We arrived at Auckland, the city of sails, on January 29 and docked at Queen's Wharf in the heart of town. Auckland is a beautiful city located on the eastern side of the North Island of New Zealand. It is very cosmopolitan and culturally diverse, with a population of 1.4 million. The harbor area has 14 different marinas, including one for yachts used for the America's Cup sailing race. Boating is very popular in Auckland, where 25% of the people own a boat.
We took a 2 hour bus tour of the central city, stopping at Bastion Point to see a labor memorial and garden, then drove through several stylish neighborhoods. Our guide said that Auckland is one of the 5 most expensive places to live, with 3-4 bedroom houses costing over $800,000. After the bus tour, we walked to the New Zealand Maritime Museum to see displays of old Maori boats (waka) and other nautical memorabilia. We then walked to the Sky Tower, the tallest structure in New Zealand. at 1076 feet high. The view of Auckland and surrounding islands from level 60 was awesome.
Today is Auckland Anniversary Day, so it is a national holiday with lots of special activities near the harbor. There were boat rides in the harbor, boat races, carnivals, street performers and lots of people out and about. It was sunny and 82 degrees, a beautiful summer day in the Southern Hemisphere.
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| Arriving in Auckland Harbor |
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| Memorial and Garden on Bastion Point |
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| Boat races for Anniversary Day |
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| Replica of a Maori canoe (waka) |
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| Lots of boats on the water |
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| view of Auckland from the Sky Tower |
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| View of the bay bridge from the Sky Tower |
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| Another view from the Sky tower |
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| Auckland is a boating city with 14 marinas |
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| The Sky tower -- 1076 feet tall |
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