance from Sky Tower Photo by Erin Grigson |
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| SkyJump: top left, from the 51st floor; top right, the bullseye that jumpers land on; bottom left and right, from the ground, jumpers coming at the bullseye Photos by Erin Grigson |
Both are things I definitely wish I could do, but am just not brave enough to. The SkyWalk offers a 360 walk on the OUTSIDE of the Tower, literally walking (while wearing a safety wire) the circumference of the tower on the 53rd floor, 194 metres off the ground. The SkyJump is like a mix between bungee jumping and ziplining. Jumpers free fall 192 metres straight down and land on a bullseye on the ground.
We got to see them jumping from the observation level and from the ground. They all looked elated, flying through the air.
After Sky Tower, we grabbed lunch and then walked back down to Viaduct Harbour to finish our trip.
After that, we headed back to the house to see Matt's family before our flight home.
Total steps today: 16,043.
We ticked off 11 big things and then some off my list. We definitely made a dent, but there's still lots to do in Auckland. I guess we need to start planning our next trip!
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