Saturday - February 05, 2005

New Zealand: Auckland

We only saw a small part of New Zealand, but it was enough to tell us that we definitely want to return with time to tour the whole island. It is a very civilized country, with extremely friendly and helpful locals, great natural beauty, and fantastic parks and gardens. In some ways, it is more British than Britain, but with a definite twist.

Our time in New Zealand was quite limited and the weather could have been better, but even though the skies were overcast, the temperature was warm and we thoroughly enjoyed our taste of the country. We docked at the bottom of Queen Street in Auckland, on the North Island, right next to the Hilton Hotel. We had to be careful about keeping our curtains closed in the morning because some of the hotel room balconies looked right into our window! It is easy to see why Auckland is known as the City of Sails. There are something like 70,000 sailboats in the marinas around the city. You don't see many out during the day on a weekday, but come 5 pm., everyone must race home from work and hit the water, because they are quite noticeable in the early evening.

It was hot and humid in Auckland, but we spent most of our time walking around the city and riding the various bus systems available. We walked past the shops on Queen Street, explored the Parnell District with its boutiques, galleries, and restaurants housed in charming Victorian houses, and criss-crossed the Domain (which we would call an arboretum) to see its various gardens and conservatories. I expect we had walked a few miles before I got hot and cranky and a bit dehydrated. So after downing about a half liter of water, we caught the ferry that took us over to the Victorian town of Devonport, just a 15-minute ride across the bay. The town had some beautiful craft and antique shops, but unfortunately for me, they were all closed by the time we got there ( I thought I heard Mike heave a sigh of relief). After wandering around town and admiring the lovely architecture of the houses and some of the Art Deco buildings, we wandered into the Victorian hotel on the waterfront that had been restored recently. The bar had huge windows that opened onto the bay, so we took a seat in front of a window, ordered a big gin and tonic each, and enjoyed the breeze and the view of the sailboats gliding by with the Auckland skyline in the distance. We were quite content to sit there until about 7 pm when it was time to get the ferry back.

We had played with the idea of having dinner ashore, and we looked at some lovely places in the old Ferry Building overlooking the water, but then decided that once we got back on the boat to clean up, we might as well just eat at one of the best restaurants in town - our own dining room! We didn't cast off until 11 pm., but people started gathering onshore around 10 to see us off, and by 11 there was quite a crowd on the hotel balconies and the pier. So with three long blasts from the whistle, the tugs pushed us out to cheers, camera flashes, and waves from the crowd. After we were safely away from the dock, the tugs got into the act and started showing off for us by flipping around in circles alongside us! Those little boats are quite amazing. And the more they flipped these circles, the more we all clapped and hollered our approval, which led them to do more. It was all great fun, and the view of Auckland, with its buildings and the Sky Tower all lit up, was quite a memorable sight.