Auckland stopover

Day 1 of our Auckland adventure began with a family walk around the Viaduct, Harbour, and Wynyard Quarter.
The children were extremely enthusiastic about going for a walk.
For approximately ten minutes.
After that, the expedition became less about sightseeing and more about finding food immediately before someone starved to death. Despite having eaten recently, all three older children seemed convinced they had entered a state of extreme famine.
Meanwhile, Grayson was busy creating excitement wherever he went. Within a remarkably short period of time, he almost pushed Henry in Jais pram into a moving car and then nearly walked directly into a glass door. Historians may never know whether he was distracted by the scenery or simply conducting important safety testing for the rest of us.
The afternoon continued at a duck pond by Spark Arena where the kids played happily for over an hour. Everything was going perfectly.
Then, at the exact moment it was time to leave, Jai made a bold and unexpected decision to fall into the pond.
Not near the pond.
Not beside the pond.
Into the pond.
He stood completely soaked, proving once and for all that ducks are not the only creatures capable of swimming there.
While Mum got the kids home and was busy helping Jai recover from his surprise aquatic adventure with a shower, Henry decided he was ready for an adventure of his own.
Without informing anyone, he wandered down to reception for a little sightseeing trip. Unfortunately, he then discovered a major flaw in his plan: he had no key card and therefore no way to get back up to the apartment.
This resulted in Henry being personally escorted back upstairs by a staff member, who was probably wondering whether our family should perhaps be fitted with tracking devices.
The evening included several highly competitive games of hide-and-seek around the hotel. The kids were excellent hiders.
Despite the near collisions, surprise swimming lessons, and independent excursions to reception, the kids were amazing and we had a fantastic first day.

Day 2 we boarded a Fullers ferry and sailed across the harbour to Devonport.
The ferry ride was a huge success. Nobody fell overboard, nobody got lost, and nobody accidentally joined another family. This was already an improvement on yesterday's statistics. Once in Devonport, we met up with Marsh and spent the morning exploring together. We visited a playground, browsed books at the library, and enjoyed morning tea at a café.
The playground featured a giant climbing structure that had clearly once been designed for children to play on. At some point, however, the ropes used to reach the top had been removed, making it impossible to access.
Or at least impossible for normal children.
Grayson and Henry immediately transformed into mountain goats (or possibly monkeys) and began scaling enormous poles that seemed far taller than any sensible playground equipment should be. Before long, they had successfully reached a section of the structure that no other children could get to.
For several glorious minutes, they stood triumphantly above everyone else like explorers discovering a lost kingdom, while the adults below debated whether to be impressed, concerned, or both.
After our Devonport adventures, we hopped back on the ferry and returned to Auckland city. The harbour looked beautiful from the water and the ferry ride home felt like a proper little adventure.
In the afternoon, we explored the city together and enjoyed seeing more of Auckland on foot.

By the end of Day 2, our official trip statistics were:

- Ferries ridden: 2
- Books browsed: Lots
- Games of hide-and-seek: Too many to count
- Duck ponds fallen into: 1
- Prams almost pushed into cars: 1
- Glass doors almost walked into: 1
- Children requiring a reception escort: 1
- Family memories made: Countless

So far, Auckland has been full of laughs, adventures, and just enough chaos to keep things interesting.

We can't wait to see what happens next...Read more