Day 59 10th March 2011

View from Sky Tower

This is our last day in New Zealand. We are in Auckland which is the largest city in the country and a quarter of the entire population live here. The ship has docked in the cruise terminal in the heart of the city. When we looked out of the cabin we saw that apartments where less than 20 feet away from us with a view directly into them. The one opposite had scores of empty bottles on the veranda so we assumed they had had a party.

It has been another warm and sunny day. The temperature was about 20c which considering this is the start of autumn here is good. Apparently it rarely drops below 14c even in winter. The harbour is a mass of yachts and other boats with marinas everywhere. The city is surrounded by dormant volcanoes with several now flooded by the sea to form lagoons.

We went on a trip to go up the Sky Tower here which has a 360 degree viewing platform from where you can bungy jump if you are mad. People were jumping off as we looked out over the city. The view is breath taking and you can go even higher which we did to a second viewing area. For those who wanted a view from outside you can walk around a narrow metal walkway with a harness on. There is no barrier. Again, this is for the insane.

After the sky tower we went to local aquarium to see penguins, sharks and sting rays. It was very good with walkways that take you under the tanks to walk with the fish. It was enjoyable if a little crowded since the local nursery school had come on a visit. There were many small children charging about.

We changed Captain’s today and the new one is the first woman captain in P and O. She will take the ship from here to Southampton. Her name is Sarah Breton.

We will now be sailing towards Apia in Western Samoa on our journey across the Pacific to San Francisco.