Days 32 & 33 – Feb 6 & 7 – Auckland, New Zealand

We had 2 days to spend in Auckland, New Zealand and we both are thrilled to be here and to know that we now have 6 more port of calls in NZ

I took a hike up Mt Eden.  This is a small mountain that overlooks the city and the two bodies of water that border Auckland (Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea).  It was great to be out and about in the woods, listening to the birds.  Good for my soul.  I am looking forward to longer hikes in this next week.

Volcano crater

I shared the trails with a few hikers and joggers.  Had a lovely chat with a woman who hikes this mountain as often as she can, she provided me with the names of trees that I was intrigued by.

New Zealanders love their land and in many ways are ahead of the rest of the world with their environmental efforts.

The summit is a very popular spot for tourists and locals.  The view is spectacular.

I had fun watching a busload of young Japanese girls flirting with a group of German boys. 

This evening we had an absolutely fantastic Folkloric Show:  “Haka Legend Maori”.  I’m usually not a big fan of these type of shows, they sometimes feel very fake, this one was very real.  The moderator was a delightful Maori woman who spoke with much knowledge of her people and their culture.  The dancers/singers were a joy to behold.  Their chants and love songs have the same melody that we most associate with the Hawaiian islands.  The Haka warrior demonstration is one of defiance, arrogance and bodily strength, especially how they stick out their tongues.  We westerners laugh but I’m positive it was very frightening to their enemies.

On the second day both Sharon & I went on a tour to the Auckland Museum, this was part of a bus tour of “Highlights of Auckland”.  Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand and has the largest commercial port.  It is called the “City of Sails”.  Which is quite evident as your drive along the shoreline.  The Yacht Club has a lot of huge yachts from the Grand Caymans (a tax right-off??) But back to the museum, it was a big hit and we were there for 90 minutes.  The Maori section was exquisite.  Sharon chose to spend all of her time there.

This museum is also called the War Memorial Museum and is sitting on a large hill overlooking the city.

We returned to the ship and I watched some of the 2nd quarter of the Super Bowl game (yes we had a live broadcast in our main ballroom with great food). 

  Sharon stayed for the remainder of the game.  We both know that this will shock our family and friends but it was a little bit of Americano for us and also fun to be with a bunch of crazy football fans.

I left before half-time to walk over to the Maritime museum.  Oh and how I wished that I had been able to spend more time there.  It was filled with gallery after gallery of pictures, films and artifacts of NZ’s interesting maritime history from the canoes of the Maori to their recent sailing victories.  I must now read the biography of Peter Blake, a key player in NZ’s yachting industry, who lead the sailing team that brought the Americans cup back to New Zealand.  I was also intrigued by their immigration history.  I didn’t realize how many different ethnic groups made their way to this relatively new country.  They had a very real like replica of a British steerage ship dormitory.  Mind bogging to compare that to the cabin that Sharon and I share and the luxuries that we have on this ship. 

Another interesting fact that I learned on our first tour was that Auckland has the largest population of Polynesian people in the world.

These are pictures that I took as we sailed away.

The event coordinator had people jumping in the pool with their clothes on to get a FREE bottle of Champagne.  I declined!!

This is the Pilot Boat which every large harbor has.  A local pilot is required to come onto large ships and monitor the ship’s entry and departure from their waters.  What I wasn’t aware of was how the pilot actually comes aboard and leaves the ship as we are out at sea.  It’s done as both our ship and this small pilot boat are moving at slow rates of speed.  A rope ladder is lowered and the pilot climbs down and then jumps onto the deck of his boat.  So much fun to watch and not good for taking pictures of since I was leaning over the railing.

Suburbs of Auckland.

  Surfers paddling their surf boards.

Here’s some additional pictures taken on our last formal night:

Ain’t we Grand???

Friends at the Piano Bar

“The Little Girl with the curl in the middle of her head”