#158 28 October-3 November 2023 Storm Closes Auckland Port and We Have an Extra Sea Day. Customs, City Bus Ride,Grocery Shop,Takapuna Beach Airbnb.Wow!
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| Pirate Cappucino on Majestic Princess at International Cafe |
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| Anchored Near Auckland and Waiting It Out Saturday. 28. Today was our final Bible class onboard, but several asked Darrell to continue one more day and he agreed. We have been so encouraged with reading through Mark together as a group averaging 45. We enjoyed the ship today with a fabulous buffet at breakfast and lunch, then a dining room dinner with the group of cruisers we’ve been meeting each evening. The shows on these sea days have been pretty good. One was a singer from New Zealand and another from Australia. Each had unique styles and were amazing talents and also teaching us some about their cultures. Sunday. 29. Today was an interesting day for many reasons. Top on my list is that Karen while attending our Bible class wanted to be baptized. She knew so much about baptism and decided to make her conscious decision as an adult to be in Christ (since her childhood experience of baptism isn’t found in the Bible). Darrell and she changed and met at the hot tub. During the morning the seas were getting rougher and rougher. The swimming pool was closed with waves hitting the ceiling on the internal splashing of the pool. The hot tubs were unaffected. So Karen put on Christ and is quite happy with her decision. We were happy too. It was not what we were expecting but so much better! As it was with the rough seas, most people were staying in their cabins after lunchtime, and we did the same. We were scheduled to pack this evening and arrive to the Port of Auckland on Monday morning. Darrell and I were packing our suitcases and the movement of the ship got to both of us. We put on seasick patches and were able to finish packing and also go for dinner with our regular group. The ship captain kept sending printed page updates about the current situation and timing of our arrival into Auckland. 700 passengers were to get off the boat and about that many getting on to begin their cruises. The whole night was rough. We arrived just outside the port and anchored nearby around midnight. The port was closed to our large ship until late Monday night. Monday. 30. Today we were updated that we would maybe get into the port by late afternoon. That all went by the wayside as the port remained closed to us because of high winds and the size of our ship. By night time the ship was allowed to dock, but no one could get off until morning. We all had this extra day on the ship. Some people were scurrying to change flights, etc. We had dinner again with our usual gang. We went to the show and to our room. |
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| City Bus Stop With Our Luggage |
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| Takapuna Beach in Far Background Tuesday. 31. We were able to go through our regular morning routines and get off the ship around 8:30. By 9:30 we were through customs, had our local bus cards and were riding the bus toward Takapuna Beach where our weeklong apartment stay is located. On the bus were a couple headed home, and we had met them the day we boarded the ship in Vancouver on October 3rd. We had a bus change during our journey and we overshot our stop by a little bit, but we made it to our place and went right in. It’s beautiful and clean! Yay. We rested for a bit then walked about a mile to a mall where we had lunch, Asian-Kiwi fusion, and went grocery shopping. For dinner we made our usual chicken veg soup. We walked to the beach in the late afternoon too. Had a call with Owen and Eric. Darrell also got our car ready for pick up on Friday. We got a lot done today! |
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| Takapuna Lava Flow and Pathway |
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| Path to The Beach at Milford Wednesday. 1. We had our online Bible study with our English friends. We are 19 hours ahead of them! We cooked breakfast and had salads for lunch, walked to the beach, rested and watched some Kiwi tv. Darrell worked 5 hours(!) on our immigration extension request online. We have a three month visa and are asking to stay 4 months. The tedious details are all on the immigration web site and he worked through them, called a real person to make sure he’s on the right track, and has one more bit to do tomorrow. Thursday. 2. Today we walked north to a different neighborhood area with loads of barbers, bakeries, groceries and second hand shops. Darrell got a haircut. We were able to get the final details for immigration printed at a print shop. Once we got home Darrell spent another 2 hours getting our application online finalized and submitted! Yay! While shopping, we were able to find at a second-hand shop a cooler for our road trip here and some kitchen gadgets too. We went by the grocery and bought a local sausage to try and some more NZ cheese! Yum. We also went to a bakery and I got some sourdough bread– finally! I’ve been missing it! We had lunch at our apartment and then later in the afternoon we walked to the beach, put our feet into the cool water and then went to the ice cream place for our second time. |
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| Pear Colored Kiwi |
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| Milford Beach North of Auckland |
Friday. 3. It’s raining. Darrell has a cold. We are riding the city bus for about an hour with changes to get to our car in another section of town. We do it because Darrell is keeping track of the map and the route. When we get our car we check it for scratches, etc. There’s no back up camera, no promised cruise control and the directions for the car are in Japanese, written and verbal. There are a few words in English printed on buttons in the car. Weird. We try to change the system and English isn’t there. Oh, well. Darrell does a great job changing sides. He said his biggest mix-up is the wiper with the turn signals. He is having to consciously remind himself of it. I’m not ready to drive yet and he’s not ready for me to drive yet! The weather clears later in the day and we walk north to Milford beach.
Nomad Notes: How can it be November this week? The lulling of the ship. New friendships. Resort living while traveling to New Zealand. An alternate Universe where they drive opposite to the US; the prices look inflated listed in NZ$’s; we are 18 hours ahead of our regular Central Time Zone; it’s springtime going into summer; the fusion cuisines are mixed with Kiwi (New Zealander cuisine).
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