Sky Tower, friend of Eiffel, you conquered my heart

Towers. Tall, narrow structures reaching graciously towards the sky. Lonely, yet never alone. Outstanding, in every sense. Icons. Landmarks. Points of orientation. A souvenir. And a welcome home. 

Two beauties of their kind stole my heart. 
Having lived in Paris for a couple of years, no question, my top favourite is the one and only iron lady, the Eiffel Tower. It had accompanied every single step of mine through the cobblestoned streets of the City of Lights, posing for so many pictures. 
Now, living in the City of Sails, Auckland, our new home - actually it could be as well called the City of Beautiful Skies, too... anyways, it was kind of obvious right from my first visit to New Zealand. 
Yes, Sky Tower, you are the one who has conquered my heart... 

Sky Tower and Auckland Skyline as seen from the Auckland Harbour Bridge

Auckland Skyline with the Sky Tower emerging high above - as seen from Queen St

Sky Tower, one of the most iconic and most visited landmarks of Auckland celebrated its 18th birthday this August.  Maturity.  Masculinity - I somehow refer to it as a he - opposed to the Eiffel Tower as a she - probably due to the substance of the material it is built from and its pointy appearance in general. :)

"Be as a tower firmly set; 
Shakes not its top for any blast that blows." - Dante Alighieri

With its 328 m, the hub of tourists and telecommunications is the tallest structure constructed by manpower in the southern hemisphere - my other fave Ms Eiffel is just about the same size - 324 m, what a coincidence?! The views are just stunning. A truly unique experience awaits, should you wish to explore the heights for a SkyJump or SkyWalk around the edge up 192 m high or simply enjoy the most breathtaking 360 degree vista of the setting sun over Auckland and its surroundings. From a revolving resto that rotates every hour! With a ray of light caressing your skin and soul... 

The colours of the sky and clouds are just amazing from up there. Colours these days play an important role in the lives of towers, too. Sky Tower is white as default but loves to shine and often "dresses up" to mark different occasions or to support a cause. Such a great way to raise awareness! I also bumped into a cool photo post with the different colours if you are visual, otherwise here are the main ones: 

• red & green for Christmas, 
• pink for Mother's Day or Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 
• blue for Blues rugby team or Blue September + blue for the birth of the Royal Baby in 2013 :), 
• green for St Patrick's Day,
• red for Red Cross or ANZAC Day, 
• gold to celebrate an Olympic medal, 
• or gets red and cold for Chinese New Year or multicolour  to celebrate New Year's Eve, accompanied by fireworks,
• or no lights at all to celebrate Earth Hour :)
• Apparently it was also lit up in blue, red, white to commemorate the French National Day, Bastille Day :)
• This time, between 6-13 August, it is lit in red as well, symbolising a heartbeat for Heart Kids NZ and all the babies born with a heart defect in NZ. 

Sky Tower in red as seen from Viaduct Harbour, Auckland

So, I think I found a great new model - sorry Tour Eiffel - and will have enormous joy discovering the best photo spots in Auckland during the days to come... Especially after having a look at the work of this amazing photographer. Got totally inspired! 

Do you have a favourite spot to capture Sky Tower in full glitter and shine? Would love to hear about it :)

As of now, here are some of my favourite shots of Sky Tower and Auckland Skyline so far. Enjoy the view :)))

Auckland Skyline and Sky Tower as seen from Auckland Harbour Bridge

Auckland Skyline and Sky Tower as seen from Devonport

Escape the buzz of the city and chill - view over Auckland and the Sky Tower from the North Shore

***Got inspired? Thank you for sharing ;)