Hooray! We Are Back in New Zealand

Seven years ago we vacationed in New Zealand and we always hoped that we would return.  After leaving Rarotonga, we sailed 4 days to Auckland, New Zealand.  Our 4 days at sea took us across the International Dateline where we lost a day.  We went from Tuesday, January 27th to Thursday, January 29th which is kind of weird.  The ship provides us with a large calendar for keeping up with the date and itinerary and we can record our social commitments on it.  We have it taped to the wall in our walk-in closet to help us keep our days straight, although it really doesn't matter what day of the week it is since we're having so much fun.

When we crossed the Dateline, the ship's crew served us caviar and champagne in the pool (really in the pool).  The Chef and several servers got in the pool in full uniform and floated a surfboard on which they served the caviar.  Passengers jumped in the pool with them and a party ensued.  Champagne and caviar at 11:00 a.m. is pretty decadent!

Auckland (the "City of Sails") is a large sprawling city of 1.4 million people located on the north island of New Zealand.  We spent the day exploring the city on our own.  First, we took care of a little personal grooming by stopping in the first hair salon that we spotted and we both got haircuts.  Several other passengers stopped in after us.  After that we walked around this beautiful hilly City visiting a City park, then on to a famous landmark called the Sky Tower.  We rode the elevator up 1,076 feet and enjoyed the panoramic views of Auckland.  For the adrenaline junkies, you can sky jump off the Tower or hook up and do a skywalk on the outside catwalk at the top.  Auckland has a very impressive waterfront that rivals San Francisco and Vancouver in our opinions.  The wharf area has been transformed into a huge entertainment and park area with lots of shops, bars and restaurants.  Even the industrial part of the Port has been incorporated into the scene.  They have actually wrapped the large storage silos with silk artwork and turned old large shipping containers into street art.

There were some incredible yachts in the huge Marina.  We saw a brand new mega-yacht that was actually still partially shrink wrapped moored to the pier.  Some of the yachts had helicopters aboard.  We learned later that many of the mega-yachts that are being built are owned by Russians and some of them also have small submarines aboard them.  

 Everyone on board our ship enjoyed the gorgeous sunny day in this energetic vibrant City.  We set sail at 6:00 p.m..

Tauranga is a town also located on the north island, but on the east side so we sailed around the northern tip of New Zealand overnight to get there.  Frankly, Brian and I had never heard of Tauranga, but after visiting there for a day, we are now trying to figure out how we can move there permanently.  It is located on the Bay of Plenty which is aptly named since this area offers plenty of gorgeous scenery and things to do.  We actually docked in an area called Mount Maunganui which offered a main street of shops and restaurants similar to our local Florida beach towns.  There is a white sand beach there that stretches for miles.  There was a lot going on there including surfing, paddleboarding and a beach volleyball tournament.  It appeared to be a popular beach resort area for Kiwi families.  We decided to hike Mount Maunganui which is about a 1,000 feet high.  The trailhead is within walking distance of the beach.  From the summit, we got a panoramic view of the area's deep blue water, white sand beaches and dramatic coastline.  It is certainly understandable how Kiwis know so much about sailing.  This island nation is surrounded by vast oceans with dangerous currents and crashing waves which were all visible from the top of this mountain.  We celebrated our successful hike to the top of the mountain with a cold beer at a pub on the main street.  We returned to the ship and sailed away at 6:00 p.m.

We have another day of sailing to reach our next stop in New Zealand. As we set sail, the captain came over the intercom and warned us that we were in for a pretty rough night of sailing.  He advised passengers not to go out on the open decks or their private balconies.  The crew stowed away the deck furniture.  The bartenders secured glassware and liquor bottles, however, they still continued to serve!   Wow, the Captain was right, after midnight we encountered some tremendous waves and winds over 70 knots.  The  swales reached over 20 feet at times spraying our balcony.  We were awake much of the night as the waves buffeted the ship.  We are fortunate to be on Deck 5 mid-ship so we handled the rough seas pretty well through the night. The upper decks felt the movement much more.  The next morning the seas were rough, but not as bad.  Brian and I found it thrilling as did most passengers.

Bring on more New Zealand, we love it here!!!!!