World Cruise--The Land Of The Kiwis

 We arrived as the sun was rising and spreading its warm rays on the stately buildings of Auckland, New Zealand. Before us was the iconic Sky Tower. The cruise pier could not have been more conveniently located and the welcome to Auckland more spectacular as a tug boat sprayed water into the air to celebrate the maiden call for Queen Anne.

Before breakfast, we walked out on the promenade deck and watched our huge ship apply the “brakes” as it backed into the slip and gently moved to the pier. The shadow of the ship crawled up the side of the Hilton Hotel that is on the Princess Wharf. I wondered if those staying in the hotel were going to appreciate looking into the side of the ship for two days. We were due to stay overnight in port.

Our plan, made before the start of our cruise, was to take a ferry to Devonport which sits across the harbor. It is a little town that we had visited once before and since we’d done all the city tours in the past we opted out of pounding the pavement between the buildings.

The ferry docks were close by on the starboard side of our ship and a quick ten minute walk. Our hearts sank as we neared and saw a huge line but it turned out that it was the ferry to Waikeke Island which is almost an hour away but a very popular spot with beaches and other points of interest especially with it being a Saturday. Our ferry ride would only take twelve minutes.

Devonport was a little bigger than I remembered but still kind of quaint. One of the missions for the day was to find a hair salon. We walked several blocks and saw at least three barber shops and Bob suggested I could change my hairstyle. I’ve learned to ignore some of those comments. Around a corner, we found two hair salons and I looked them up on my phone. (We had opted into a day of international service from AT&T.) The prices made me gulp but then I remembered that it was NZ dollars and the US cost was only a little more than half of that and still a great savings over what the ship charges.

Luckily they had room for me in the one shop and I only had to wait a half hour. We grabbed a cup of tea at the café across the street and waited it out. A little more than an hour later I paid for my haircut and asked if I could leave a tip. She smiled sweetly and said, "Oh no. We don't ever accept tips." "But you did such a nice job." I insisted. She shook her head, "But thank you." I was feeling pretty good with a decent haircut and the rest of the day before us.

The information center in the ferry building had maps of the town as well as several choices for self guided walks. We picked up one that listed historical places along the waterfront which is lined with a park and we headed out. The last time we had attempted to walk the waterfront there it had started raining and we had even loaned one of our two umbrellas to another couple from the ship we were on who were unprepared. This time though, the weather could not have been nicer.

It turns out we weren’t really that interested in the history so much as enjoying the sunny day with mild temperatures and a breeze that turned a bit windy later but was oh so refreshing. The information lady had pointed out that at the end of the waterfront walk there was a naval museum and a little restaurant. It was a good long walk and by the time we arrived, we were hungry.

Bob had a great bowl of seafood chowder and I opted for a BLAT, a bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich. Both servings were huge but we managed to finish it all. Somehow it felt like real food from home. The ship’s food is good but after a while it begins to taste the same.

We meandered a bit through some side streets to get back to the center of town and in doing so passed by two cricket fields. We paused just long enough to watch a couple of hits and try once again to figure the game out. No luck. We moved on.

Back at the ferry dock there was a bit of a delay when one of the scheduled runs was canceled. No panic though. We had all day to get back and as long as we could sit to wait, we were good. When I looked at my phone’s pedometer, I saw we had already walked over five miles.  (It would be closer to seven by the time the day was done.)

Our evening entertainment on the ship was a Maori group who performed many of their traditional practices with sticks and balls on strings and even a love song which seemed a bit out of character for the fierce representation of the warriors. The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand, said to be Polynesians who arrived at the island around 1200 AD. They don’t exhibit the soft sweetness of the Polynesian traditions so much in their routines but then they had to be fierce and frightening in order to survive outside attack.

After the show, we went up on one of the top decks to see the city lit up at night. The Sky Tower was a silver silhouette and the Auckland Harbor Bridge was illuminated with multiple colors. A lovely night skyline.

The next morning we started off with what we jokingly refer to as a “laundry excursion.” The free laundry room is always an adventure. It is one of the sore points for many. The ship does not have one on every floor so they are in high demand, especially at the cost of the ship’s laundry. It has been the source of many hard feelings and even some intimidation. People removing laundry from dryers that aren’t done or jumping the line of waiting guests to claim a machine. It was reported by someone that one lady complained to a man who was using more than one washer (there’s supposed to be a limit of one washer/guest). He turned to her and told her he was not someone to mess with, he was dangerous. She reported him to the ship’s security. Don’t know what may have happened then. So far we’ve been okay. Only once found a lady unloading my washer before it was completely done. She never apologized. So, when we showed up at 8AM just as the laundry had opened, I was delighted to see no line out the door and one washer empty. It was a great excursion to begin the day.

By the time we exited the ship to find the Hop On Hop Off bus, it was misting. I hoped the whole day was not going to be like that. The Weatherbug had predicted partly sunny, no rain. When we found the stop for the HOHO, we realized it was the second, not the first, and there was no one there to sell you a ticket. We waited a bit to see if we might buy one on the bus but as we did, I suggested that the real itinerary for the day was the visit to the aquarium. Why not just take an Uber? It was probably cheaper and wouldn’t take as long to get there. We’d seen everything on this route once before.

So that’s what we did. It was about $10USD and a delightful driver who dropped us off at the entrance to the SEALIFE Kelly Tarlton Aquarium. Sometimes it pays to be old. We got senior rates to get in.

The aquarium is very nice and has a lot especially for kids to interact with. The feature attraction, at least for us, was the penguin exhibit just after you first enter. It is the only exhibit I recall of all the aquariums we have visited that has a collection of King Penguins, the really large ones that are harder to reach in Antarctica. They are so much fun to watch. Personalities emerge if you study them for a bit. I’m sure it’s fun for the caretakers.

There were a few other surprises. Several species of jellyfish were displayed that were new to us. I’m always entranced by the grace of the jellyfish as they dance through the water.

We came to a tank that had what appeared to be strange seahorses. They were called sea dragons and looked a bit like the leafy sea dragons we’ve seen but without the “leaves”. There were the usual tanks of colorful marine fish, large groupers, sharks and rays in a walkthrough clear tunnel and one large tank were we sat for a few minutes and watched some large sea turtles swim slowly back and forth. Marine exhibits can be mesmerizing.

After our aquarium visit, we walked along the water to Mission Bay. It has a nice beach area and plenty of beachside restaurants that line the main street. We finally settled on one that had a special on sandwiches and opted to split a club sandwich that was out of this world good.

Another Uber, a short walk to a convenient store for popcorn and nuts (I was craving popcorn. Bob needed cashews) and we were back at the ship. We would sail away at seven but not out of New Zealand. Tomorrow Tauranga!