Auckland

Surrounded by lush green trees and less than 15 mins away from the office blocks, Grafton Valley is one of Auckland’s best-kept secrets. Tucked right in the heart of Auckland CBD and nestled within Symonds Street Cemetery , one of the oldest cemeteries in Auckland, most people rush past it every day, on the southern motorway or bus across Grafton Bridge, unaware of the peaceful escape beneath them. Grafton Valley Walkway The valley can be accessed from Symonds St by the motorway ramp or from. St. Martins Lane . It is easy to reach by public transport, with plenty of buses running from Waitematā (formerly Britomart ) and Newmarket , as the area is part of Auckland Transport’s Central Connector . If you enter through the Symonds Street entrance by the motorway ramp, you will come across the grave of William Hobson , the first Governor of New Zealand . From there, the walk continues gently through the cemetery and surrounding trees, where calm is occasionally broken by the distant hum o...

1. NZ Pies, especially Columbus Cafe 's Pot Pie 2. Cafe Latte 3. L&P , NZ's beverage made by The Coca-Cola Company 4. Bush Walk close to city centre (Lover's Walk at  Auckland Domain ) 5. Strawberry Pickings 6. Hangi Traditional Maori food 7. Meeting people from around the world 8. Blue Sky, Blue Waters and Greenery Everywhere 9. Hitchhiking is safe in New Zealand 10. KiwiYo

Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city. One of the best cities in the world to dwell. But sad to say,  Auckland does get a tough rap from tourists.  In the past ten years, I have seen many travellers and even some of my friends avoid Auckland or see only has a gateway to enter New Zealand or stay for a night before heading to beautiful Kiwi pastures -- Rotorua for thermal pools and the smell of Sulphur, the beaches of Bay of Island, wine and dine at Marlborough and sky diving and mesmerising landscape at Queenstown. As some of the travel bloggers have mentioned, Auckland is heartless and soulless. Let me tell you Auckland is not that bad   Here is the list of best things I love about Auckland. 1. Walkable CBD If you are living in Auckland, you don't need your own car to get around the city centre and nearby suburbs of Ponsonby, Parnell, Newmarket, Mt. Eden, One Tree Hill and Remuera. These localities are well-connected to CBD by public transport. If you...

Less Stress means you can Relax more   “Organised people are just too lazy to search for stuff.” That’s cute, but I’d rather be the “lazy” one mentioned in the punchline. Less time spent running around means more time. Just, more time to do what I want to do, like, spending time with your friends and family. Less Stress also means Improved health. The stress I mentioned earlier, which I feel when things start to get out of control, does not promote good health.  And if you are a parent, you are setting a good example for the kids. There was a time when I spent most of my time behind my computer, working on this or that. I felt productive, sure, but I also worried about the message I was sending to the kids. Adults work all the time? My job is more important than them? I want my kids to become productive, contributing adults, of course, but I want them to enjoy life, too, and that absolutely includes time spent not working. Greater productivity. When you kn...

Every year at AUT University in collaboration with AuSM organised a diversity week to celebrate diversity in action in our everyday life. We live in a diverse society. Every person you meet at university or in the workplace is different. Since the day I came to New Zealand, this great diversity has impacted the way I communicate and interact with people. I find myself lucky to live in this beautiful city where people from different parts of the world come and live together in peace and harmony. Many migrants who are living in Auckland today come from a country faced with conflicts, both internal and external. According to Statistics New Zealand, in 2013, there were almost 1 in 4 people that are 23.1 percent people living in Auckland region identified with one or more Asian ethnic groups, compared with 1 in 5 people that is 18.9 percent, in 2006. We have all heard from media sources, the majority of conflict today is happening in Asia.  Every nation is plagued with numerous pro...

For me giving presentations and going for the interview would always give me a fright. However, I am part of a drama team and I love performing in front of an audience. When it comes to giving presentations or interviews, I am not able to get the right words at the right time.  I love acting, especially in dramas. I came to know about toastmasters when Steve and Maxine visited my class of hospitality career development. They brought with them the range of table topics, which we can choose from the pool of topics and speak about it for 90 seconds and they evaluate us by providing us commendations and recommendations. I saw that it was really a good way to help us to improve our communication skills. Because whenever I tried to speak in public and ask people for feedback, it does not help you. In short, the feedback given in toastmasters is more like an educational series. I still remember the time in India, in college or universities when seniors will come to freshman and tell us ...

Last night while walking back home I saw homeless man lying in the middle of the footpath. I stopped for 5 mins, thinking should I call the police or wait for the passing police car and than approach them, while I was waiting for the police car many people pass through him but nobody cared to call the police or the paramedics. After five mins wait, the man didn't moved a bit, I decided to call 111, and informed the police about the man lying in the middle of the footpath and gave description of the man, and dispatcher said to me, police are on their way.  After 10 mins, I saw a small bottle of whisky lying just few meters away from him. Than I saw him moving, I approached him but I couldn't understand a single word he was trying to speak, I called 111 again to keep them up to date, as I was speaking to 111 I told them He is very drank, they immediately dispatched an Ambulance, paramedics arrived while I was still talking on phone. And after few mins po...

On the night of 24th August 2013 when I was walking with my friend Calvin on Anzac Avenue. We saw two people arguing & swearing at each other. As we approach them, we decided to cross the road to avoid any trouble. But then I saw two people actually fighting on the middle of the streets. Immediately I reach out to my cellphone and call the cops - 111. I was talking very furiously with the police caller.  Surprisingly, the conversation lasted less than a minute, usually it takes around 20 mins.   Operator: Where do you want to get connect to, Police, Ambu....(Interrupted) (Speaking furiously to the operator) Me: Police Please! Operator: You are connecting to the #police now. (Few milliseconds later...) Police Caller: Where is the emergency? Me: 72 Anzac Avenue, Auckland Police Caller: What is the emergency? Me: Two people fighting on streets Police Caller: What is your name? Me: Ashish Bijwe Police Caller: Can you please spell it? Me: A S H I S ...

My most memorable hospitality experience was when I first started to serve the guests in our church, the Auckland Baptist Tabernacle, in 2009. Before that, I was not really a hospitable person, even though I am from India, a very hospitable country. In India, as soon as the guest arrives, the host serves that person water and then asks for their food or drink preferences.  This hospitality is based on the principle “Atithi Devo Bhava”, meaning “the guest is God”.  Indian people treat their guests with proper warm hospitality, which certainly requires extreme care and attention.  In fact, we are even friendly and hospitable to strangers on the road.  If anyone asks us for directions, we will likely not only tell them where to go, but also accompany them to their destination, especially when the place is nearby  Yet, despite these good hospitable qualities, I never fully understood the relationship between the host and the guest.  I was not really a people...

Community Get-together: One social event like birthday party can help you to forget all the differences you have with your neighbours. It’s a real magic, a miracle. The one beautiful moment changes bitter thoughts in our minds into wonderful evening. It’s a miracle in 21 st Century. But who believes in miracles these days? Well, I do. This one beautiful miracle happened with me on the night 10 th May 2013. After my exam, when I went back to my hostel, Vadim the Russian boy one of my hostel mate was cooking in the kitchen. He approach me and said, “Ashish, I forgot to tell you but today is my birthday…..and I want to give small party, I will be cooking delicious Russian food in the evening at 7pm.” I said, Ok I will join and went to my room for relax. At 7pm, the most memorable event took place, after a long gap I was having a dinner with my hostel mates.  Something I had given up cause of differences between me and other people.  It was wonderful time, s...

Owning a car is matter of necessity and convenience. But convenience comes at a price. Even though the parking is free, it's only for limited time. So even if we want to spend more time talking or playing social games in a coffee shop or restaurant with friends, we can't extend the time limit unless we are willing to order more.  Last night after evening church service, some of us decided to go to Denny's for extended fellowship. As some of us owns a car, we decided to go back cars instead of walking 3 km . We knew there is a car park at Denny's but didn't knew the fact that we are only allowed for one and half hours. The parking voucher is available with the manager of Denny's.   Just before the time limit was about to expired I went to the manager to check if we are allowed to extend the time limit, so that we could spend more time talking or playing games with friends. Even though I don't own a car, spending time with friends is a magic of the moment...

Cherry Blossom... ...And Sun Shines In Auckland

Huaraki Gulf, Tamaki Drive, Devonport Motuihi Island East Auckland Approaching Auckland International Airport

Toro Churro’s Spanish doughnuts are golden-fried fresh, you can enjoy them with a pot of delicious dipping chocolate, or drizzled with chocolate and caramel. Toro Churros are made to a traditional recipe, using only natural ingredients,  no preservatives and no additives. Come & Enjoy Churros MOBILE LOCATIONS: Thursdays 10 am – 5 pm at the University of Auckland’s student quadrant Sundays 6 pm - 10 pm Glenfield Westfield Night Market Saturdays 6 am – 12 pm at the Otara Market Saturdays 6 pm - 12 am Pakuranga Westfield Night Market Sundays 7 am – 12 pm at the Takapuna Market Website:  http://www.torochurro.co.nz/

28 th February 2012 10:30PM Tonight my friend Calvin and Reshmi and I were on our way to Hulucat Teahouse when we witnessed an act of robbery. We were walking along St. Paul Street. I was just talking to Reshmi about how dangerous  St. Paul Street is during the night time. I told her about the events happened on that street. The next moment we heard some screaming for HELP! I turned back and started walking to check what was going on, and then suddenly a girl who was running away with a bag bumped into my friend Calvin. The bag fell onto the footpath. Another girl who was the victim came running behind her she picked up her bag. I grabbed robber's jacket with one hand and with other hand I got my cellphone to call the cops. In meantime we were joined by other people who also heard the scream. The thief took her Jacket off that I was holding and tried to run away. We saw a car passing by, people inside the car opened the passenger door for her.  B...

It's Summer Time! Enjoy the cool breeze out in Waitakere's as  you walk into the bushes into the largest Kauri forest in Auckland Region Cascade Kauri is located in the northern part of the Waitakere Ranges and offer  great places to explore, See beautiful great kauri trees These photos are from the Montana Heritage Trail - an 8 km track that provides access to the largest remaining stand of great kauri in Auckland region.   Remember to clean your shoes as you enter the walking tracks to protect giant kauri trees from dying  Tramline track used by Watercare services for the maintenance of the Waitakere Reservoir  Cascade Falls: You won't be able to view or see the falls. This is the closet you can get to the falls  The Track is 15 mins long. It is just before the second bridge on the Auckland City Trail, you will see the short side track directing you to Cascade falls Do remember to brin...

On the 10th January 2012, I was waiting for almost twenty minutes at the bus stop at Botany Town Centre to transfer to a bus that went to East Tamaki Heights. There was no sign  of a bus. I was bored and kept looking at my phone for the bus timetable. Suddenly a dear old Chinese lady aged 75-80 years old came to me with a paper that had some telephone number written on it. At first I didn't understand what she was saying to me because she was speaking in Mandarin or Cantonese. But then I tried to listen more clearly, and I heard the English word 'Taxi'. I understood she wanted me to call the taxi. I called the number. Just as the phone was ringing, I saw my bus arriving at the bus stop. However, the time was 12:55PM and I was worried that I might be late for my 2:00PM appointment. And if I missed this bus I would have to wait for another 15-20 minutes as the bus frequency in East Auckland is very low. But still I thought I should help her first and then take the bus. I had...

Aucklanders braved the miserable weather and watch cloudy display of over 700 kilos of Fireworks which set off from Auckland's Sky Tower at midnight The cloudy weather made the fireworks display look like plane exploded on the Sky Tower