Auckland New Zealand- First 3 Days !

 Auckland is often called the City of Sails

Monday November 16th 2015 

What ? We're there already ?! That was quick ! We arrived, dazed and amazed at how easy the flight from Fiji to Auckland was just three hours, no waves, no seasickness, just a few line ups to deal with, a security check or two, and some forms to fill, and voila, before we knew what was happening  we were standing on the sidewalk with our bags, waiting for the airport shuttle bus to take us to the YMCA downtown, it was 6:00 pm ! 

It's a small world! On the bus ride we happened to be sitting next to a spanish man who told us that he also had sailed across the South Pacific with his wife and two kids and, like us, they had planned to stay in NZ for the cyclone season and then continue on their journey, “that was 8 years ago!” he said with a smile. He was offered a job and bought a house, the kids registered in school and now they are permanent  residents!   He said that he took one look at us and just knew we were sailors, hm, it must of been the long tangled hair, the flip flops and the rough looking clothe we were all wearing !

Beautiful and Welcoming New Zealand ! We’ve been here almost 4 days now and we have been loving it ! Kiwis (the people) are a great bunch, even if you can’t understand a word they are saying most of the time!  They have been very helpful and friendly to us, where ever we go !

On our first day we had to learn to use the transit system quickly as I had an early morning dental appointment to get to, just outside the downtown core, we had grabbed a bus card and a map to get to the water front and were trying to get to our second bus, but could not find the street we needed to get to, as I looked around for someone to ask, I thought I was hallucinating when my eye caught site of an enormous white bear wearing Christmas clothing and waving at us. The Mascot’s friend was passing out chocolates and flyers for the grand opening to a new mall, I asked her where Tyler Street was and she hesitated, unsure and started to point us in one direction when the bear suddenly came to life shaking his head furiously and gesturing for me to come closer, before I knew it, the bear gently pulled me in close to him...put my ear to his big head and I heard, in a whispered hollow voice, the directions I needed, I thanked the bear for her help ( turns out it was a “she”) and we were on our way. That’s probably the only time in my life that I'll ever get help from a Giant Christmas Teddy Bear! 

We get directions from a friendly Xmas bear

Auckland Harbour as seen from the Sky Tower

View of Auckland Harbour from the Sky Tower

Auckland Harbour

Walking around Auckland harbour

Busy, productive days. Day One:That first day was a very productive one: First of all I got a temporary crown put in and  the dentist also threw in a cleaning on top of that. Then  Matthew received a, much needed, hair cut by a wonderful lady called Hannah who accepted the challenge with a great big smile (and did a wonderful job!) We "plugged ourselves back into "the system" by getting a phone number, found the grocery store, and setlled into our new life on land at the comfortable YMCA downtown. Unlimited showers !

Later that same day, while walking in Queens' Square we came across a very dense crowd of people, all standing around chatting. They were all dressed in work clothe and I commented to the kids how wonderful it was that everyone seems to take their morning coffee break at the same time in this town and how social it all seemed, then I heard the faint sound of alarm bells in the distance and I enquired with someone, ”Oh, I see" It was actually a fire drill and all the employes were just waiting to get the all clear to get back to their desks, haha, but they liked my idea of a group coffee break !

We grabbed a sandwich and enjoyed the spring time sunshine with everyone else, we were sitting on an  elevated wooden platform in the middle of the square. I was making calls with my new phone card when suddenly I realized that half the content of my purse had poured out and down through grate on top of the platform. (Oh GEEZ!) I kneeled down to look through the bars to see all of my stuff scattered on the ground below (some health care insurance cards, some boat cards, and other non essential things), looking all around I realised that these were now trapped, forever unrecoverable- without the use of some kind of mechanical machinery, and so, we just laughed and remembered to be grateful that it wasn’t our passports or money that had fallen, years from now, perhaps someone will find them, oh well, no biggie !!!  It did make me realize that just because we are on land doesn't mean  that we can't loose things "overboard".

Looking up the Sky Tower from the ground

Sky Tower: We then headed to the Sky Tower to take in the view of Auckland from the lookout platform which is over 600 feet high. (Standing at 1076 feet Sky Tower is the: "Tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere”!) It was a beautiful, sunny day and the harbour looked just stunning! Auckland really is The City of Sails, every time we looked over at the water, we could see sails !  We then walked to the Waterfront area and enjoyed a stroll and a lovely dinner. 

The next day we went to see some used vans for sale and put a down payment on one of them. We need a vehicle for the next few months to tour around the North and South Islands and these are going like hotcakes as we are entering the busy tourism season here!  It's a 1998 Toyota Estima Emina, brought in from Japan a few years ago…they are a popular option here and are converted into make shift camper vans with a bed for two at the back. I also bought a second hand tent and sleeping bags. After such a busy first day, we went to sleep very quickly, even with all the city sounds in the background.

Day Two: Auckland Zoo.Afterwards we grabbed a bus to visit the zoo. We had tons of fun. Matthew, who has been smiling non stop ever since we got here, had his best day ever, just loving the zoo, the playground, the meerkat tunnels and the wide open spaces. We saw some never seen before animals such as the Kiwi bird, a nocturnal creature, about the size of a chicken, but much cuter, it looks almost furry with a long curved beak. Meg’s favourite animal was the Emu who got up close to her and she also like seeing the Orang Utans interacting with each other. Most animals here have all been rescued or born in captivity and the zoo did a great job of promoting preservation of animals in their natural habitats by giving practical ways that the kids could help to save the habitats by making good choices in what they buy and eat. We enjoyed the beauty of the parks and the neighborhood around the zoo:  Ponsonby is a beautiful suburb of Auckland. I could live here ! 

Crawling around with the meerkats, Auckland Zoo

Fun with stuffed animals, 

Albert Park, Central Auckland

Meg meets the black swans

A couple of Orang Utans Auckland Zoo

Meg and the Emu

DayThree Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium: Our third day (and last day off school) we grabbed a free shuttle bus to go and visit the much talked about Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium. First surprise: the shuttle bus was in the shape of a great white shark !  

The Centre was a delight: we were transported into the cold and desolate world of the Antarctic and, second surprise: to see so many large penguins, standing around on the snowy ground ! Supported by their thick black feet, almost  (but note quite) as tall as Meg, the King Penguins are the second largest penguins in the world after the Emperor Penguins. 

Maori mask, Auckland museum

Kelly Tarlton Sea Life Aquarium Shuttle bus ! 

The King Penguins were adorable

A King Penguin, Sea Life Aquarium 

They are strikingly beautiful with their bright yellow collars and black and orange beaks. We also saw the Gentoo Penguins who swam happily in the sub zero temperatures !  I love the way that Penguins walk and stand with their back so straight, they look like like soldiers, soldiers wearing tuxedos that is, but they act like happy children when they run with their arms outstretched, they always look like they are about to hug someone. The thing I like best about penguins though is how no one can escape their presence without smiling, young and old, everyone was getting such a kick watching them ! Later that afternoon we did a bit more shopping, as the kids needed new clothe: warm pants, long sleeves, raincoats are all needed for this new climate !  

Today we went to finalize the paperwork for our newly acquired van (whom, by the way, has not been christened yet)  and then we did some school. It was a cold and rainy day at one point it looked- and felt- more like snow than rain, sheesh !  We were happy to have our three layers on, and SOCKS !  It was a good day to get back into our school work in our cosy room, we took a walk in the afternoon to go and fetch the van and moved it to a neighboring suburb (free parking) for the next few days. 

We have been getting regular updates on how the boys are doing on their crossing.They left on the same day as we did (on November 12th)and it sounds like everything is going very well, although the wind was a bit weaker than expected, they should be making landfall in the North (Opua) on Friday. We only have a few days left in Auckland as we plan to meet them as they arrive. Tomorrow we hope to get to the museum after school and perhaps do some last minute shopping before we head out on Thursday. Until then we will continue to enjoy our limitless hot showers and fresh berries ! Soon Mark and the boys will arrive and we will move back onboard ! 

Love 3Ms on land (and 1 M at sea)