Auckland View: The Cloud

Today we took our young nieces to Queen's Wharf in Auckland, where "The Cloud" tent-like structure has been built to accommodate people visiting Auckland for the Rugby World Cup. Next door on the wharf is an historic shed, refurbished into "Fanzone", partly a giant pub, with big screens to watch matches.

Here are some photos:

Above is the entrance to The Cloud (from this end, it kind of reminds me of a sandworm from Dune). In the background is the cruise ship Pacific Princess, docked at the neighbouring Princes Wharf. A bigger cruise ship, the Pacific Dawn, was docked at Queen's Wharf, but I don't have any photos of that.

 
This is what the inside of a cloud looks like—well, Auckland's Cloud, at least. It's a kind of mini-exposition centre, highlighting New Zealand innovation. I noticed that whenever the host at an exhibit talked to someone about the dsiplay, they pulled out an iPad2. Every time.

Outside The Cloud again, looking between it and the historic shed that is now the Fanzone (or, as they prefer the typography, FaNZone). I stopped in an official shop on the way out and bought a USA Eagles t-shirt; oddly, they were a third less expensive than New Zealand shirts… (yes, I'm joking about the oddly part… the USA only won one game).

On our way out I noticed a woman seated on a chair counting people as they left. She was using an iPad2 to do it.

The weather turned after that, clouding over and eventually raining. But since these are the first photos of Auckland that I've posted in awhile, I think three is a good enough start.