Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland, New Zealand February 23 & 24, 2025

Larry and I walked off the ship to stroll downtown to pick up a rental car.

What a gorgeous day! After the heat of the island of Tonga, New Zealand temps were a welcome change.

We passed by a city park, seeing a train go by, we 

would return here in a couple of weeks to board one.

Driving out of the city past the marina,  Auckland is definitely the the City of Sails.

On our first day in New Zealand,  Larry and I went to visit our long time friends, Mal and Leonie. They had sold their home to move into a classy retirement village. Although we had kept up with them through email, we had not seen each other since 2016.We had a fine chat and luncheon with them before returning back to Auckland.

We had a great view on the way back to Auckland.

That evening we met Kim and Jay at the Auckland Skytower and watched the sunset and the lights of the city come on. What an enchanting evening!

The views were spectacular.

A view looking straight downward through the glass floor 

Rangatoto island with its volcanic mountain in the background.

The lights coming on made the views of the city even more spectacular.

Just outside the Tower the lights were bright and colorful.

Looking back at The Sky Tower while walking back to the ship.

The next day we all took the ferry to Rangatoto, the volcanic island, a half an hour boat ride from Auckland. We enjoyed hiking over the old volcanic paths. It was a lovely day for hiking and ferrying across the harbor. It brought back many memories of our past visit.

We can see why Auckland is called the city of sails 

The sail away was quite stunning.