i woke up even before the alarm, i was so excited to finally get to new zealand! i got to be a crew escort on a guest tour of auckland highlights, so i had to show up early to pick up my numbered baton flag (so guests know which bus to get on since it matches their tour number), a bottle of water and the trip report to fill out. i got outside, and it was cool and cloudy… feels like home! our bus driver’s name was dennis, but if you want to sound new zealand, you have to pronounce it ‘dinnis.’ we left the terminal and started by crossing the harbor bridge with a great skyline and gorgeous harbor view… the nickname of auckland is “city of sails,” and boasts one of the most beautiful boat harbors i’ve seen, the westhaven marina, which is the largest in the southern hemisphere… in the harbor there are tall ships with giant sails, beautiful luxury sailboats and yachts, and smaller boats as well… lovely!
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| beautiful westhaven marina with auckland skyline under gorgeous gray skies |
we drove by the famous rose gardens, and onto the war memorial museum, a fascinating place to be on this day, as it is waitangi day, the day when the maori people were kind of duped into signing their lands to queen victoria when they thought they were guaranteeing their rights… much difficulty and unrest ensued which lasted years and years, and has even recently been taken again to the highest courts in new zealand to dispute. they had cultural and wildlife exhibits as well as the war memorial, and i could have happily stayed longer (i am kind of a museum nerd, especially when i am on the road)… we pressed on, however, and went to the top of mount eden, a dormant volcano and took in the amazing 360 degree panoramic view from the crater’s edge. after driving down historic and charming parnell street, we headed through the shopping district and then back to the ship… three and a half hours well spent!
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| crater of mount eden with auckland cityscape |
i had lunch with a piano bar regular pal from arizona, and then did some work on a few new tunes and setlists… (still gotta work!) no nap today and then off to the gig. tonite, rather than 8 and 10 o’clock shows, it was one 9:30 show only for which they brought on members of the maori tribe to do a traditional cultural show of song and dance including the fierce war dance called the haka…. very interesting! you can probably watch an example of the haka on you tube, or if you ever saw the movie ‘invictus’ about the historic rugby game beteen new zealand and south africa and nelson mandela’s rule in south africa, you’ve seen it… fierce!
on overnight port nights, things are a bit deserted as folks take in the auckland waterfront restaurants and nightlife and everyone who stays aboard goes to the one show they offer… and i just LOVE it when people walk by the lounge that is now, as a result empty, as they are also on their way to show, throw up their hands and look around at my empty room like i must have farted or something, and say something like ‘where IS everybody?’ easily one of my top 3 most annoying yet inevitable occurences on overnight port nights… my theme tonight was golden oldies, and i had a few sporadic bursts of people here and there with peak density from 7-8 for those who came back for free dinner at 8 instead of going out…
so excited because one of our guests who has a group of a couple hundred folks on board (they do their own tours independently of the company tours offered and knows me from other cruises as well as from back home as a wine bar constituent of bob’s and mine) has invited me to stand by tomorrow am in case they have an extra spot on a 6 hour tour (9-3) they are doing of new zealand’s wine country – 3 wineries/vineyards and lunch with wine tasting… i was like, ok, twist my arm! i’ll let you know how that goes! cheers for now! -df
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