Sunday 10 August 2014

Auckland

We arrived in town quite early, but the Sebel Suites had the rooms ready for an early check in, so we dropped the luggage and headed out of the door and were right on the harbour front. A lovely bright sunny day, but at 6C a lot colder than we have gotten used to.



Feeling a bit peckish we visited the Sierra Coffee Shop on the harbour where Victoria had a savoury muffin and I kept up my perchance for Banana Loaf. Suitably refreshed we were off into town exploring the sights and shops before taking a look at the Sky Tower.



Feeling a bit groggy from the over night flight we gave this a miss but may give it a go when we are back in town on Thursday if time permits.

Auckland is a beautiful place and in places is reminiscent of stepping back 30 or so years at home, I really like it.

Mid-afternoon we went back to the Sebel Suites for a couple of hours kip and then it was out to pick up some tickets for the ferry to Devenport on the other side if the harbour. It only takes the ferry about 10 minutes to make the crossing.



Devenport is a beautiful sea-side village. Unfortunately, the New Zealand Navy Museum under North Head shut at 17:00 just as we got there, but we looked at the external exhibits and enjoyed the views from the jetty.



Next we were off up the extinct volcano, North Head and were soon exploring the gun positions that dominate the entrance to the harbour before a leisurely stroll back down and picking up the ferry back to Auckland.





We has a bite of tea in our suite, and then had to change rooms as the heating had failed in ours. It was only eight o'clock but struggling to keep our eyes open we crashed out in bed.

of course an early night means you are up early, so I updated the blog and checked some emails before we che ked out at eleven and met up with Wayne.

Victoria, Wayne and myself had brunch at the Soul Resturant on the harbour front before strolling around the viaduct area and then Wayne gave us a tour of the Battlefront headquarters.

Saying our goodbyes to Wayne, Victoria and I had another hat drink at the Sierra Cafe before picking up the car and joining Highway 1 for the two and a half hour drive to Waitomo.



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