We have returned to civilization, Auckland, where we have spent the past two days.
Today in Auckland was the culmination of a day we planned six months ago! We spent the day with Nola and Brian Jewell, a couple we met while on the Crystal Symphony last year. Our hosts were nothing short of wonderful as Nola picked us up downtown near the ship and gave us a marvelous guided tour of Auckland. Since we had seen all the “touristy” sights on our last visit, we got to see the real Auckland. By real, I mean where they live and shop, experience the driving, and go to the places the locals like to hang out at.
We stopped at a little beach town and had coffee. We walked along the beach with the strong sun beating down on us. New Zealand is warm in summer but can get hot. There is a hole in the ozone layer and the sun is very strong causing one to easily burn if not careful. I know this first hand because my shoulders were red. We then drove to another beachside town at Mission Bay and had a yummy fish and chips lunch. After exploring some of the historic Victorian and trendy neighborhoods, we found ourselves at a sailing club. What a beautiful setting. The water was shallow enough for the kids to play in, but deep enough for them to learn to sail.
We then went to the Nola’s home. Brian had returned from work and was there to greet us. It was a pretty hot and humid day so we sat outside in the lovely garden catching up and solving all the world’s problems. I am not a gardener, but I was impressed with the vegetable garden and the riot of colorful flowers. Part of dinner came right from the garden – fresh and tasty. We had a lamb dinner and a special New Zealand dessert called Pavlovas, a baked meringue garnished with – ta da – Kiwi fruit from the USA. Had a good laugh about that because Kiwi are out of season here.
It was a long day and I was so tired I never did finish writing what we did yesterday. Took a shower and headed to bed. Thank you, Nola and Brian, for making this a special day for the Walkers. Now it is your turn to come and visit us.
Today in Auckland was the culmination of a day we planned six months ago! We spent the day with Nola and Brian Jewell, a couple we met while on the Crystal Symphony last year. Our hosts were nothing short of wonderful as Nola picked us up downtown near the ship and gave us a marvelous guided tour of Auckland. Since we had seen all the “touristy” sights on our last visit, we got to see the real Auckland. By real, I mean where they live and shop, experience the driving, and go to the places the locals like to hang out at.
We stopped at a little beach town and had coffee. We walked along the beach with the strong sun beating down on us. New Zealand is warm in summer but can get hot. There is a hole in the ozone layer and the sun is very strong causing one to easily burn if not careful. I know this first hand because my shoulders were red. We then drove to another beachside town at Mission Bay and had a yummy fish and chips lunch. After exploring some of the historic Victorian and trendy neighborhoods, we found ourselves at a sailing club. What a beautiful setting. The water was shallow enough for the kids to play in, but deep enough for them to learn to sail. We then went to the Nola’s home. Brian had returned from work and was there to greet us. It was a pretty hot and humid day so we sat outside in the lovely garden catching up and solving all the world’s problems. I am not a gardener, but I was impressed with the vegetable garden and the riot of colorful flowers. Part of dinner came right from the garden – fresh and tasty. We had a lamb dinner and a special New Zealand dessert called Pavlovas, a baked meringue garnished with – ta da – Kiwi fruit from the USA. Had a good laugh about that because Kiwi are out of season here.
It was a long day and I was so tired I never did finish writing what we did yesterday. Took a shower and headed to bed. Thank you, Nola and Brian, for making this a special day for the Walkers. Now it is your turn to come and visit us.
***
Our second day in Auckland was for maintenance. Michael got a much needed haircut ($32) and I got my nails done ($30). We bought some sundries and went in search of some black dress socks for Michael. The prices were outrageously high for everything -- $16 for one pair of socks, but you had to buy three pairs. He passed on the socks.
***
The Auckland area was created from some 50 volcanoes, which are extinct. So you can image that is it quite hilly and is surrounded by so much water I couldn’t keep my bearings straight. Auckland is located on and around an isthmus, with its narrowest point merely two kilometers wide. There are two harbors on two separate bodies of water: Waitemata Harbor on the Pacific Ocean and Manukau Harbor on the Tasman Sea. There are rivers and inlets. No wonder I got turned around!
The people here are sooo friendly and obey the traffic laws. While waiting for Nola, Michael and I were looking at a map to see where the barber shop was located and a lady asked if we were lost and could she direct us. Wow! If the don’t walk sign was lit, then people didn’t walk! If the traffic light turned yellow or red, cars stopped and didn’t race through the intersection.
Here are some other facts about Auckland:
Our second day in Auckland was for maintenance. Michael got a much needed haircut ($32) and I got my nails done ($30). We bought some sundries and went in search of some black dress socks for Michael. The prices were outrageously high for everything -- $16 for one pair of socks, but you had to buy three pairs. He passed on the socks.
***
The Auckland area was created from some 50 volcanoes, which are extinct. So you can image that is it quite hilly and is surrounded by so much water I couldn’t keep my bearings straight. Auckland is located on and around an isthmus, with its narrowest point merely two kilometers wide. There are two harbors on two separate bodies of water: Waitemata Harbor on the Pacific Ocean and Manukau Harbor on the Tasman Sea. There are rivers and inlets. No wonder I got turned around!
The people here are sooo friendly and obey the traffic laws. While waiting for Nola, Michael and I were looking at a map to see where the barber shop was located and a lady asked if we were lost and could she direct us. Wow! If the don’t walk sign was lit, then people didn’t walk! If the traffic light turned yellow or red, cars stopped and didn’t race through the intersection.
Here are some other facts about Auckland:
· The population is one million out of a total population in New Zealand of four million
· There are more Pacific Islanders here than in all of Polynesia
· If you come into the country, don’t count on getting welfare for at least two years
How nice to be able to reconnect with the Jewells. Sounds like you had a marvelous day. I'm interested in how the people are so courteous. We could take some lessons here couldn't we? It would be lovely to be in a place where the drivers act nicely and don't have a major case of road-rage going on. Still enjoying all the tidbits of information about what you are seeing and experiencing. Delores
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