Auckland & At Sea February 20-21, 2012

Sailing along the rugged coast of New Zealand this morning, a full rainbow is visible over the ship.  The temperature is cooler – in the 60’s with a high in the low 70’s.  This is summer in New Zealand, spotty clouds and showers and warm sun.  The people are concerned here about the ozone being gone and the sun being more intense.  It does seem noticeable or is it just that we haven’t been out in the sun very much?
 


Arriving in Auckland

Our Ship in Dock

The ship docks at the Viaduct Harbor terminal in the downtown of Auckland.  We enjoy seeing the office buildings and the Sky Tower as the ship docks.  A Princess Cruise ship and a small-but-stately cruise ship, the Orion, come into port just after us.  The America’s Cup Race was started here in 2000 and the Rugby World cup in 2011 which resulted in an expanded and updated the harbor port area.



Our day in Auckland is spent touring the Devonport and North Shore area, providing us with spectacular views of downtown Auckland.  To reach Devonport, we must cross the Auckland Harbor Bridge, a lattice bridge built in 1959 and attempting to keep up with the traffic demands in and out of the city.  Before we cross the bridge, the tour takes us into the fish market area and close to Westhaven Marina, where over 2,000 boats are moored.  We are told 1 in 3 people in Auckland own a boat.  Just on the other side of the harbor we make a stop at a lake made by an ancient volcano.  Some of the homes in this area are on the lake and just across from the harbor and sea. 

Auckland from North Shore

Auckland from North Head

In Devonport, our tour takes us up the North Head hill, a mound used by the Maori people as well as later New Zealanders for defending the Hauraki Gulf.  Tunnels were built in the 1880’s to store munitions and for defensive purposes.  These tunnels were also used in WW1 and 2 as a part of a chain of forts in the region.  From the top, we can see para-gliders, a beautiful North Shore beach and across to Auckland.  As we look out to the ocean, we can see Rangitoto Mountain, the youngest of the volcanic mountains, having erupted just 600 years ago.  We are told that possums were a big problem in the New Zealand area and that they used various methods to eradicate them.  Then they switch and tell the story of the famous clothing made with sheep’s wool and possum hair.  I must have missed something.

Steve at the Tunnel

Walking path in Devonport



North Shore Beach

After the tour, we lunch at a café in Devonport and walk around looking in the shops during a slow mild summer day with a gentle breeze and drifting clouds.  Fish and chips are everywhere!  It is a well preserved and historic downtown, reflecting it’s naval and sea faring history. We even see a couple of young naval sailors walking around in their white shorts and sailor caps.

Entrance Ferry Terminal Auckland

The ferry takes us back across the harbor bay from Devonport to Auckland and we chat with a woman who has lived here her entire life.  She tells us about the weather (last week they had two water spouts) and the concerns about expanding the container harbor area.  She bids us a safe sail and, we to her, a good day in the city.

Gollum scares Lynn

View of Rangitito Mt. from Tower

In Auckland, we walk to the Sky Tower so we can experience the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere and witness people bungee jumping from the tower, and as a bonus, we spot Gollum in the associated gift store.  Best place for a panoramic view of Auckland and some good pictures.  The city is hilly and looks like many cities – people walking around in suits and young people walking around with their faces glued to their phones, texting.  Our day onshore has slipped away so we must head back to home – the ship.

At night the ship sails away with the harbor lights flashing on and off and the tower flashing as well, signaling to the ship and its passenger farewell.

Our time at sea today is filled with lectures about the culture and history of New Zealand and Australia, providing us more reasons to be excited for each future stop. (Did you know New Zealand was settled mostly by the Scots and not by convicts?  And did you know that New Zealand was the first country to give women the right to vote in 1893?) Another presentation is by the owner of Hunter’s Vineyard telling all about the wine industry of New Zealand.  We expect there will be someone aboard at Melbourne to provide insights on the Australian wine industry.

It is Shrove Tuesday and that means for the British – Pancakes!  They are served at every meal and the crew has a pancake relay toss for fun and our entertainment. Hope you are having something good to eat on what we always called FAT TUESDAY.

The ship will reach Wellington tomorrow and then Dunedin, with no intervening sea day to catch up on blog writing until Friday.

The Nautical Term of the Day:  Gyro Compass.  This is a compass that is not affected by magnetism so that the compass adjustment is no longer necessary, nor corrections from compass to true bearings.  Repeaters are normally driven by the master Gyro Compass for use on the bridge and to feed electronic equipment such as radar and electronic dead reckoning instruments.