Sunday, April 5, 2009

Extraordinary New Zealand

Well, it is Monday morning for us (Sunday afternoon for you in the U.S.) and we are en route to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital, at the southwestern tip of the North Island of New Zealand

We spent the weekend cruising in and about other New Zealand locations. On Saturday, we were in the Bay of Islands at the northernmost part of the country. We arrived to a spectacular landscape of black, volcanic rocks and rugged cliffs jetting out from the sea. The Bay of Islands is home to more than 100 islands and numerous bays teeming with birds and marine life.
We disembarked the ship in Waitingi on Saturday morning and took a drive through the gorgeous and endless green rolling hills, with livestock (cattle and sheep) seen everywhere. Our destination was the Kerikeri Basin, considered to be the birthplace of the Maori, New Zealand’s indigenous people, who emigrated from Polynesia over 800 years ago. We had a memorable visit to the Maori Marae, a sacred place which marks the center of the Maori culture. Built of timber, it contains superb displays of woodcarvings and intricate flax weaving that tells of story of each local tribe through the centuries. We were welcomed at the Marae with a traditional Maori greeting (tribal warriors ready to kill us if we were not there in peace), and once we passed muster, were entertained by the children of the village with songs and dances of the local tribe (we snuck in only one photograph, as we were not allowed to take pictures due to the sacredness of the tribal ritual).

On Saturday night, the ship brought us further south to beautiful Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city with a population of one million people. Known as the “City of Sails,” Auckland boasts more boats per capita than any other city in the world. You could feel a real quality of life in this city, as no one lives far from the sea, and one out of every four households has a power or sailboat. In 2000 and 2003, the city was host to the famous America’s Cup event.

We departed the pier Sunday morning for a brief walk to the Viaduct Basin, the former base of the America’s Cup yachts. Our adventure this day was to sail one these racing boats through the Auckland Harbour, and for those able, to participate as a crew member. “Captain John” steered the boat at times while Joanna worked the grinders (putting up and down the sails). The boat reached a speed of 11 knots, and at most times, one side or the other was halfway in the water. It was a very exciting experience and one we will never forget.


Our visit to Auckland concluded with a visit to the Skytower, New Zealand’s tallest structure which stands 985 feet high. It is an imposing tower that includes a 24-hour casino, revolving restaurant, cafes and bars. From the observation deck, we took these gorgeous photos of Auckland Harbour and New Zealand’s landscape…

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