Auckland, New Zealand – February 22

Cloudy, some showers, 22 degrees

One thing I’ll say about travelling in the heat is that we’re never really unsure of what to wear. In the not-so-hot weather, it’s a bit tougher. Rain and 22 degrees, meant leggings, a jacket and an umbrella for me today. The ship provides umbrellas, but they are the giant kind that don’t exactly fit in a bag, we have one smaller bag sized that we brought, but of course didn’t

welcome to Auckland

use.

Our morning on the deck routine was interrupted by a passing shower…we didn’t let that deter us. We put bath robes on over our clothes, pulled our chairs out of the rain and toughed it out. Although we were going super slow it was still a bit windy and cool.

We didn’t even think about eating lunch outside, and good thing…by the time we were on our way back to the room., the rain was torrential!

one of Auckland's bays

Hmmmm, this didn’t bode well for the afternoon’s tour. As it turned out, the weather gods were on our side again – it was overcast all afternoon, but just as our 18-person van pulled out of the parking garage the rain let up.

Today’s tour is called “Devonport and the North Shore”. Devonport is a hip neighborhood of Auckland. Our guide has lived in Auckland all of his life, which was great. He told stories, pointed out things and describe them the way they used to be

Auckland was prepared for defense, but never needed it

compared to how they are now.

The drive to Devonport from downtown where the ship is ported takes about 90 minutes, but it can also be reached by ferry in 10 minutes! Incredible…that’s the beauty of public transport. 

So, we drove one way stopping along the way to look at things and hear about things, mostly getting out of the van. I’m not sure why we were

so many options

in a van and not a large coach bus, but I’m happy about it – one group of about 30 went in a coach while there were 2 smaller groups/vans.

Once we were done, we stayed in Devonport headed to a pub and caught the ferry back on our own. Auckland feels very familiar…western and British. Things here aren’t cheep…I guess this is like home also. A pint of beer cost us over 10 Canadian.

still drinking beer...smart

Our ship is docked in a perfect spot in downtown Auckland. It is a short walk to a bunch of restaurants and bars. This is where we spent the evening. It is a nice change when the ship

feels like home

is docked over night and it is an easy walk in. One of the drinks I had tonight was a local cider, I asked if it was sweet or dry…was told it was pretty dry…it wasn’t…and it was CLEAR! I’ve had my very fair share of

cider and NEVER, not once have I had a clear cider. I suspect it was manufactured like a cooler…gross.