Auckland--Day10, Radiance OTS, March 28, 2014
Our ship arrived port at 7:00AM and the sun was barely making its appearance above the horizon. We planned on spending our morning visiting Devonport, which is just across the harbor from Downtown Auckland. The ship docked right near the ferry building in front of Queen Street, which made it very walkable and convenient instead of next to the Hilton which is further down the other side of the water front.
When we walked off the pier, they did have sniffing dogs around just to make sure that passengers were not taking anything illegal off the ship.
Beautiful sunrise
Walking away from the pier towards the ferry building. We purchased our ferry tickets from the information shed that was set up outside the building. Return adult ticket was $11 pp.
The Hilton on the other side.
Inside the pier
On the ferry where we could see the Hilton on one side...
...and the Radiance on the other.
After the 15-minute ferry ride we arrived Devonport Wharf.
Beautiful sight of Auckland from the shore of Devonport.
First building we saw right outside of the wharf. We then made a right turn and followed King Edward Parade along Torpedo Bay to get to the Royal New Zealand Navy Museum.
Picturesque Victorian buildings can be seen around town.
Segway Tour
On the grounds of the Royal New Zealand Navy Museum.
Playground outside the museum
This museum is definitely worth a visit and there is no entrance fee.
You can play dress-up if you wish.
Lots of information and displays.
Exterior of the museum, the cafe and the playground.
Torpedo Bay Wharf next to the museum. We could have walked up to North Head to check out the military bunkers, tunnels, and gun emplacements but we were a little tired by then and nobody wanted to take the hike.
Instead, we walked back to town through Church Road and Kerr Street. We went past Mt. Victoria, but again we did not feel like walking uphill.
Walked down Victoria Road, the main street of Devonport where craft shops, cafes and fashion outlets are located.
This way up to Mt. Victoria.
On Victoria Road
Mt. Victoria in the background
Spent a few bucks here before getting back on the ferry.
It was so easy to get back on the ship for some lunch before venturing out again.
After lunch, first thing we did was to get some money exchange at the HSBC at the Downtown Shopping Center. After walking around town in the afternoon, we came back to this shopping center and found it to be very interesting, especially the OK Souvenir Store which is Japanese owned.
We stopped at a couple of souvenirs stores on Queen Street, then turned on Victoria Street. Took a few pictures of the Sky Tower before walking back down to the waterfront on Albert Street. It was all an easy walk.
After spending some time at the Downtown Shopping Center, we used the wi-fi right outside of the ferry terminal for a while before getting back on the ship for sailing out at 6pm.
Benches outside the ferry terminal if you need to use wi-fi. This was where we took the ferry to Devonport.
Leaving Pier 10
Again, the dining room was quite empty that evening.
So Manuel showed us how to fold a napkin lobster.
Ta-da!
We had another great day in Auckland. We did not attempt doing too much during the day. Our morning in Devonport was relaxing and easy and the couple of hours spent in Auckland was interesting and fun.
