JAFA city

New Zealanders that don't live in Auckland have a certain unconditional "love" of Aucklanders ... so much so that Aucklanders are commonly referred to as JAFAs, JAFA meaning Just Another F---ing Aucklander. If you drive an hour south of the city, you see warning signs like "J-ust A-nother F-atal A-ccident" or "J-ust A-nother F-oolish A-ccident", playing on the acronym to shock you into better driving! Roughly equivalent to Australia's "Tired? Take a powernap now" signs that are ubiquitous on the freeways here.

That said, Auckland is beautiful place. Though shockingly reminiscent of Seattle. The tower, the coffee, the bay. Fewer SUVs of course, thankfully.

My brother lives in an area that is under a lot of development. In one direction, you have an abandoned train station. In another direction you have an abandoned stadium. Kinda weird, I'm thinking. Though in another direction, you have a very scenic drive along the Bay overlooking Rangitoto Island (equivalent to Melbourne's Beach Road, Vancouver's Marine Drive, ... umm, yeah, that's right, Toronto has no equivalent). 5 minutes beyond the train station, you have the heart of downtown Auckland. I suspect this will all change in the next few years.

Check these out ...

Auckland from Devonport, attached by land but much quicker to get to by ferry.


Volcanic 'Rangitoto Island' ... what hill in Auckland wasn't previously a volcano? Umm, none.


The crater at the top of Mt. Eden ... surprise, surprise, formerly a volcano.


The view of downtown from Mt. Eden


Devonport and North Head, from Mission Bay


Cool place.