Daily Photo – Auckland’s Te Komititanga Square & Ferry Building
There’s something exhilaratingly miserable about exploring an unfamiliar city in a downpour. I stood in the centre of Auckland’s Te Komititanga Square, water cascading off the brim of my hat in a steady, miniature waterfall, watching the locals navigate the deluge with that effortless dignity only locals seem to possess. They didn’t run so much as simply glide beneath enormous, structurally sound umbrellas, looking as though they were modelling rainwear from a high-end catalogue.
I, meanwhile, was completely soaked. An earlier decision not to bring a jacket was coming back to haunt me. My vest had surrendered twenty minutes earlier, absorbing water like an oversized sponge, and my left shoe had developed a rhythmic squelch that sounded like the death throes of a dying amphibian. The tiles and neatly laid walkways, which I’m sure are beautifully picturesque in the midday sun, had transformed into a treacherous obstacle course covered by a slick film of pooling water.
I took three cautious steps, immediately lost my footing, and performed a brief, frantic tap dance to avoid both my camera and my skull cracking open in the middle of one of Auckland’s most public places. With a desperate flailing of my arms as the rain pelted down, I somehow managed to retain my equilibrium and assured the onlookers that I’d been doing my own stunts for years now.
It was at that point I came to the conclusion that it was time to abandon the square and head for the dry sanctuary of a nearby covered arcade.
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