Aukland
Trip Start
Jun 10, 2010
1
10
13
Trip End
Jul 06, 2010
Where I stayed
Auckland, North Island, New Zealand
Monday, June 28, 2010
After breakfast, in the morning, we went by bus to the America's Cup Village on Waitamata Harbour for a Sail on the Pride of Auckland, see MAP, GPS(36 50 36.33S, 174 45 26.28E) It was styled like an America's Cup boat, but it had seating for tourists. Anyone who wanted to could take the wheel, once the sails were raised and we were away from the dock area. It was a beautiful day for sailing, with a good breeze and beautiful sun. What a way to see the city. This and Sydney are the most sailing oriented cities that I have ever seen.
Took a scenic bus ride around Auckland. Auckland is on a narrow isthmus with only about 3.5 miles between Manukau Harbour on the west and the Hauraki Gulf in the east, in the Auckland Volcanic Field, with 49 craters. See the MAP of Auckland. It makes for a very beautiful city. We then drove up to the top of Mount Eden, see MAP before a very short drive to the Auckland Museum, see MAP, where we were treated to exhibitions of native dance, artifacts and had photo ops.
Afterward, we walked down the hill to pick up a local bus back into the downtown shopping district and walked back to the hotel, in a light scattered rain.
In the morning, after breakfast, we boarded the bus for the airport and our flight to Fiji.
Good bye Auckland; good bye New Zealand.
