Sea days about like the others. Still crocheting in the mornings, playing dominoes or cards in the afternoon, and usually reading after excellent dinners. Throw in the occasional lecture or conversation with someone, and there you've got it.
We are getting to know some of the staff better. Our cabin stewards, Roland and Charles, are still bringing us a huge bucket of ice twice a day. Last night we were chatting with them just before dinner, and while we were talking, Roland casually folded a towel animal that I have never seen before ... a shark ... fin, open mouth and all!
The staff up at the Lido buffet where we usually have breakfast and often have lunch are really sweet and helpful. There are the young women, Ani and April, and young men Reza who keeps our glasses filled up, and Eka who does just about anything we ask. Eka is also the young man who stands at the door to the Dining Room and distributes after dinner mints, and with great glee, candied ginger to Margaret. It's a good thing she likes candied ginger. Tonight was a formal night with a British Commonwealth type of theme including bowler hats in gold and silver for all the servers and passengers, and umbrellas printed with a photo of Big Ben on each table. Eka was decked out in a cut-a way tail coat of silver spangles ... quite a sight ... we pretended to need sun glasses.
We are headed in a southwesterly direction, so the outside temperature isn't as high as when we were closer to the equator. The Captain reported at noon that we should be approaching a weather front so it may be rainy tomorrow in Auckland,
February 5
Today and tomorrow we are docked at Queen's Wharf right in the middle of downtown Auckland. We were told by the Captain several days ago to expect rain today. Luckily the rain came yesterday (thank you, Jill), and today the weather is perfectly gorgeous!
We headed out this morning to meet my friend Lindy. She lives in Wellington (the capitol of NZ) but had planned to come to Auckland to visit her brother and stayed on an extra day to take Margaret and me around to several lovely yarn shops and an assortment of ATM machines, some of which were uncooperative.
At the first shop in Queen's Arcade in downtown Auckland, after we had a cup of tea at another shop there, we found some of the softest and lightest yarn I've ever experienced at New Zealand Fabric and Yarn! I was handed a knitted sample about 4" x 6" and it felt like I was holding an equivalent piece of aerogel! I was looking right at it, but could barely feel anything resting on my hands! It was a possum, silk, and alpaca blend. And no, not our US kind of possum, but the Australian kind which, unfortunately, was introduced into NZ and has become an invasive pest. We were told that it is some of the warmest yarn in the world.
Next we hiked back to the wharf (fortunately not too far, and Lindy and Margaret were very patient with my snail's pace). There we took a ferry across the harbor to the picturesque community of Devonport. Here is a photo of downtown Auckland taken from the Devonport Ferry Terminal. It's another one of Margaret's postcard-worthy shots.
First we had lunch at a friendly bistro which served huge portions. Next we wandered uphill past bookstores and sidewalk cafes to another yarn shop. You can see its name in the photo below. We even got the clerk on duty to take our picture all holding skeins of NZ yarn. Yes, Margaret and I did buy $$$ yarn. We also spotted a couple we know from the cruise, and she wound up getting yarn there also.
En route back to the ferry, we stopped back by the bistro to relax with cold drinks one of which was a local NZ craft brew called Moa which has a unique bottle with a moa (extinct large NZ bird) pressed in the glass. (Garner, this time we saved the cap.) All in all, a most satisfactory day. However, I think I've pretty much done what I can in Auckland. Margaret will most likely go wandering about some more tomorrow.
After dinner we attended a performance of song and dances including a Haka by a group of Maori. They did an excellent job of presenting some aspects of Maori history and culture. It was even more interesting because tomorrow is Waitangi Day which is a national holiday remembering the first treaty between the seven Maori tribes and the British. The Waitangi Accords have not always been honored although things are better these days than formerly.
4 comments:
I'm jealous of the yarn stores and all the beautiful yarn in that picture! I'd love to know the brand/name of that possum yarn when you get a chance.
I have this lovely little picture in my mind of a sheared opossum. Snicker snicker.--Suzan
I had no idea Auckland was so big!
As others have written, it is really fun to read and see what you have been doing.
I learned about a craft beer app today called Untappd (no E) at this address: https://untappd.com/
You register and then take pictures of unusual beers and make comments. Perhaps you and MM could consider joining and posting interesting and esoteric beer pictures and commentary.
Will MM ever be able to go back to the drudgery of making her own lunch and mowing her lawn after this grand voyage?
Dave Beagle (FoM)
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