Auckland, New Zealand Day 1

We didn't have an excursion scheduled for today. We decided to explore on our own with Dale and Jenni.

After asking a taxi driver how much it would cost for a ride to Costco, we scratched Costco from our day's possible events as it would have cost $160.

At the end of the dock, we found the Hop on Hop Off Bus and decided this mode of transportation was within our budget. We bought tickets, walked to the first bus stop and hopped on.

The first place that we hopped off was Parnell Village because the map indicates that there were several eateries and Cafes. If you haven't noticed, eating continues to be a high priority both on and off the ship.

We found a quaint cafe owned and operated by a husband and wife. It was a lovely lunch.

We made our way back to the bus stop after searching for ice cream (to no avail), hopped back on the bus and continued to ride the bus through both the red and blue lines. This gave us a great overview of Auckland.

When we reached our initial starting spot, Bob and Dale decided to head back to the ship. Jenni and I decided that we wanted to investigate the Winter Garden so we stayed on the bus.

We arrived at the Winter Garden which consists of a central fountain flanked by two, flower filled greenhouses. Also adjacent to the fountain is an area dedicated to ferns. The Winter Garden was truly lovely. I would have like to have a bit more time to observe the beautiful flora.

We had to make a quick visit to the Winter Garden as we did not want to miss the last bus back to downtown Auckland. We walked from the Winter Garden to the Auckland Museum to catch the bus.

Upon returning to downtown Auckland, we made the short walk to the port and our awaiting ship.

We had dinner on the ship and retired early.

Our impression of New Zealand is that it is a very clean and friendly country.Read more