Auckland, The City of Sails

Auckland’s nickname is well earned. With a population of 1.6 million and an equal number of pleasure craft, sail boats dot the harbor from early morning to last light.

Our first view of picturesque Auckland.

We docked in the heart of downtown. Auckland is a great walking city.

Pulling into our slip, we are greeted by The Ferry Building, an historical landmark.

Our excursion took us to the Auckland Memorial Museum. It is a remarkable tribute to the New Zealanders who fought and sacrificed their lives for their country. I got to try on a jacket used during WW1. Unbelievably heavy. You can see the photographer at work in the mirror.

A highlight of the museum was this Waka War Canoe. It transported over 100 warriors. I could not get a photo of the vessel so used this from the internet.

An artists rendition of what a canoe like this might look like in action.

Our next stop was a Kiwi farm. Kiwi’s are a leading export for New Zealand. I didn’t realize the extraordinary health properties of this fruit. One of the challenges the farms have is finding labor to pick the Kiwi’s. It requires hand picking the fruit which can be accessed only by hunching down to gain access to the fruit. Back intensive work!

Over a Kiwi tasting and talk we were entertained by a Mauri family.

My “fierce” pose and posture. What happened to my little tongue??? His is like a paddle! Hmmm. Afraid I’d be white meat for the locals.

Cheryl’s fiercest look. Oh well.

Auckland is adorned by many beautiful parks and gardens.

We had three days in Aukland. Evenings were spent exploring town. We wanted to sample New Zealand lamb and went with two other couples to The Soul Bar and Bistro. Great environment, located right on the water with delicious food. So good that Cheryl and I returned for lunch the next day.

The gentleman in the yellow shirt is our bridge teacher. He is a fabulous teacher and a very good guy.

We took a ferry to Davenport Island. Davenport is a delightful beach community with many botiques and resturaunts.

As we approached Davenport we had our first look at Mt Victoria. After lunch we enjoyed some sweeping views of Auckland from the summit.

Beautiful Auckland from the top of Mt Victoria.

Stopping off for a coffee before heading back to our ship and our next ports of call Napier and Rotorua, New Zealand.