There is a point on the North Island of New Zealand where the land narrows to a thin strip between the island peninsula to the north and a mountainous, cave addled terrain to the south. On the one side there is Waitemata Harbour and the other is Manukau Harbour, there are mountain ranges to the southeast and to the west. In the middle of all this stands Auckland, one of the loveliest cities in the world and according to many, one of the most livable. The Maori were the original settlers here dating back to about 1350 AD. However tribal wars and epidemics ravaged the settlements and by 1840, when the Europeans came to settle here the area was almost deserted. Today, Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city with a population of about 1 million inhabitants. It is known as the “big city” for the Polynesian islands of the South Pacific. So many of the islanders have moved from the New Zealand’s Pacific neighbours to Auckland that it is now the largest concentration of Polynesians in the world, with more recently attracting immigrants from Asia. With all these foreign influences Auckland has developed into a much more cosmopolitan atmosphere than the other cities in New Zealand. With the city sprawling between these two are harbours and with the popularity of so many sailing yachts it is no wonder the nickname for the city is the “City of Sails”
This is our second visit here with the first been some 11 years ago. For us cruising into Auckland has the same look and feel as coming into Vancouver. It is in the way the harbour and the buildings are all laid out - plus the weather, today would be a typical Vancouver late summer day, marine clouds in the morning giving way to a sunny and warm 24 degree day. The last time we were here we did ship tours outside the city so today we purchased Hop on Hop Off (HOHO) tickets to help better explore this great city. That said, we also purchase the combo package of adding on the island paradise of Waiheke Island, a 40 minute ferry ride away - so tomorrow we will explore the city a bit better. Waiheke Island is a beautifully laid out island with about 30 wineries with plenty of beaches and many walking trails. We did a bit of everything while hopping on and off the Island Explorer HOHO. Our visit to island ended with a fantastic lunch at a place called Vino Vino - what an incredible deck, a wow moment. Well actually our visit more like ended with a bang, well maybe a few more bangs. Let me explain. On one section of the island they are doing some road works, where all vehicles need to wait before proceeding down a narrowed portion of the road, a spot where there is one tree limb in bit of an awkward spot. Well before we jumped onto the bus in the town a couple from the ship, some friends, told us the bus will be late as the double decker bus was taken out of commission as it had hit this tree and look out some of the windows - one passenger said it sounded like they had hit an elephant, we were like, well wow, that is why it is late. Okay, some minutes go by and our bus does come, okay not too bad, and we continue. All is good until we get to this exact same spot, just as our bus guide tells us the story and points out the spot, we hear a huge crash (kind of like we hit an elephant or two or three), five of our windows shatter and within a few turns the glass begins to fall out, wow. We are only minutes away from the ferry, so the driver slows down to a crawl to get us to the end of the line where the ferry is just about to leave but waits until our bus passengers are on board. Now isn’t that a crazy way to end our day. I did suggest BTW, that they might want to consider limbing that tree (3 buses in two days). Great ferry ride back, we did a little walk about to the harbour to see the amazing America’s Cup Racing yachts before getting back to the ship for a bit of a rest before dinner. Great day, looking forward to tomorrow’s adventure. A few pics of our day, hope you enjoy…
Quote of the day - “The most dangerous phrase is, We’ve always done it that way” - Grace Hopper
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