Greetings from Auckland, New Zealand

February 5, 2015 - February 6, 2015

We had a great first day in Auckland. Greg, our guide, gave us a wonderful of tour of both the city and its surrounding areas. We visited black-sand surfing beaches, Victoria Monument, a defense installation from the Crimea War when the country feared invasion from Russia, traveled through neighborhoods, through a rain forest, and visited a preserve where the view is “framed” – Note the view of Manukau Harbor:

    

  Here is the city view as we arrived at Auckland Harbor. 

Interesting tidbit, the local government offers builders of major structures incentives to add some interesting, artistic element to the building design, especially on the roof. The goal is to create an interesting skyline. Note the Sky Tower, which was built by local casinos at the invitation of the mayor. It is the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere at the moment.

Auckland sits on a long, narrow strip of land surrounded by mountains, water, water and more water. Marinas are everywhere. Greg told us that 1 in 4 Auckland residents either own or have access to a boat.

Just outside our cabin are three piers that are filled with cars. According to our guide, these are used cars – none older than three years – imported from Japan. Seems the Japanese are required by law to totally retrofit any automobile five years or older. So, since it’s cheaper to trade in a five-year old vehicle than to retrofit, these used cars are then imported by New Zealand car dealers, and New Zealanders have low cost access to good condition, low mileage cars.

Today, February 6, was our last day in Auckland. We were disappointed to learn that our scheduled ride on an America's Cup Yacht had to be cancelled due to high winds. It is Waitani Day, marking the date the Maori signed the treaty with Britain. Government offices and some shops are closed. We are docked right downtown, so we walked into town, did a little shopping and had lunch. John got a hair cut – and I mean a HAIR CUT. Watch for pics later.

Tomorrow we will be in Waitangi, The Bay of Islands, where we have a “northern heritage and Kerikeri” shore excursion planned.