Auckland New Zealand Tuesday, February 26
Auckland New Zealand
After we left Tonga we have 2 sea days before we land in New Zealand. And boy those 2 days were rough. The captain said that we left Tonga just in time before another storm was due to hit there the next day. So we sailed toward New Zealand in rough seas dodging around and on the edges of the storms. The day before we were to land in Auckland the seas were 20-40 ft with the winds reaching 75-80 miles per hr. As we were eating dinner in the dining room, dishes and glasses were crashing and falling all around us. I had to hang on to the most important thing on our dinner table...my wine glass. Wine is so expensive I didn't want to lose a drop. Luckily we can still handle the pitching and rolling and it did not bother us at all, but I will be glad to leave the South Pacific Ocean.
We docked in Auckland at 7am and the ship was cleared by the port authorities by 8. It was going to be a sunny cool day, in the mid 60's with a high of 75.....perfect for this Oregonian who was so ready to get off the ship. About 50 passengers were leaving the ship and about 45 were coming aboard. This port was the end of a segment if you choose to do this. The world cruise is broken up into segments if you don't want to do the whole thing. Many more will be getting off in Sydney, with probably just as many getting on. Singapore will be the end of the next segment.
Auckland is known as "The City of Sails". The harbor is full of yachts, and sailboats, including those that are used in the America's Cup race. It is New Zealand's largest city with a population of over 1 million. It also has the world's largest concentration of Polynesians that have moved here from the surrounding islands and more recently has been attracting immigrants from Asia.
No tours planned for today.....the big city was waiting for us to walk and explore. We left early and bought ferry tickets over to Devonport, a short 15 minute ride across the harbor. Devonport is one of the oldest settlements in New Zealand noted for it's colonial wooden architecture and victorian houses. It also has boutiques and cafes.....but the best was the view across the harbor of the skyline of Auckland. Stunning! We walked around and just enjoyed looking in the shops and visiting with the locals....very friendly people and I couldn't get enough of listening to their accents. We walked around for a couple of hrs just enjoying the sights and walking in the sun and cooler weather. Next on the agenda was to ferry back to the downtown area and walk toward the Sky Tower. At 1,072 ft high, it is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. Walking through the downtown area was much like any other big city. High end stores and shops, restaurants, and lots of traffic and people. Walking up and down the steep hilly streets reminded me of San Francisco. We arrived at the tower and looked up. I am not afraid of heights, but man that thing was high. I was a little nervous. We had to take an escalator to the bottom floor to buy tickets and as we reached the bottom there was this horrendous noise. We quickly turned around and about 8 full 5 gallon plastic water jugs....you know the kind that are made to refill the standing water coolers, well, they were tumbling and bouncing down the escalator right behind us breaking and spewing water all over the place. Bruce said run, and we did. Fortunately we were off the stairs and were able to dodge out of the way, but 3 ladies were right in their path. Luckily they were not hurt...just wet. The stupid idiot that was transporting them decided it would be quicker than taking the elevator, so he proceeded to use the escalator. And to make matters worse they were not even strapped on or secured to the trolly. It could have turned out a lot worse than it did. So, now with my adrenalyn running full bore, and shaking like a leaf, we bought tickets to the top of the tallest building in the Southern hemisphere. We even got the senior discount. It only takes about 10 seconds to get to the top, so it's fast. We arrived to see the best view of the whole area of Auckland and about 50 miles beyond in every direction. With windows from floor to ceiling and glass cut-outs on the outer edge of the floor that you could stand, walk on, and see straight down to the ground through, I was more than a little cautious. Well, I should say terrified since my nerves were still shot from the water jugs. Anyway...it really was a beautiful view once I calmed down a bit. We had a late lunch at the top and since it was getting close to all aboard time we headed back through the traffic and masses of people getting off work. It was a great day!
After we left Tonga we have 2 sea days before we land in New Zealand. And boy those 2 days were rough. The captain said that we left Tonga just in time before another storm was due to hit there the next day. So we sailed toward New Zealand in rough seas dodging around and on the edges of the storms. The day before we were to land in Auckland the seas were 20-40 ft with the winds reaching 75-80 miles per hr. As we were eating dinner in the dining room, dishes and glasses were crashing and falling all around us. I had to hang on to the most important thing on our dinner table...my wine glass. Wine is so expensive I didn't want to lose a drop. Luckily we can still handle the pitching and rolling and it did not bother us at all, but I will be glad to leave the South Pacific Ocean.
We docked in Auckland at 7am and the ship was cleared by the port authorities by 8. It was going to be a sunny cool day, in the mid 60's with a high of 75.....perfect for this Oregonian who was so ready to get off the ship. About 50 passengers were leaving the ship and about 45 were coming aboard. This port was the end of a segment if you choose to do this. The world cruise is broken up into segments if you don't want to do the whole thing. Many more will be getting off in Sydney, with probably just as many getting on. Singapore will be the end of the next segment.
Auckland is known as "The City of Sails". The harbor is full of yachts, and sailboats, including those that are used in the America's Cup race. It is New Zealand's largest city with a population of over 1 million. It also has the world's largest concentration of Polynesians that have moved here from the surrounding islands and more recently has been attracting immigrants from Asia.
No tours planned for today.....the big city was waiting for us to walk and explore. We left early and bought ferry tickets over to Devonport, a short 15 minute ride across the harbor. Devonport is one of the oldest settlements in New Zealand noted for it's colonial wooden architecture and victorian houses. It also has boutiques and cafes.....but the best was the view across the harbor of the skyline of Auckland. Stunning! We walked around and just enjoyed looking in the shops and visiting with the locals....very friendly people and I couldn't get enough of listening to their accents. We walked around for a couple of hrs just enjoying the sights and walking in the sun and cooler weather. Next on the agenda was to ferry back to the downtown area and walk toward the Sky Tower. At 1,072 ft high, it is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. Walking through the downtown area was much like any other big city. High end stores and shops, restaurants, and lots of traffic and people. Walking up and down the steep hilly streets reminded me of San Francisco. We arrived at the tower and looked up. I am not afraid of heights, but man that thing was high. I was a little nervous. We had to take an escalator to the bottom floor to buy tickets and as we reached the bottom there was this horrendous noise. We quickly turned around and about 8 full 5 gallon plastic water jugs....you know the kind that are made to refill the standing water coolers, well, they were tumbling and bouncing down the escalator right behind us breaking and spewing water all over the place. Bruce said run, and we did. Fortunately we were off the stairs and were able to dodge out of the way, but 3 ladies were right in their path. Luckily they were not hurt...just wet. The stupid idiot that was transporting them decided it would be quicker than taking the elevator, so he proceeded to use the escalator. And to make matters worse they were not even strapped on or secured to the trolly. It could have turned out a lot worse than it did. So, now with my adrenalyn running full bore, and shaking like a leaf, we bought tickets to the top of the tallest building in the Southern hemisphere. We even got the senior discount. It only takes about 10 seconds to get to the top, so it's fast. We arrived to see the best view of the whole area of Auckland and about 50 miles beyond in every direction. With windows from floor to ceiling and glass cut-outs on the outer edge of the floor that you could stand, walk on, and see straight down to the ground through, I was more than a little cautious. Well, I should say terrified since my nerves were still shot from the water jugs. Anyway...it really was a beautiful view once I calmed down a bit. We had a late lunch at the top and since it was getting close to all aboard time we headed back through the traffic and masses of people getting off work. It was a great day!
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| at the dock in Devonport |
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| Devonport main street |
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| Downtown Auckland from Devonport |
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| Shops and resturants in Devonport |
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| Auckland |
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| View from the tower. The bench seat below the railing so you could get a better view....I did not go there...no way. |
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| tons of boats |
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| another....no way..... |
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| do I really have to go higher.....yet I did. |
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