Return to Auckland

We wake to find our balcony has great views of Albert Park on one side and the Skytower on the other. G has located a coffee shop with excellent reviews, and comes back triumphantly with croissants. While Kiwi coffee has been truly excellent, I’m afraid we’ve been less than impressed in terms of breakfast pastries, so this is a real treat. 

Of course, we had no plans to come back to this city, but it’s good to have the chance to see it without the rain we had in January. We decide to catch a ferry out to Waiheke island, enabling us to see the harbour and the Hauraki Gulf. Once there, we take the HOHO (Hop on Hop off) bus around the island as G has been persuaded to purchase a linked ticket. We’re hoping for a commentary that gives us an insight to the island, but it is sadly lacking - basically we just get told what the next stop is. In any case, we’re too late to do much hopping on and off, so just take in a couple of quick photo stops before getting off at Mudbrick Vineyard for a wine tasting and an early dinner. It’s a stunning setting, and after some initial hiccups, we enjoy a very pleasant wine tasting with a guy from the Isle of Man no less! And then it’s dinner which is really excellent - a great way to spend our final evening in New Zealand. 

I’ve left my camera in the room today - I’m too weary to carry it around - but the views from the terrace are so beautiful I’m just wishing I had it with me. My iPhone has to suffice - but it just can’t capture the detail of the view of distant Auckland, the bank of trees echoing its skyline. The view is hazy anyway, so I decide to give my cropped shot a sort of water colour effect using Distressed App - my main today. As extras there’s a rather industrial sunset shot of Auckland as we sail back in, and a collage of the words and sculpture at Matiatia ferry terminal.