Auckland, New Zealand

January 30th and 31st we were at sea. We did not attend the speaker on Exotic Fabrics of the World, but did enjoy the anthropologist on Traditional and Changing Life of the Maori of New Zealand. Jack and I played bridge one afternoon, had some good cards and were the winners!! The evening entertainment was a violinist from the United Kingdom and the brother and sister dancers.

February 1

Today we docked in Auckland, New Zealand known as the largest and most modern city in New Zealand. Auckland is home to 1/4 of the New Zealand’s people. Within an hour drive from Auckland there are 102 beaches. There are over 70,000 powerboats and sailing craft, or one per every four households.

Our excursion was an Antarctic encounter and the Sky Tower. On the Antarctic encounter we viewed a life-size recreation of Captain Scott’s Antarctic Hut. Then we boarded a Snow Cat and plunged into simulated Antarctic whiteout. We emerged from the whiteout into a live penguin colony where we could watch them swim and play. Next we traveled through a clear, acrylic tunnel on a moving walkway as schools of fish and sharks were swimming above and around us. Another highlight was the Stingray Bay where we saw some with six-foot wingspans and long barbed tails.

The Sky Tower was completed in 1996 and is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. We had a panoramic view of the city and the gulf. People book sky jumps from the tower. The jumpers wear a harness and there are overhead safety lines to keep them safe. We caught one of the jumpers with our camera and we will post it if it is good.

In the late afternoon, some of the Maori came aboard for a cultural display through songs and dances.

The evening entertainment was Australia’s number one ventriloquist. He is talented and was extremely popular with the audience.