Auckland, New Zealand

After a good and long nights sleep we were ready to get going.

We had hired a private guide for the morning, with the intention of seeing the city of Auckland on foot and learning some history of the area and New Zealand.

Much to our disappointment our guide, Mike, was not that informative. Our hotel was in the uptown area of the city center which actually was “uptown”. It was at the top of the hill and so our tour was a slow walk down to the city center. We actually walked through a lovely park that had staircases getting us from one level to the next.

We saw some of the civic building and learned about life in New Zealand. We did talk about some current events and issues that the people who live here experience.

We stopped at a tiled mural that honored women’s suffrage. New Zealand was one of the first countries to recognize women and give them the vote.

We walked down their “high” street, where all the fancy designer stores were located. I was surprised that although it was Sunday these stores were open. At the beginning of our walk, most of the stores and restaurants were closed.

We walked along the harbor which was quite lovely. There were many restaurants and bars along the harbor’s edge. Mike told us that there had been much redevelopment in the last 10 years. The Chinese have built many of the buildings and helped to improve the downtown area and from what we saw it is quite vibrant.

We even stopped at the big fish market and saw the enormous crawfish that is caught locally. The price for 1 was $80NZD which translates to about $48USD.

Mike indicated that the cost of living is high, but the schools and healthcare are what he and his wife appreciate about living in Auckland.

We were able to catch the hotel shuttle back so we did not have to climb the hill.

Tomorrow we board our ship for the real start of this trip.