This viaduct has had my feet on it

[vilakins]

Remember the Newmarket Viaduct that has our names in it (and Vila's for that matter)? They've completed the new southbound lanes so they opened them up yesterday (Sunday) for the public to walk over. Greg's been looking forward to it for weeks, and I was keen too, depending on the weather. I said if it was raining I'd stay home. It wasn't when we left, but if course it poured down while we were walking up the on-ramp and along to the Big Blue Thing (the self-launching crane also affectionately called Big Blue). I thought it was a complete wash-out since all I could see was the inside of my large green umbrella and the wet concrete under my feet. I hate winter. I really hate winter. But then the sun came out and yay, I could see! And even take photos!

When we went back down (it was a walk of about 1.5kms) we went over to 277, stopping on the way to let a sudden downpour pass, and ate at my favourite place in the food hall there, the Thai-Vietnamese-Malay fusion place. We had kung-po chicken, tamarind fish, and beef rendang, and very yummy it was too.

Photos


Quite a lot of people turned up. They estimate 15,000 walked on the viaduct, paying a "gold coin" ($1 or $2) to charity. After the walkers were allowed on (9am to 2pm) cyclists could bike over. :-)
It started raining just after this so I didn't take any more photos till we had walked pretty much as far as we could up there.


Approaching the Big Blue Thing. The concrete we're walking on will be covered with a special high-grip low-noise asphalt this week. The new lanes open on 6 September.


The only time I'll see it from this angle. Well, unless we get a walk on the other side when they complete that.


View of the Big Blue Thing round the curve, and crowds on the viaduct.

I took the next four photos from the same spot, turning to get different views from left to right.


Looking towards the CBD (central business district) with the Sky Tower, yay. The dome on the right is over the food court at 277 where we ate lunch afterwards.


The harbour. You can see yachts and a marina to the right. The dark strip is probably rain out there. The dark island you can see part of is Rangitoto, a volcanic cone. The green one in the sun behind it is probably Waiheke Island.


Especially for the English people: St George's church flying its flag.


More skyline, lots of greenery.
I think that brick building is the Anglican Cathedral in Parnell, the next suburb.


Walking back towards the on-ramp. Yeah, we're not likely to do 70kmh. ;-) That's Mt Hobson, an extinct volcano. Yes, they're just little hills, but I think they get the "Mt" title for being volcanoes. We have some huge bloody great real mountains further south though, I assure you.


People coming back down the on-ramp.


A worker with his dogs. We chatted to him for a while; he brings his dogs to work with him every day and they "keep any mischief away from my truck". :-)


View from 277 food court, two storeys up. Those little dots you can just see on the viaduct are people.

Finally, a weird plant!


I wasn't trying to frame Big Blue here; that was coincidence. :-) I just took this in a hurry as it was raining again. I want to know if anyone can identify this thing. This is only the second one I've seen. The first one was outside a Remuera retirement village and it grew up and over like this one in a big arch, but they removed it before I could get a photo. Anyone know what it is?

Comments

[spacefall.livejournal.com]

Nice skies!

I'd have run away from the scary plant genitals!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

They're ever-changeable here.

Long droopy alien tentacle ones!

I chose Londo's icon for a reason. :-)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I should have also said that after the times the walkers were allowed on, it was open for cyclists. :-)

[blencathra.livejournal.com]

Great pics! I particularly like the one out across the bay & of Mt Hobson. Sorry I've no idea about the plant. Triffid? :S

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It's as good a guess as any!

[corvuscornix.livejournal.com]

While I'm not really a city person, I must say yours is very pretty! And the rainclouds make for dramatic pictures, if nothing else.

From the leaves I'd guess the plant's an Agave species. [Googles] What about this: Swan's Neck Agave (http://www.hear.org/starr/images/image/?q=031114-0022&o=plants)?

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Oh yes! It does look like it, and they have the same base plants, though both the ones I saw ended up making arches. I have some agaves very like that in my garden; maybe they'll suddenly grow necks. :-P

[ultrapsychobrat.livejournal.com]

I love all the photos. That harbor shot is beautiful! Ooooh, weird plant....

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I believe it's been identified! :-)

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

Thank you for showing us around! This Big Blue is really a very impressive example of technology! I always like the pictures showing everyday life. Of course the sea, always, and the greenery everywhere.
But this alien plant looks somehow hungry:-):-)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I like big engineering; it probably shows.

Now I know (I think; see a comment above) that it's a swan's neck agave, it now looks very droopy and tired to me. I have agaves like that; maybe they'll grow necks one day.

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

wow. It's very blue.

Also it has your name on it and Vila's - how?

I'm rereading your Vila fanfic atm. Cheap at Any Price made me cry and then made me happy again when I read the ending. I always go snfksfhnksndkndk OH NOES VILA! when I read it. It was a very therapeutic cry, btw. *huggles Vila* Sniff. :-)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

You'll have to go to the link at the top! We could sign the inside of one of the sections before it went up. I took a picture of my name (but didn't post it) but Vila's was in an awkward spot. But it's there!

Some people even thought I'd killed him! I'd never do that. I like a good helping of angst as long as there's a fairly happy or hopeful resolution.

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

Oh there's a link! *headdesks* I'm still half asleep when I read my f-list sometimes.

ahaha I like the ceiling cat.

The first time I came across your site looking at the sheer amount of Vila fic and adoration and that he got a happy ending even in Vila's Emails (which follows the canon all the way through) I thought it highly unlikely you'd kill him.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Ceiling cat was wonderful! People were lined up to use the felt-tips so I didn't have a chance to do more than sign my and Vila's names in gaps on the wall.

Never! I did kill Avon once in an LJ fic though, which shocked people. [evil grin]

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

*grins with you* ahaha, for every time Avon is killed off he has a hundred (thousand?) adoring fans.

I've always noticed it's Dayna who doesn't survive GP the most. She did look very dead I suppose.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I too am guilty of that in my big PGP saga: she looked much more dead than the others, she was shot by Arlen and the others were shot by troopers possibly wanting them alive, and I felt they couldn't all survive. I've made up for it though by having her survive in other stories. And she got a very-little-read story to herself. I think no one bothers because it has hardly any Avon (or Vila for that matter) because it's just about all Dayna and Og.

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

I read it! I'll read anything you write lol. It was pretty cute and a MILLION times better than the ep it was based on.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Frankly, that wouldn't be hard! It was going to be a comedy but Dayna and Ogg had other ideas.

[pebblerocker]

Hooray, I love the big blue thing and I have a great interest in huge roading projects; I was a courier driver in central Auckland during the CMJ (Spaghetti Junction) and Grafton Gully motorway works, so it was important for me to know what bits were being closed and moved around and when.

I have been trying to watch the progress of the Blue Thing in quick drive-bys every trip up, but they don't like drivers gawking at it and have made it hard to see on purpose. What a wonderful opportunity to walk across the new viaduct -- and put your name on it!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I love the big blue thing and I have a great interest in huge roading projects

Me too! In fact I love big engineering in general: bridges and dams especially. We can see Big Blue from our house at the moment (with binoculars). :-)

Their site (http://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/newmarketconnection/) is very good, but I can't seem to find the stop-motion video they had. It might be in the multimedia room.

[luinielle.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing these photos! I really enjoy looking through them and getting a glimpse of NZ life. :o) The Big Blue is huge! I like how they open the viaduct for people to walk on - they'd never do that here.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Apparently they let the public walk on the old one before it was opened, back in 1966. That one's no longer wide or earthquake-proof enough though so they've added on these new southbound lanes, then they'll do the new northbound ones, and demolish the old viaduct. Very clever; they only have to close it for a weekend while they swap the lanes over.

We can see The Big Blue Thing from our house! :-D It was hidden by trees before.

[imhilien.livejournal.com]

Good photos. :)

When I see Big Blue from a distance, it reminds me of a meccano spaceship. :-p

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It does look very meccano! [loves Big Blue] We can see all of it turned side-on to us from our house--with the binoculars.

[imhilien.livejournal.com]

Cool. :D

[alicambs.livejournal.com]

We're still having a little trouble working out quite where it it! However, we do know to avoid the area like the plague this weekend. :-)

So, scrabble? ;-)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It's the overland bit on the motorway after you've been through the city, where you have to do 70mph.

I feel a bit guilty about the Scrabble, what with all the art and Hebrew homework I've been doing, but I'm freer now! I'm at yoga tomorrow morning but I'll fire up Facebook in the afternoon. :-)