Auckland

The Owl and the Pussy Cat went to sea………………

We docked in Auckland bright and early. It is like docking in Manhattan – you are right downtown. I love it when there are skyscrapers right in front of you.

We went ashore as soon as we could to explore the cruise terminal.

The cruise terminal is fairly new, but has the most beautiful old reclaimed wood floors. The New Zealanders are very focused on people not bringing fruit into the country, so there was the cutest dog sniffing all of our bags. Alas with me, they are more likely to find chocolate than fruit – although I do enjoy chocolate covered strawberries.

There really wasn’t much in the terminal – no ATM, and just a stand selling souvenirs, but our phones did pick up a wifi signal. Great, free wifi! However it wasn’t that easy – the log in would not accept our US cell phone numbers as being real numbers, and our US zip code as being a real postal code. I suppose it would work for the locals, but not for us foreigners alas.

We had arranged to spend the day sailing with friends from university – Alan and Sally. We had seen Alan last year at our class reunion, but had not seen Sally in 40 years so there was a lot of catching up to do.

We headed to the yacht harbor, and carried our supplies out to their sailboat. Their boat is totally gorgeous, pea green 31 footer. There it is surrounded by all the boring white-hulled monsters, looking very cute, and very, very pea green.

We motored out of the harbor, hoisted the sails, turned off the engine, and headed out to the islands in the bay. It is great being on a large cruise ship with an engine, but nothing beats the peace and quiet of whizzing along under sail. We had a wonderful tour of the harbor, town, surrounding suburbs, and islands, and a couple of hours later we arrived at a white sandy bay on one of the islands. We dropped our anchor and Alan poured us a glass of a great local wine, and made a delicious lunch, while Sally and I caught up with all the news that one needs to know.

After lunch we jumped off the boat and went for a swim in the clear blue water. We then dried off in the sun, hoisted the sails, and returned to the harbor. We did not sail away for a year and a day in our beautiful pea green boat, but we had a totally relaxing day. Although I managed to scrape some of the nail polish off my right big toe, and destroy my pedicure, there were no misadventures. Unusual for us.

Luckily we were staying in Auckland until late, so we then went to Alan’s club for dinner. All very posh, and the food was great. We were introduced to the local oysters. Oysters, great wine and great company, it certainly was a wonderful meal. Feeling like Cinderella, the all aboard time of 10:30 came all too soon, and we had to dash back to the ship, yet again being almost the last people on board.

The gangway was on deck 3. Usually it is only on deck 3 on embarkation, and I am always in too much of a hurry to get on board, that I do not slow down and appreciate the experience of walking onto the ship. Tonight we could do that. I felt the excitement of walking along the promenade deck in anticipation of what lay ahead of us, and the splendour of entering the lobby. No, it does not have the wow! feeling when you first see the Grand Lobby on QM2, but has that elegance and quiet beauty that enchants you, and reassures you that you have made the right choice choosing to be on this beautiful ship. The smile, and “welcome back” from the security officer confirms that you are back home again.

When we got back to our cabin, there on our bed was a $100 gift voucher for the spa from the world’s best travel agent, Sue. Yay, I was so excited – the big decision is whether to get a new, and much needed pedicure, or indulge in a massage. Oh, the trials and tribulations of onboard life.

We looked out onto the balcony, and saw that we were already sailing quietly into the night. We had a great introduction to Auckland, and New Zealand. I can certainly understand why Alan and Sally decided to settle here. It seems to be a beautiful and very livable city, in a comparatively very sensible country.