Friday 21st
November to Sunday 23rd November 2014
The alarm was set for 2:45 am and the cab was due at 3:45am
– the flight to Auckland
was scheduled to leave at 7:15am.
All of the what if’s had been factored into the equation –
what if we don’t wake up straight away; the cab is late or doesn’t show; there
is traffic; there are a lot of departures and the queues are long.
The only what if we didn’t allow for was what if none of
any of that occurs – which it didn’t
We woke up on time; ready early and had a chance of some
breakfast; we were out early for the cab which arrived right on time; there was
a clear run to the airport which only took 15 minutes; no other departures at
that time; the check-in hadn’t even opened when we arrived and we causally
strolled through the marked lanes even when they did open – we were 2nd
through – no hassles, not even when one case was over 24kg.
We even had to go off and have a coffee waiting for the
customs and passport control to open – when it finally did we were through
there in almost an instant; we had allowed time in case the claim back of GST
was slow or others in front – charming lady there was on her own with no-one to
look after until we arrived – 5 minutes and the refund of $140 was done – no
hassles at all.
Off to the gate where there was a chance for another coffee
and we were all called to board – no fuss and not much of a wait – just 2 or 3
minutes.
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The plane was ready - it was still not yet light in the morning
that's how early we were ready to go |
So we are all on board the plane; doors closed and everyone
ready to go – what happens then – an announcement that we are overweight and
they need to take some cargo off.
So all of the preparedness from us only ended in a delay in
takeover caused by the airline .
We did however arrive in Auckland dead on time – it was a very
uneventful flight.
We gave customs a bit of concern – they X-ray the bags as
you come into the country – seems we had something “organic” in one of the
cases – in one of my shoes to be exact – “oh yes the carved echidna” would do
that.
Rebecca was there to meet us – she had the day off and
after a training lecture to nurses in the morning the rest of the day and the
weekend were hers and ultimately ours.
We managed to catch the peak hour traffic around Auckland that seems to
start to build up after 2pm on a Friday afternoon; eventually we made it to the
hotel and whilst the room wasn’t quite ready, we were able to leave the cases
and head off for a late lunch.
Back to the hotel; the room was ready so we took the bags
up and gave it a once over – small kitchenette; lounge; separate bedroom and
two bathrooms – all very good.
Bec had told us she was going to be moving her place of
residence in a few weeks so we thought we should check out the new area - Mission Bay – it
coincided perfectly also with having a drink overlooking the water and as luck
would have it, one of the choices of drinking establishments was a Belgian Beer
Café – a neat two-storey place where we could sit our on the balcony and look
out at some of the views of the bay – not a bad way to spend a Friday early
evening.
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The Belgian Beer Café with balcony to sit and drink and watch
the world go by - in this case the late Friday traffic |
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| Belgian beer and the views |
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| Mission Bay - the park and beyond to the bay |
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| more of Mission Bay |
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| just some of Bec's soon-to-be noisy neighbours |
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| and this old vintage vehicle in the main street |
After all of this the effects of the early start and the
plane journey seemed to be starting to take its toll on both of us and we
thought it best to head back for a bit of an early night, but only after we
picked up a few provisions at the supermarket, which we did.
So it was a relatively early night – in bed by about 8pm –
looking forward to some sleep and some recovery.
We did sleep pretty soundly and when we awoke on Saturday
morning the roads showed that there had been some rain overnight.
A bit of breakfast followed and then we headed out to start
exploring the city – Bec had a staff Xmas party on that day and we had
encouraged her that she should attend and we would share Sunday with her.
So first port of call was Starbucks, just around the
corner; for some proper coffee and free internet, which both came in very handy
– as did the newspapers provided.
After that we were off to visit the weekly French market
that Bec had told us about – we found it without too much trouble – having
decided to walk the entire distance – about a 2km walk.
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Skytower Auckland - where you can walk around
on the outside, or if crazy enough, you can
jump off |
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| Symonds Street Auckland |
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| St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church |
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| Does my bum look big in this chair - oops that's not my bum |
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| The French Markets |
It was a lovely little market with some specialty stalls
and you could easily come away from there with bags full of delicious goodies –
we restricted ourselves to a fresh juice and pastries.
Next on the list was to catch a bus and investigate some of
the inner city areas of Auckland – we would have done just that, but the first
bus to appear actually did a large circular route further out from the city
centre, so we hopped on and paid our $4 each.
A lovely couple on board got talking to us and suggested
another market to visit which was right by our intended stopping point anyway –
so we did so – another gem in the centre of the city.
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| new style coffee van at The International Market |
After that we were pretty close to the Viaduct Harbour so
an easy matter just to walk through where we admired the boats moored and
decided which would be suitable to buy and which we would bypass entirely – we
also watched a boat reversing into a mooring spot – these boats have bow and
stern thrusters and can be reversed easily in a straight line.
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| A bridge opening for the cat about to leave |
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The water was so clear and clean - unlike the canals we will
head back to |
Watching is always fun, especially when the person doing
the job is a complete
novice – came in too fast; too much forward which gave them forward momentum;
then reverse; then forward; then managed to drift offline – eventually the
security person dockside told them to throw the line and cut the engines – he
pulled them in and tied them up – nice to know that bucket loads of money can
buy you a nice boat but not the brains to think how to moor it up properly.
A wander around the shops and a chat to a guy now living in
Auckland but originally from England – he started as a carpenter
and has now ended up a boat designer.
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Which one will I get to wear when the Welsh beat the All Blacks
only problem was the All Blacks won |
We had lunch overlooking the ferry moorings and watching
them arrive and leave.
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| Queen St Ferry Building |
By this stage we had had enough – the legs were getting
tired in direct proportion to the weight of the eyelids, so a walk up Queens St towards
the hotel should complete the job – for both eyelids and legs.
We found reasonable internet at the cinema complex and then
chatted away to Sara in Dallas;
then a hot chocolate at the Coffee Club and watching a 3-on-3 basketball
competition for teenagers was a pleasant way to finish the day for us.
After that it was just a short uphill walk to the hotel; a
bit of TV and a snack before we were off to bed – early again.
We had had two glorious days so far, with only a bit of
rain early on Saturday morning, and Sunday was a continuation – even better
than the other two days.
The arrangements for today were that we would meet Bec
around 9am and head off to the ferries for a day out at one of the islands.
We met at Starbucks, where we once again made use of the
wi-fi; by this time we had made a friend of the young barista who was really
good to us – the coffees kept coming as did the extra minutes of internet usage
– maybe he just took pity on two old people – well one at least, as Diane will
tell you how much younger than me she is.
Bec met up with us and after another coffee we headed south
– towards the water.
Diane and Bec made the decisions about the day – much
easier on me then – I just go along with the final choice.
Waiheke Island it was to be – by ferry, then once there a bus to other parts of
the island with a clear intention of sampling some of the wines from the some
of the local vineyards.
The sun was getting warmer and the day certainly looking like
a memorable one indeed.
What do you do in a harbour city like Auckland – even if you do live on a boat –
take a cruise on the water and watch how the bigger boys do it.
So a 35 minute cruise out past the cruiser terminals and
cargo ships; past the hidden little bays – big and small – and out to one of
the larger islands within the general harbour area.
We took the bus to the furtherest part of the island which
could be reached in this way; had a bit of a stroll along the beach, admiring
the houses around – most appeared to be holiday houses anyway, but all with the
clear sign and plenty of money available.
Diane and Bec removed shoes and rolled the jeans up to let
the water lap at their feet and ankles – seems that it was pretty cold at first
and took a bit of time to get accustomed to it, but enjoyable none-the-less.
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| quite simply a stunning location |
Back onto the bus to head to the first winery and somewhere
to have lunch.
Stoneyridge Wines was not a name that I had seen or heard
of, nor one that I had tasted, but it was right opposite the bus stop and the
drive beckoned for some travellers – so we obliged.
There was a small charge for a tasting selection and as we
sat beneath the palm tree and the cool of the shade had it’s desired effect on
the three of us warm from the walk up the premises, the wines arrived and we
looked out over the valley – which really was unspoilt – seemed like a nice
enough place for lunch as well.
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| no one's idea of a tough life.... |
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| ...and views to match... |
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| ...and the restaurant is right there as well. |
We parked ourselves there for the next 2 hours to enjoy a
fabulous and lengthy lunch which was well presented and prepared; the wine to
go with it was equally lovely; the cheese platter finished it all off and you
then wonder – why do we have to ever go back to work – ever!
Time then to move on and whilst we had every intention to
visit another winery, the time was such that they were closing up and we
decided that after a such a pleasing day we should head back ourselves, which
we did with just a short stop at the main village for a look around; then to
the ferry and the trip back to Auckland.
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| From the water the City of Auckland creates a great skyline |
One last suggestion – this time from Diane and we headed up
to the first floor of the Queen St Ferry Building and we plonked ourselves down
on the lounges on the balcony; ordered some drinks and as the sun was silently
getting lower in the sky we relaxed – looking out at those who were on later
ferries than us; and simply enjoyed this pleasure as it should be.
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| Still not a tough life you two |
A perfect end to a perfect day.
Diane and I wandered back to the hotel; Bec caught a bus
back to her flat – the only thing we had to do was pack our bags ready for departure
on Monday and tend to the sunburnt face that I had acquired.
This was definitely a day to savour and remember.
