Korean Warships at Queens Wharf

Today, Friday August 20th, these two navy ships are visiting Auckland, and tied up to Queens Wharf. No security guards to be seen. Public welcome. I spotted them last night, all lit up like Christmas trees. This sort of visit is a taste of things to come - and I don't mean Cruise ships locking up Queens Wharf from public access...

As I walked along Queens Wharf last night, without knowing what these ships were, the first thought I had was that they were ours. But then I spotted the guard on the ship. And the uniform of the serviceman walking purposely along the wharf...

That's when I spotted these markings and saw I was wrong. My first thought was they were Japanese. But the guard informed me the ships were visiting from Korea. He said I should come the next day (Friday) when the ships would be open to view, from 10:00am till 10:00pm.

So I did come back, and, conitnue my photographic tour. You can see the welcome aboard sign there - and the big gun turret.

And here's that delightful: "Thank You New Zealand" sign. From the Republic of Korea. On TV we learned that the sign was a gesture of appreciation for the rescue of Korean fishermen in the recent tragedy. Today, even though it was a bit wet, there was a steady stream of Aucklanders stepping aboard.

There were glowing Korean Lanterns lighting the way. All vyer festive. And talk about CLEAN. The ships were like new.

As I stepped on the gangway, got this pic showing how the ship was tied up, Shed 10 in the background, and people coming aboard...

I was very impressed to see that the sailors had their own bikes. Ready for Auckland. Very sensible. Just thought you should know...

And above decks everybody took advantage of the access to pose and to take photos. Sometimes of themselves, of the Korean Officers who so politely showed us around, of the ship. I saw a Korean Officer use a visitor's camera to take a picture of the man and his daughter.

And visitors also took photos of Auckland from the ship's deck. You begin to see how this sort of image can brand Auckland. A bit different from the City of Sails, but still a city on the water. With a story to tell. A changing story.

You can see how Shed 10 can be adapted for this sort of public experience and amenity. This is about events, and about marketing Auckland. And its relationships with its neighbours. The Korean population is growing in Auckland. This sort of visit brings countries together, and people together.

One of the ships has a travelling exhibition. Displays. Models. Korean Officers there to answer questions...

Some of the displays speak of the Korean War. Historic battles were explained and described...

And this was the Hyundai display. I thought they only made fuel efficient cars. According to the sign: "the world's largest and leading ship yard"!

There were also a number of audiovisual displays. Pretty robust stuff.

So there you have it. An interesting visit. Makes me think about the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior. A major part of Auckland's maritime history. We need to make more of that. Such a story. So much drama. And another country... they even beat us in the last Rugby World Cup didn't they?