Westhaven Marina and Auckland Harbour Bridge

Welcome to the archive images of Tamaki Makaurau

Week 2

22/10/05

Westhaven Marina in downtown Auckland lies in the Waitemata Harbour in the Hauraki Gulf. It is the largest marina in Auckland and one of the largest marinas in the Southern Hemisphere with 1456 walk-on berths, 399 pile moorings and 85 swing moorings. Here you will have an awesome view of Auckland Harbour Bridge, which connects Auckland City with the North Shore and Waitemata Harbour. We visited the Marina on a rainy, windy Auckland day and were once again met by the perfect example of how the Kiwis enjoy every day to its fullest, no matter what the weather. That day, it appeared that everyone who owns a sailboat, came out to make the most of the windy conditions. We could hardly find parking space in the Marina's carpark and as we left, joggers created congestion in and out of the Marina. And this all, on a Wednesday afternoon .....

Auckland celebrated the opening of Auckland Harbour Bridge on May 30th, 1959. At long last the city and southern suburbs were connected with the steadily growing North Shore by a 3,350 feet / 1,021 meters long steel structure. Prior to the bridge, daily commuters into Auckland, made use of ferries running from Devonport, Bayswater, Northcote or Birkenhead. In the late 1960's, due to traffic congestion, two lanes were added to each side of the bridge. This expansion was created by a Japanese company and became known as the "Nippon Clip-ons". Today congestion is still a problem with 160,000 vehicles recorded crossing the bridge each day in 2000. Not only is Auckland Harbour bridge an icon, it also offers an unforgettable 1.5 hour 'Auckland Bridge Climb' adventure!