Auckland, NZ

 Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Land ho!  We arrived at our first port of call in New Zealand this morning - Auckland.  Carl & both had a rough night last night with my cold (sorry about that, Carl) and were up just after 6:30 a.m.  It was a foggy, drizzly morning here in port - didn't bode well for our adventure to Waiheke Island for wine tasting.

We dashed up to the Marketplace on Deck 16 for a quick breakfast and then we reported to the Symphony Dining room on Deck 5 to leave for our wine tasting tour.  We got off the ship around 8:30 a.m. and headed to the Fullers360 Ferry to Waiheke Island, about a 40 min (or less) boat ride away.  It was still drizzly and gray when we got there, but the island is really lush and beautiful.

I kept seeing these really unusual trees with blooms that looked like red fuzz balls.  I finally asked someone what they were and they said these are Pohutukawa, otherwise known as New Zealand Christmas Trees.  Very pretty!

Pohutukawa (NZ Christmas Tree) as
seen from our bus.

Our first stop was at the Branch Winery - high up on the Island.  It's a small craft winery and we got to taste a sparkling rose (very dry - like a brut champagne), a chardonnay, and a Sirah (same grape as the Shiraz but wine is made in the "french" manner, aging in french oak barrels).

French oak barrels at the Branch Winery

Our tasting wines at the Branch Winery

From the Branch Winery, our bus driver took us on a scenic drive through parts of the island, pointing out some nice beaches and noting that most of the homes on the island sell for well in excess of $1 million (it is NOT cheap to live in either Australia or New Zealand!)

Grape Vineyards on Waiheke

Lovely beach on Waiheke

Beautiful beach on Waiheke

Our 2nd winery stop was at the Cable Bay Vineyards.  Again, we had 3 wines to sample - a rose (non-sparkling), a chardonnay, and a Sirah.  All were very good.

Cable Bay Vineyards at Waiheke

As the name implies, the vineyard overlooks Cable Bay and while here, the sun finally broke through and provided a spectacular view of the bay.  These are the kind of views I've been expecting to see here in New Zealand!

Cable Bay at Waiheke - from the winery (you can see
Auckland in the distance at right)

View of Waiheke as we left the island for return
to Auckland

We were only on the island for a short 3 hours and then it was back to the ferry for the ride back to Auckland.

Carl on the ferry back to Auckland

Once we landed back in Auckland we wandered downtown (right off the pier) in search of a drugstore (called "chemist" here) for some more cough syrup for me and more acetaminophen (called Panadol here in AU and NZ) for Carl - for his knee!  Downtown Auckland is kind of funky and still all decorated for the holidays.

Christmas Decorations in downtown Auckland

Auckland has a bustling downtown!  But after finding the items we needed at the chemist shop, we walked back to the ship and spent a relaxing late afternoon up at the Hollywood Pool and conservatory on Deck 17.

Our dinner reservations are at 7 p.m. tonight.  And there's a comedian for our entertainment later tonight.  Tomorrow we dock in Tauranga and we have a later start for our shore excursion which is a M'aori village experience.

Merry Christmas to all our U.S. friends where it is Christmas Day today!

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