Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city, with one-third of all New Zealanders living here (1.5 million of New Zealand’s total population of 4.5 million). It’s a city of gleaming skyscrapers, but it’s definitely New Zealand through and through.
Our travel agent – Preferred Travel of Naples, Florida – and the Signature Collection, arranged for a (free) 4-hour private tour of Auckland with an Abercrombie & Kent tour guide and driver. We had chosen our first of two days in Auckland (March 2) for the private tour. Our guide, Samantha, and driver, Derrick, were both highly qualified and, just as importantly, flexible as to itinerary. We told them where we had visited during our last visit to Auckland, and that we didn’t want to do much walking around in the rain. They totally understood, and we spent much of our time driving around in their very comfortable car.
We began our visit at 9:30 by driving along Beach Road, passing several very nice-looking beachfront communities with parklands along the water, as well as biking, walking trails, and other family activities. We believe that two of these communities were named Mission Bay and St Heliers Bay. Our first stop was at Achilles Point, a scenic lookout platform, for views of Auckland's harbor and skyline, as well as some of the major islands nearby. Unfortunately, it was still misty enough that we could see something was out there, but there weren’t any great photo opportunities. However, the natural environment here was quite pleasant.
Next, we drove back into town on a fruitless pursuit of Golden Kiwi Jam, which Ginny wanted to purchase. We stopped at a nice Auckland specialty store named Farro Fresh Food – a store that displays and sells what they consider to be “the very best and finest of New Zealand food.” It was a beautiful store, but they didn’t have any Golden Kiwi Jam. Samantha claimed that she had never heard of such a thing, but it was worth a try.
We next drove through some old, established big-city types of neighborhoods that are still good places to live. Samantha used words like upscale boutiques, galleries and fine dining options for the Parnell neighborhood. For the Ponsonby neighborhood, she pointed out independent book-shops, trendy cafes, and bars specializing in craft beers.
There’s a lot to see in Cornwall Park – verdant green rolling fields, thousands of large native and exotic trees, playgrounds, even sheep, cows, chickens, and other animals wandering loose in the park. Derrick had to slow down a few times to allow sheep to cross the road. We found that amazing for parkland in a major world city – a breath of countryside in the heart of the city. Samantha told us that tens of thousands of annual plants and 10,000 bulbs are planted here every year. Included within the park area is One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie), a 597-foot tall volcanic peak. Samantha and Derrick told us that this is an important place for both Maori and other New Zealanders. We drove to the top and got out of the car to see the 360-degree views across the Auckland area, which was still somewhat obscured by clouds and fog. Auckland is built on a 7-mile wide isthmus, with Pacific Ocean on one side and Tasman Sea on the other.
Samantha ended the tour with a visit to the top of Sky Tower – an iconic landmark on the Auckland skyline. It is 1,076 feet tall, making it the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere. This was a wonderful overall tour of Auckland. We saw a lot, and we learned a lot; but, of course, we just scratched the surface in a city of this size.
One interesting fact that we read: There are more Polynesian people living in Auckland than in all the Pacific Islands where they originated.
Crystal Symphony remained docked overnight in Auckland. We woke up this morning feeling much happier, as the sky was blue and the sun was shining brightly. This is what it looked like from the bow of the ship this morning when Jim was walking around the Promenade Deck.
We decided to do some exploring on our own. Just outside the cruise ship terminal is Queen Street, the main street of Auckland. Our plan was to check out the ferry boat terminal just next door to us on Queen Street. We considered two options – the 12-minute ferry boat ride to Devonport Village – the historic site of the first Auckland settlement and home of the New Zealand Navy. Or, a 90-minute Harbor Cruise. We chose the Harbor Cruise and were happy that we did.
Pulling out of the ferry terminal, we had great views of Crystal Symphony and the downtown skyline. Also parked in the port were two strange looking ships that are now being used to transport new automobiles around the world for sale. We’ve seen them before, but they always surprise us. As we continued down the coast, we saw the pretty beach villages we had seen along the road yesterday (probably Mission Bay and St Heliers Bay).
We’ve seen Auckland referred to as “The City of Sails.” In fact, we read that at least one of every 10 Auckland residents owns a boat, and we saw lots of sailboats out in the water this Saturday morning. Later in the harbor cruise, we saw what was referred to as the largest marina in the Southern Hemisphere (3,000 berths).
Upon returning to the ship, we made a quick stop at the Bistro, a type of French Café on Deck Six.
Pulling out of the ferry terminal, we had great views of Crystal Symphony and the downtown skyline. Also parked in the port were two strange looking ships that are now being used to transport new automobiles around the world for sale. We’ve seen them before, but they always surprise us. As we continued down the coast, we saw the pretty beach villages we had seen along the road yesterday (probably Mission Bay and St Heliers Bay).
As we passed under the very tall Harbor Bridge (spelled ‘Harbour’ in New Zealand), our captain slowed down the boat, and we experienced viewing something remarkable. He told us that sometimes people jump off this bridge on bungee cords, and he saw some activity that might mean that someone was going to try the jump. Within 2 – 3 minutes it happened, a body came hurtling off the bottom of the bridge at the end of a bungee rope. It turned out to be a young lady, and she was successful. She almost made it as far down as the water, but she didn’t get wet. Then she went flying back up and then down again. The boat then left to go back to the ferry terminal, so we don’t know how she got back up to the bridge level. You don’t see something like that every day!
After coming off the ferry boat, Ginny went to a nearby gift shop, and Jim walked down Queen Street to the National Maritime Museum (an outstanding attraction which we’ve visited in the past). Today, he was headed for the Volvo Racing Boats that we heard were down at the Viaduct Basin. It was easy to find, as there were thousands of other people headed there as well. The “Volvo Ocean Race” is a yacht race that goes around the world, held once every three years. The 2017-18 race started in Alicante, Spain on October 22, 2017. Leg 6 of the race left Hong Kong on February 7th and reached Auckland on February 27th. That leg lasted 20 days (6,500 miles in the open ocean), and the margin of victory at the finish was just two minutes between first and second place. There are actually only eight yachts in the race, but it’s apparently a big deal in the yachting world. The race is expected to finish in the Netherlands in late June 2018. We’re not knowledgeable about yachting, but it was interesting to see all the excitement and the crowds of people down there in the yacht basin.
We’re now beginning Segment 3 of our World Cruise 2018 -- leaving Auckland tonight, heading for Bay of Islands, which is even further north in New Zealand.
We’ve seen Auckland rated as “one of the world’s most livable cities,” and we understand that. The combination of pleasant climate, casual lifestyle, beautiful harbors and bays, superb beaches, many nearby outdoor activities, and all the facilities and services of a booming urban center add up to something very appealing. We enjoyed the visit.
Jim & Ginny
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