Rough seas and stormy weather forced us to skip our next port of Tauranga, New Zealand, so we spent the extra day at sea and headed on to Auckland, where we were greeted by scattered clouds and intermittent autumn showers, but looking forward to some old and some new sights. We were thankful for the bus tour, which kept us dry, and covered more miles than we could on foot through the old renewed Viaduct Harbour a former commercial and industrial harbor, now a burgeoning urban rebirth of edgy street art, cool modern upscale lofts and offices, and hip eateries. Auckland is known as the “City of Sails” with more boats per capita than anywhere else in the world, and it’s evident in this area where sailboats and yachts, moored row after row, fill the marinas.
We took a ride across the bay on the Harbour Bridge with it’s famous “Nippon clip-ons”, two 2-lane sections built by the Japanese and attached to the bridge in 1965, doubling the total lanes to eight, and on to the small, quaint suburban town of Devonport. Climbing to the highest point at Mount Victoria Reserve afforded a chilly and very breezy, but clear view of town and across the bay to the Auckland skyline.
The Navy Museum in old Devonport sits on the oceanfront and featured a special exhibit of the stirring 5000 Poppies NZ Project, to commemorate and remember the New Zealand soldiers who lost their lives at Gallipoli and subsequent battles during World War I. It featured several large panels of lovingly knitted, crocheted, felted, and sewn poppies, some specifically dedicated to loved ones and even the animals whose lives were sacrificed.
After a stroll through the old Victorian town, we caught the ferry back to the city for an al fresco lunch at the elegant Harbourside Ocean Bar & Grill, under the covered balcony of Queens Wharf’s old historic Ferry building where, during our last visit to this sparkling city, we had enjoyed a candlelit dinner. This time, with the fresh catch of the day and a bowl of steamed mussels, we drank a toast and bid farewell once again to beloved New Zealand.
So, what happened to all that money???