Well here we are in another country, and one we truly like…..New Zealand. Kia'ora from the island of the long white cloud. The population of this country is 4.5 million folks that speak English and Maori. Their capital is Wellington, which we will visit in a few days. The two islands that comprise New Zealand are considered the ultimate escape, and described as green, peaceful, and accepting. A South Pacific gem, it is full of snow-capped mountains, fjords, beaches, rainforests, and volcanoes that are still active. Wineries and micro-breweries bound these days. When you think of this country you see sheep, kiwi birds, Maoris, the All Blacks rugby team, sailboats, and the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. Since the two islands of New Zealand are long and thin, you are never more than 120 kilometers from the sea.
Now on to Auckland. This fabulous city is built on extinct volcanoes and spans two harbors. It wasn't long ago that this city was named as one of the world's most livable cities. It also has the largest Pacific Islander population in the world. Tours offered today included a city drive and museum - $80, Waitekere Wilderness - $150, Wine tasting - $110, and the Hop On Hop Off bus - $40. among others. Yesterday, a few of the tours had to be cancelled due to the recent flooding. We have been on most of these tours over the years, but now we are quite content to explore on our own.
The Zuiderdam sailed into the Waitemata Harbour in the darkness of the morning, where the ship was turned around, then backed into Princes Wharf. Our room faced the Hilton Hotel, which is built like a ship. The residents must love looking our their windows and seeing all of us so close by. There were two other cruise ships here……the Viking Neptune and the Ponant Le Laperouse. It is so nice to see that so many more cruise lines are back in business these days. A message was broadcasted several times concerning the removal of certain items from this ship. No fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, sandwiches, dairy, eggs or honey were allowed off. No flowers, seeds, or plants could be brought off. Only commercially bottled drinking water was allowed off. Anyone who tried to do this would face steep fines. We even saw posters taped inside every elevator this morning.
So we went off of the ship by 10am to mostly cloudy skies, but still warm and slightly humid weather. We pretty much followed a path we always take. Going up Queen Street, we passed by the high end shopping area of downtown. We began going uphill and soon noticed the Sky Tower to our right. It is an icon of the city that measures 328 meters high, the highest in the country. We were on our way to Albert Park, when something really dramatic occurred. Two cars stopped at a red light, when all of a sudden, a police car sped up the street, blocking the second car. Then two officers jumped out and pulled the driver out of that vehicle without even asking that person to get out of the car. Not sure if the driver was a man or woman. The car began rolling backwards, when one of the officers put it in park and set the brake. Within seconds, that person was hand-cuffed and put in the back of the police car. Another police car arrived and helped to clear the car out of the way. It was like watching a cop show on TV. We did not stick around to watch any more of the action, since we did not want to get in the way.
From here, we slowly hiked up the trail to access Albert Park. It was very steep getting to the top, but worth the views and the breeze. There is a well laid out garden with a fountain in the center facing a statue of Queen Victoria. Nice benches are all around to relax while taking in the numerous flower beds. Some of the oldest trees have to be planted in this park. From here we crossed the bridge over Welleslay Street which brought is to Symonds Street and the old cemetery. This entire area seems to be full of universities and housing for the students.
Then it was on to the Grafton Bridge, which crosses over a series of freeways to the Grafton area and the hospital. That led to the entrance to the Domain, a large park that houses the Wintergardens and the Auckland War Memorial Museum. We noticed that the stadium area was a lake from the recent flooding. It was full of birds enjoying the new pond. We made our way to the Wintergardens and found that a big part of it was under reconstruction. The flower hothouse was still opened, as was the fern garden. There are even more benches that surround the center pond with fountains. We happened to run into Mike and Pauline who had arranged a small tour for their friends. They do this often in many ports.
We did not take the time to explore the museum as we have been there several times in the past. And for the first time we can recall, we are only in this port for one day. So much to see, but so little time. After taking a load of photos, we made our way down the now mushy field of grass and the street that would take us to the Parnell Village district. This area is described as full of boutiques, eateries, and charming historic buildings. One of those happens to be the Holy Trinity Cathedral, a beautiful gothic Anglican Cathedral. Walking slowly down the steep street, we checked out the cafes along the way. One of us spotted a sign that had pizza in the title. One of the busiest ones happened to be Non Solo pizza, an Italian café. Checking their menu, we saw they had pizza and beer, so we took two seats at a high top table and ordered two Peroni drafts. It was heaven sitting there with ice cold beers after that hike. We had a margherita pizza, which was rather pricey, but good. Seems that inflation has hit here as well.
We made our way back down to Quay Street and Countdown, the local supermarket. We needed to pick up a few things, as well as some extra treats for our room. On our way back to the ship, we ran into Bob who was on his way back from an all day tour. As the three of us were heading towards the ship, a group of mostly French-speaking people asked us if we were on the Zuiderdam. Yes, we were. Then they asked where we came from and where we were headed. When we said it was a world cruise, they were absolutely giddy with amazement. They had just debarked from the Majestic Princess and stayed a few days in Auckland. They admitted they could not imagine being on a ship for 128 days. None of us mentioned that we had been on more than a few of these cruises. Then they went on their merry way.
We did check out the Gelato shop near the ferry landing, but they did not have Hokey Pokey ice cream. We shall search for it tomorrow.
Back on the ship, we relaxed in our room until it was time for sailing away which did not happen until 6:30pm. By then, the clouds had come over and it did begin to rain a bit, but we did have perfect weather all day. We have seen better sailings out of this harbor, but the dark clouds made everything looked rather grey. Too bad we did not have an extra day here.
We were all back to the table tonight, exchanging stories of the day. Most all of us had the fried brie cheese appetizer, cabbage and bacon soup (a bit salty), and salads. Mains were pork piccata with spaghetti and tomato sauce, and one fish plate – cobia with farfalle pasta. Everyone else ordered the Club Orange shrimp jambalaya, and liked it. A different crisp was on the menu tonight – a pear crisp. Looks like this might be an everyday alternate. By the way, the ship got major provisions today. Hope to see some fresh berries at breakfast tomorrow.
Bill & Mary Ann
