Auckland, New Zealand - November 11, 2023

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand with a population of about 1.6 million people. None of the excursions really caught our interest for this stop, so we decided to get off the ship and take a ride on the hop on - hop off bus tour. The ship docks at a port pretty much in the heart of the downtown, so we were able to do the bus tour and wander around on our own.

As we looked out of our balcony door in the morning, we were surprised to be looking onto the patios of apartment/condos right next to the pier. I overheard a woman as we were walking back to the ship telling someone that they had rented a place in those apartments for the week, and were quite surprised to wake up and see a huge ship outside their patio door.

We were also able to see the Auckland Sky Tower and downtown from the ship.

We got a closer look at the Sky Tower on the bus tour. It is the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere rising to a height of 1,076 feet. The second picture shows people on the platform near the top getting ready jump off the tower. If you click to enlarge the picture, you can see the ropes hanging down.

Auckland has more boats per capita than anywhere else in the world. It is referred to as the City of Sails. The city hosted the America's Cup sailing regatta in 2000 and 2003.

The bus took us to Mount Maungawhau or Mount Eden. (Eden is our granddaughter's name, so I had to take a picture of the sign). It's the highest point in the city. There were hiking trails, but it was quite a warm day so we didn't hike up to see the views. The picture of the mountain is from the web.

Another stop on the tour was Bastion Point Lookout. More beautiful views. This is a significant place in New Zealand history as the site of protests in the late 1970s by Maori against forced land alienation by European settlers. The 506 day protest led to the New Zealand government returning many lands that had been taken from the Maori people.

Auckland has an iconic war museum as well as a zoo and numerous art museums and galleries. We just weren't in the mood for more museums on our visit. 

The silver fern is an iconic symbol of New Zealand seen on flags and merchandise all over the country. It dates back to the late 1800s when it was accepted as a symbol for the country. Here it is on an All Blacks jersey in one of the shops. The All Blacks are a beloved national rugby team of New Zealand. There is even an All Blacks experience you can visit in Auckland.

Our departure from Auckland was at sunset, and we were treated to some magnificent views from the ship. I was able to get the sun setting with the Sky Tower in front of it.

In most of the ports, there are tug boats that come out to escort the ship out of the harbor. This guy was doing tricks for us as he waited. Some donuts for our enjoyment!

We enjoyed our visit to Auckland. Tomorrow will be our last stop in New Zealand.

 Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!