The City of Sails

Auckland is known as the City of Sails because Aucklanders claim to own more boats per capita than any other city in the world. The view of all the sailboats in the harbor was amazing. On our way to Auckland we crossed the international dateline and completely lost a day, though the day we lost was Friday the 13th, so we didn't mind much. Apparently on our way home we will regain the day, so it'll be just like Groundhog Day.

We arrived in Auckland just after 7am Sat morning after a 13 hour flight aboard New Zealand Air. Once in the city we freshened up and then headed out for brunch at a cafe overlooking Waitemata Harbor. As we dined we met two older couples, one from Auckland and the other from Australia. They were very pleasant and gave us many tips on what to see and do while in the area. After brunch we took the ferry over to Devonport, a quaint town across the bay with many local shops and places to explore. We began our trek there by hiking up Mt. Victoria, one of the many dormant volcanoes in the Auckland area. After enjoying the wonderful views we crossed the island to Cheltenham Beach where we witnessed locals playing a game of Cricket, a first for the both of us. Per tradition the players were all dressed in white.

Also on Cheltenham Beach we saw people windsurfing using kites. The view from the beach was wonderful and we could see Rangitoto island, one of the youngest volcanoes, in the distance. We explored the beach and walked across some volcanic rock. Once we climbed around the edge of a cliff and came to a dead end, but while deciding how to proceed were passed by a group of college students. We decided to follow them through an old tunnel into the cliffside which eventually exited us at the top of the cliff. We discovered the group had Californians who were studying abroad in Auckland. The tunnel was constructed during WW II along with an interesting netting system to catch submarines.

Next, Mike and I trekked back to town and had an afternoon snack and some local New Zealand wine and a half pint of Guiness at a Pub. We then took the ferry back to
Auckland. Later that night we freshened up and ate dinner back in Auckland at a posh gourmet restaurant in the Viaduct area called S'oul.

Sunday morning Mike and I explored and did a bit of shopping enjoying the currency exchange rate in our favor. After lunch we climbed aboard that Explore NZ boat for a whale and dolphin safari on the Hauraki Gulf. On our way out in search of dolphins we saw many birds including gannets and gulls. Occasionally we spotted tiny blue penguins beside the boat and swimming in the ocean. The view aboard the ship was spectacular and on the return leg of the cruise we finally came upon a pod of common dolphins who gave us a show by swimming and jumping in front of the ship. They were amazing and beautiful, and we watched them play, swim and leap from the water for about thirty minutes before setting our sides on the shore. We met a nice couple who were backpacking from England and a couple of local Auckland kids who were aboard the ship. Upon arriving home we trekked back to our hotel to freshen up for dinner. Around 9:00 we tried to find somewhere to dine and discovered that many places in Auckland don't serve that late on a Sunday night. We finally found a quaint Italian restaurant for dinner.

This morning we woke and went on an Eco tour to the Waitakere Ranges regional park. We hiked through a native temperate rainforest and learned about the local flora and fauna. We saw Tea trees, huge Kauri trees, and silver leaf ferns. We hiked up narrow paths to a breathtaking waterfall which we viewed from the bottom and eventually hiked and sat on the top. The waterfalls were called Kitekite Falls and we watched a group of adventurers repelling down the side of the falls. At the top we were able to drink fresh water from the stream. After we hiked out of the forest we traveled to nearby Piha beach with black sand and an amazing view. They call the massive rock there Lion Rock because from the beach it resembles a large lion facing out to sea. Piha beach faces the Tasman Sea which eventually leads to Australia. They said on a clear day you can view the Sydney Harbor Bridge from Piha and depending on how strong the current is they have had dead snakes was ashore from Australia which they bag up and ship back (New Zealand is proudly snake free).

For our final night in the Auckland we had dinner in the revolving restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower, Orbit, to enjoy the view of the city. We had an amazing time in Auckland and our only regret so far is not having enough time to see everything. Tomorrow we fly to Wellington for more adventures. Enjoying the Southern Hemisphere, Laura & Mike