With the promise of lovely sail in we woke up early to be up on deck. Although you could see the lights twinkling in the distance, it wasn’t till we were well and truly in the harbour that the sun rose over the horizon and you could see the city and it surrounds.
We pulled into Auckland Wharf where we were greeted by the occupants of the Hilton Hotel in their dressing gowns on their balconies... We had heard that those with Balcony cabins on the Starboard side needed to have their curtains drawn or they may have had a surprise when they woke .
There were lots of families to greet all the Nanna and Poppa’s home.... You started to feel a little homesick yourself when you are standing next to someone waving madly and on the mobile phone saying “ Yes it’s me, up here can you see me!!”
Reality struck when we dinged off as the sign on the gangway said..... All Aboard 1.30pm.... Leaving for Sydney shortly afterwards...
Today we decided to take the ferry across to Devonport to spend a couple hours, then come back and take a wander around the city until it was time to board the ship again... We were here for such a short time....
Rugby fever has definitely hit Auckland. Next to the dock they were in the throes of putting the finishing touches to what will be the main tourist area.... Temporary structures were being erected for displays and entertainment. The whole sides of buildings advertised the world cup ..... and in one supporters store I managed to snap a picture of the trophy.... the real one I don’t know, but there was a security guard standing next to it.
Devonport is a quaint little village only a 10 minute ferry ride across the harbour. Many Cafe’s lined the main street and as time went by they became busier and busier . I would have to say that we did have the best Blueberry Muffin in a little cafe here...... We made the trek up to Mt Victoria where we had a 360 deg view of all the surrounding areas....
We had time left so we made our way back to Auckland City and wandered around until it was time to board the ship for our early sail away...
As we left, we had a crowd of people on the balcony of the hotel to wave us goodbye and as we passed the Devonport pier, through binoculars we could just see Paula and Ray waving goodbye to us...
The one thing you did notice was all the newbies that got on in Auckland ... So easy to spot.... all wandering around looking so fresh and excited making us look so tired LOL..... it has certainly changed the demographics of the ship....
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