Random Pics

Auckland City Central, as seen from a ferry. Well it does look pretty, doesn't it? The tall tower over there is Sky Tower, tallest tower in the south hemisphere... Still much shorter than KL Tower though, not to mention the Petronas Twin Towers.

Auckland Domain at dusk. This picture don't do any justice to the beauty of the domain, as I took it with my lousy handphone VGA camera. It looks like some sort of sacred ground really. And man it's HUGE!

Everybody getting ready for the start of the Starlight Symphony, an annual event of live classical music performances and fireworks!

I've bought a bottle of dessert wine just to enjoy it along with the show! Hehe...

Keat caught in the act! Haha...

Cheers to Khang Hee's soon-to-be-born baby!

Fireworks coordinated with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture (remember the song from V For Vendetta when the whole parliament building went kaboom?) It's one helluva impressive display! There's even canon shots and all in the domain!

Lion dance at Sky City (The atrium of Sky Tower). Reminds me of CNY celebrations back home...

One Tree Hill, the highest peak in Auckland. Used to have a lone tree sitting on top of the hill, but have since been chopped off. There's a long and amusing history behind this hill, you can check it out in Wikipedia if you're interested.

The obelisk on top of One Tree Hill. The figure over there is a statue of a Maori warrior.

Pride of Auckland sailing tour. The uni sponsored half of the ticket costs for us, which is why most of us can't resist giving it a try.

All of us have a chance to steer the sail for the Pride of Auckland tour! And don't let the jacket fooled you: it's hot as hell then! Lol. The weather here can be very unpredictable.

Downtown Britomart, the central bus station of Auckland.

Flowers!!! Colourful!!! Hehe...

The Auckland Wartime Museum at Auckland Domain. Beautiful architecture, but very singular though. You won't find many such classical buildings in Auckland.

The marae visit. A marae is a place of meeting for the Maori people, which is held to be a sacred ground by them since... forever. We have 2 days of lectures here inside the building, and spent a night sleeping inside the building.

The interior of the marae. Yes I know, the place looks bigger from the inside doesn't it? The chairs are all aligned for the (exceptionally boring) lectures.

Laying the mattresses down to sleep for the night in the marae! I looked quite stoned there don't I? Lol.

Dusk at the fields close to the marae. The variety of colours in the pics reminded me of the paintings of my favourite artist, Van Gogh. Rangitoto Island, a volcanic island that emerged from the sea about 5 decades ago, rests in a dormant state mysteriously at the background of the pic.