Auckland

Auckland

What a beautiful place! We loved this city. We walked off the ship with four of our friends and got on the hop-on/hop-off Explorer Bus at the Ferry Terminal about two blocks from the ship. The first stop was Kelly Tarltons Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World where I finally saw some penguins, granted not in the wild, but in very authentic conditions. At Tarltons, we rode in Snow-cats on a track through an environment that is matched to the length of daylight, temperature, and other conditions duplicating Antarctica. The penguins, of several varieties, were free to be penguins and roam about a fairly large area as we rode by encased in our vehicle for their protection. The underwater part was like the aquarium in NJ near Philly where the people stand on a moving walkway through clear tubes with marine life swimming beside and above them. We saw sharks, stingrays, and many varieties of fish, including lobsters, eels, and cousins of Nemo and Dory from the Disney movie.

We rode past several stops because it was lunchtime! We went to Parnell Village, New Zealand’s oldest suburb, with its Victorian buildings, art galleries, restaurants, boutiques and tourists as well as locals. We enjoyed our vegetable sushi lunch, including a delicious tofu-wrapped rice dish I forget the name of while sitting in an outdoor courtyard in front of a lovely fountain.

After lunch we made a stop at one of the shops, an optician. Once again my doomed glasses needed attention. This was the same pair that I dropped from the Boat Deck to the roof of a structure below a few days earlier. This time I had bent one of the earpieces so much that it was impossible to have anything in focus. A nice man there said they might break, but he would try. Since I had nothing to lose at that point, I said please give it a try. They were quickly back on my face and working perfectly. Next, I was admiring the pastries and desserts in a patisserie and decided to buy one for each couple to share as a dessert. It was a fabulous bar made of oatmeal, pistachio nuts, cashews, peanuts, raisins and a wonderful honey. I have been thinking about it ever since!

Back on the bus, we rode around the circuit to the Auckland Museum and wandered through the collection of Maori artifacts and exhibits. The collection is impressive and has to be seen to be appreciated, so after I return home, I will put photos where everyone can view them on the web. Although it was a wonderful museum, we quickly reached our museum-saturation point and went outside to get on the satellite bus route out to the suburbs. We stopped at Mt Eden, Auckland’s highest point, for stunning 360 degree views of the city and a view down into the remains of the volcanic crater. The driver on the satellite bus wanted to talk so we had a fabulous discussion about Auckland and the US and traveling. What a pleasure it was to talk with him.

And so we were back on board and sailed away from another wonderful port.