Auckland

Tuesday 8 February 2011

Woke as we were docking in Auckland Harbour. Overcast early then turned into lovely sunny day. We went for a ride on the Explorer bus which stopped at nine significant locations around Auckland including Parnell Rose Gardens, Auckland Museum and Sky Tower. The tour took about an hour and cost $20.00 each. We opted to stay on board till the bus returned to the Ferry Building where we had lunch at Cin Cin on Quay. As we walked along the footpath beside the Quay there was a toddler being pushed in his pram by what looked to be his grandfather. He gave me a sweet smile, which I returned, as if to say “Isn't this fun being pushed along.” Quite hot by then and we returned to the ship for an afternoon nap. Left the ship again at 6.15 pm to meet Tony and Sandra Hurt for dinner. We had dinner at another restaurant on the Quay and enjoyed catching up with Tony and Sandra. They’ve had some health issues recently as well – a mark of our age. Tony turns 65 next month and he's still working. He's a plumber and Sandra does the books. It was a nice balmy evening with a cool breeze. They walked us back to the ship and we boarded about 10.30 pm and were surprised to see passengers leaving the ship at that time, considering the “all aboard” time was 11.30 pm.