Auckland day 2

Auckland Day 2

Up and at it early as we had organised to hire a car today to go on a road trip, we got an 8 seater Toyota, it was to be collected at 8 am, what a fiasco getting this car was, it was freeeeeezing cold, wet and miserable. We got shuttled to a spot in the middle of nowhere, at peak time and taxis were like hens teeth, never mind we got our car and headed off.
Shazza, Paul, Kelly & Dan joined us on our day out, as it has been 8.5 weeks since Wazza has driven a car, he almost needed lessons !!! On the advice of the lady at the information centre we went to the Murawai Region, and we all really loved the scenery, and the amazing foliage of this area. We visited the gannet colony, where we got lucky as its nesting season, there were thousands of them here, although still blooming cold, we pressed on and visited a black sand beach where stacks of mad surfers were in the water, waiting for the next big wave !!

Next up was a lunch stop, we ate at a lovely cafe, the prices were really reasonable, unlike everywhere else I looked ! then on our way back to Auckland as Paul & Shazza had to take care of their post pack home. We dropped the car back a couple of hours early as the traffic was busy and headed back to the ship for a bit of a rest. Sail away was a bit of a fizzer, the band played up on pool deck, but most people were tooo scared of the cold and stayed inside..I had a bit of time up there and then came back to our lovely balcony to watch us leave our very last port of all till we get home.

We are told to expect some rough seas over the next day or 2, suits me fine ! As I type this I am looking out over the balcony every so often and seeing some great stuff, a pod of dolphins hooning along in our wake, some really fantastic sea birds, and sadly loads of clouds !!!

The last of the Islands are behind us, the sky in front is looking very bleak, we have now travelled 4776 kms on this leg, and we are travelling faster than I have seen our ship go, at 22.9 knots, maybe Captain Claus is trying to out run the bad weather ! The sea depth is only 70 feet, very shallow compared to some.

Off now to have some time on the balcony, and remembering Alaska as I freeze . A bit of a party night tonight with the Quest, not sure if I will make it.

See you all