Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - Auckland, New Zealand

Wednesday,  March  7, 2012 – Auckland, New Zealand

Phil and I had a good night’s sleep – jet lag seems to have disappeared. Breakfast at “Mecca” located in an area called The Chancery.  Even though meals are expensive here the food if outstanding -- Phil had smoked salmon and bacon on sourdough bread --- I had poached eggs on sourdough with a fruit bowl – coast was $53.50 NZ ---no tipping and we practically licked our  plates – everything was so good.

Our Overview Tour of New Zealand started at 9:00 am.   Peter --  our driver and guide --  is a native New Zealander  (otherwise known as a Kiwi) – he is descended from the Maori people. His knowledge of the area and his delivery quickly engaged his audience of 21 passengers.   Driving over the Westhaven Bridge  for a view of the city we noticed  a plethora of sailboats – we visited the area where the America’s Cup took place and stopped for a photo op looking back at the city.  We learned that Auckland was built on volcanic cones – that there were originally 23 Maori tribes but now there are 9 – with several sub-tribes -- and the main source of income for New Zealand is dairy.  We visit several upscale sections of the city and are told New Zealand has no slums.    The tour was just right --- and thoroughly enjoyable.

Arriving at the hotel we had a note from Beth and Lynn that they had gone to one of the islands – so we decided to get the 12:30 ferry to Devenport where Auckland was originally settled.   The weather was perfect for a ferry ride across the harbor and Devenport is lovely little village with lots of shops and restaurants.  We settled on Manuka for lunch ---  reasonable with delicious food.   After lunch we wandered around town – stopping in to the supermarket – a vintage shop, several used book shops (I counted five) and even a thrift store – called The Opportunity Shop.

We were on the 3:45 pm ferry to Auckland and arrived at the hotel just as Beth and Lynn were coming in from making their wine purchases to bring on the ship.  

For dinner we settled on Vivace – an Italian restaurant recommended by the concierge.   The food was very good – and their arrangement for ordering wine was  interesting.  Wine could be ordered as full a full glass or a taste.    Tastes were about 3 ounces – and most were $3.   It was a fun way to have a glass of wine while sampling a variety.    

When we left the restaurant – it had started pouring  rain.   We’ve had beautiful weather since we arrived – apparently our luck has run out.   We walked home in the rain which was actually quite pleasant since it was still warm.

A good day in Auckland, NZ ---

Thanks for Reading –

Pat