Daily Photo – Queen Street in Auckland

I thought Auckland’s Queen Street would be busy on a Wednesday, but it was the very opposite. The streets were virtually empty of tourists and shoppers, as if they’d abandoned the city centre; only the occasional group of well dressed people in business attire appeared, hurrying between buildings. Perhaps the persistent rain had persuaded people to find better things to do than pass their day by aimlessly wandering between shops, with an occasional coffee thrown in. It used to be a place that was teeming with people and a hub of activity.

How the world has changed. Now there wasn’t much more than a scattering of people, the majority seeming to be sitting in doorways asking for money or yelling at each other from across the street while the commercial focus seems to have shifted out into the suburbs, leaving very little reason for people to actually go into the city center in the first place. Yet, despite all that, there were still glimpses of the old Auckland: the grand old buildings, the odd busy café, and the occasional burst of life that reminded me the city hadn’t completely given up on itself. Perhaps it was simply waiting for the rain to stop.