February, 2023
For our first visit to Auckland we booked a tour that took us out into the country to see the coastline and enjoy a farm experience with locally sourced food and wine.
Muriwai Gannet Colony
From the center of Auckland, we traveled about 1 hour to walk the Otakamiro Trail to enjoy the beautiful views of the NZ coastline, the black sand beaches and to see the Muriwai Gannet Colony.
The gannets nest on the rock cliffs from October to March so we were able to watch the circle of life amongst these beautiful cliffs. (Birdie Fact: Gannets have a 6’ wingspan and feed by diving from high up. Once they spot a school of fish (tiny fish like anchovies), they plunge into the water at 145 mph – it’s fun to watch).
Vineyard Cottages
We had a wonderful farm to table lunch at this lovely farm just an hour outside of Auckland. We had locally sourced cheeses made from the areas goats and cows, fresh field greens, smoked salmon and lamb and roasted veggies. Local wines were also served along with home baked bread. It was so yummy that I forgot to take any pictures.
Into the City
You could spend days walking around this lovely city. There is so much to see and experience and one day was certainly not enough. We had two priorities: a haircut for Denise and Ice Cream. There were a lot of haircut options and that was quickly marked off the list.
When visiting Auckland, you must have ice cream at Giapo. Being an ice cream snob, this was THE place to get a high butterfat enriched dessert. We each had the double cream broken cone sundae. You can order all sorts of funky cones in multiple shapes and sizes. But, we just wanted ice cream and yummy broken waffle cone pieces. Yep, it was YUMMMMMMY!!
One day in Auckland wasn’t enough and we know that someday we will return for more adventures in the great city.
Bonus New Zealand Facts
*Because they are in the Southern Hemisphere (we are in the Northern Hemisphere), visiting New Zealand in February is like visiting the US in August.
*The nightly skies are also different as we are now watching the southern cross instead of the big dipper.
*You always need to wear a hat and sunscreen in NZ because they have a hole in their ozone layer that can lead to sunburns in about 10 minutes. Locals take this very seriously.
So, now you know!
HabitualTraveler 
Denise, Still enjoying following your progress around the world. Your pictures and commentary are great! Have one quick question regarding how you generally spend your sea days. I know you played some mahjong early in the cruise. Do you still enjoy doing that or have you found other things of interest? Do you have any sort of routine? Do you and Jeff do the same things, or do you have different favorite things to do? Jackie P.S. Will you and Jeff be at home in Indiana much of June? Joe and I would definitely like to get together with you as soon as it would work out. We will be leaving for Europe (for the El Camino trail and a family visit to see Joe’s sister) on April 20th, soon after we get back up north. We are scheduled to get back around May 20th. So if you have a free evening after that, we’d love to meet and hear more about your latest adventure. Safe travels, see you Back Home Again in Indiana. ??
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