Day 22 - Auckland NZ

Beautiful Auckland. We were told in the port talk that 33% (or was it 35%?) of New Zealand's population lives in Auckland. There are also 5 sheep to 1 person, so enjoy eating lamb in this country. No problem for me. June does not eat lamb. I cannot claim taking the photo below but it was taken by a fellow passenger this morning as we came into port. Our sister ship the Coral Princess came into port right behind us. I am not sure of their itinerary. We are very happy it is not a tendered port. That just seems to add more complication and time to our day.

We’ve recently been in mostly tropical islands, so being in a city was a different treat.  Auckland is a beautiful city with a lot of green spaces next to high rises,  and homes. It is a bustling city but seemed friendly when making contact with locals. The architecture is a real mixture of old and new and we enjoyed it. Some onboard took advantage to jumping off the Sky Tower... we were happy to see it up close and far away with no jumping!!!

With our Hop-On Hop-Off bus voucher in hand we disembarked the ship. There was a queue line set up but it was empty, nonetheless it added a lot of walking for those who are challenged. it was a bit of a walk out of the port area as well. Those who purchased the Hop-On Hop-Off from the ship had a bus right in front waiting for them. (It was fully booked long ago) We got a map and a sweet young woman gave us directions. We followed the directions. However, there were so many people waiting at the first stop, we didn't even see the stop or realize it was the stop! We walked on... Asking along the way and finally found the next stop, which was the Sky Tower. Needless to say, we got our steps in for the day, and the last part was uphill! At least it was nice and cool this morning. I found a spot there to mail postcards to my granddaughters, so I was happy about that! We couldn't get on the first bus that came by but we did get on the next one and it was open on top, which I like. June chose to sit downstairs, which was fine. We are happy for each of us to do as we choose. We took the full route and then got off. We didn't have an interests to get off at any of the stops. We walked back looking in a few shops and taking a few photos. It also warmed up later in the day so we were glad we went early. 

The WW1 Memorial Beacon 

 Holy Trinity Cathedral

Our Ship
Sky Tower







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