20170127: Disembarkation, Auckland

Friday, January 27, 2017 Disembarkation, Auckland

We awoke to find ourselves tied up at Auckland's cruise ship pier. The waterfront is thoroughly modern and developed. We could see the Auckland Hilton on the neighboring pier. We decided to walk off the ship with all our bags, so there were no delays with finding and claiming them ashore. Auckland's cruise terminal and downtown are pretty pedestrian friendly. We were easily able to walk straight up Queen street from the cruise ship terminal to our hotel. We walked right past the entrance and realized we'd missed it when we saw the building numbers, which aren't posted consistently, were in the 100's. Our hotel was at 62 Queen Street. Once we paid close attention to the building numbers, we found the entry, which was marked with an overhead sign. The entry itself was no more than a doorway wedged between boutique stores. We were able to drop off our luggage, and the staff actually took them behind a locked door and gave us a claim ticket. It was nice to know nobody off the street would be able to sneak into the luggage room.

We had agreed to rendezvous with Jack and Sharon at the iSite visitor information center at noon to meet for lunch. Unfortunately, there are multiple iSite visitor information centers around central Auckland, including one at the cruise ship terminal, and another one at the base of the Sky Tower landmark. Jack and Sharon's hotel was just a block from the Sky Tower, so we walked up to their hotel, and found out at the front desk that they had left their luggage, but had left to tour the city. We were at the iSite visitor center at the base of the Sky Tower at noon, but Jack and Sharon were no-shows. We thought they might have ended up at the cruise ship terminal, which was indeed the case. Janet and I made reservations for 2 to dine at the Orbit Restaurant, which is a rotating restaurant in the Sky Tower, very much like the Space Needle. The earliest reservation was 2pm. We had heard that when cruise ships are in town, it can be very difficult to get a reservation for lunch, so we felt pretty fortunate. We then walked around Aotera square, and through a shopping mall with a variety of restaurants, bowling alley and movie theater.

We then walked back to Jack and Sharon's hotel, and just as we walked into the lobby, Jack was at the front desk, checking in. They are staying at the Econolodge Central Auckland, which is less than 0.5mi from the Quest on Queen. They got a great rate of only $50 NZD/night, compared with the $143 NZD/night we were paying. We went up with them to see the room, and were a bit taken aback to find the doors of vacant rooms wide open, leading to a bathroom consisting of a toilet, tiny sink, and shower smaller than the cruise ship’s, and a bedroom just barely big enough for a double bed. It was hard to imagine how a hotel room could actually be smaller than an inside cruise ship stateroom, but they managed to do it. Downstairs in the lobby, they had a large dining room and lounge, so as long as all you do is brush your teeth and sleep in your room, this would work out.

Jack and Sharon were in various stages of dealing with a cold, and were eager to get a nap in, so we left them and decided to meet them at 4pm in their hotel lobby. We went back to the Sky Tower, and were allowed to go up to the Observation decks of the tower in advance of our dining reservation. For a second, Janet considered skipping out on the lunch and just taking a free ride up to the observation decks, which costs $33 NZD per person. 

However, we were hungry, and looking forward to a nice meal. If you have dining reservations, you get to ride up for free, but have a minimum $50 NZD per person meal requirement. They do have a special $50 NZD deal where you can have an appetizer and Main course, or Main course and dessert. Interestingly, in New Zealand they refer to appetizers as "Entrees", Main courses as Mains, and desserts were desserts. 

Janet had a heritage sun dried tomato and mozzarella "Entree" followed by a lamb shank, while Ben had a seared tuna "Entree", followed by ox-tail and beef fillet on Kumara (Maori sweet potato) with beets and beans. Both meals were excellent, and we got to circle completely around the Auckland skyline. We had a beautiful sunny day in the mid 60's to lower 70's. The waiters asked if we were from the Cruise ship, and they were quite impressed with the Golden Princess. It was quite the sight on the waterfront from the Sky Tower. While we were dining we did see two people doing the "Sky Jump", where you are harnessed to a cable, and jump from just above the restaurant level all the way to a target on the ground. They don't actually free-fall, but the cable lets them go down fast enough for a real thrill, slowing them down as they approach the ground. 

There are a pair of cables off to each side, and a camera goes down with the jumper to record their facial expressions. The experience is $225 NZD per person. For those not so inclined to jump, there is a narrow catwalk that you can go out on, tethered from above. That was only $145 NZD, but I'd say NO THANK YOU to either offer.

We also checked out the cafe below the observation deck which was selling sandwiches for $11-15 NZD, and crisps (chips) for $4-5 NZD. So if you went up to the observation deck and had a sandwich and crisps, you'd be in it for just $10 NZD less than what we paid for a gourmet meal with excellent service and an unbeatable view of Auckland.

We met Jack and Sharon in their hotel lobby as agreed and did some of a walking tour from a National Geographic New Zealand Guide Book Ben had brought along, which took us to Albert Park to see the Auckland Art Gallery, Old Arts Building and Old Government House, which had been the Governor's mansion when Auckland was the capital until the capital was moved to Wellington in 1865. Visiting royalty has stayed in this mansion. 

Now it serves as a student union building for the university that now occupies the area. We then walked back across Albert park, which had been divided up by temporary chain link fences to prepare for an outdoor concert. It took some exploring to find openings in the fencing to get back across the park. We then went down Courthouse lane, which had been a paved Romanesque piazza, but which was currently in a torn up state, undergoing remodeling. We did come across homeless and beggars, who appeared to be mostly Maori, but it seems that Seattle has Auckland beat for throngs of homeless living in tent cities and on the streets.

We got to our hotel, and checked in. When we opened the door, we were pleasantly surprised with a large fully furnished apartment with a nicely appointed kitchen, living room, separate bedroom with a queen bed, and extras like a washer/dryer and dishwasher. There was also a nice balcony with a partially obstructed view of the harbor. 

We could see the Golden Princess being escorted by tugs out into the harbor, and then sailing off. Jack and Sharon brought the champagne that we won in the last trivia game. We finished that off, toasting the Golden Princess as she sailed off.

We then set off to find a place to eat dinner, which was trickier than it sounds because Jack and Sharon are pseudo-vegetarians and not very adventurous when it comes to dining. All the places I found on Yelp with 4 to 4-1/2 star reviews either did not have suitable vegetarian options, or were too expensive. After going through 5 or 6 of these, hunger won out and we ended up at an unrated Malaysian chain "Pappa Rich's" in the mall across from the Econolodge, which offered some vegetarian stir fries with tofu "Chicken" or tofu "Lamb", as well as noodle dishes for less than $16 NZD. All the other restaurants we checked out were charging closer to $22-25 NZD per person for dinner. 

There was a Burger King and Carl Jr's where you could get a meal for less than $10 NZD, but again, no vegetarian options there. Ben had a good bowl of spicy noodle soup, while they mixed up Janet's and Jack's fried noodle dishes, so Janet's was too bland and swimming in thin gravy, while Jack's was too spicy for his liking. Sharon's vegetarian fake chicken stir fry was just OK. It was unfortunate that Jack & Sharon's last dinner in Auckland ended up a disappointment. I guess next time, we'll save the hours of walking around and just dine separately, since a Dominos cheese pizza would have fit Jack & Sharon's needs, while Ben & Janet would have eaten at the first 4 star rated Yelp restaurant we visited just 5 minutes into the search.

Jack and Sharon head to the airport tomorrow mid-day for their return to the USA, while Janet and I have to get up before the crack of dawn to catch a 6am bus tour of the Waitomo glow worm caves. We stopped at a small grocery store and were shocked by how expensive everything was, even accounting for the exchange rate of $0.72 NZD to $1.00 US. We picked up a loaf of bread, a small jar of peanut butter, and a can of sardines for a quick breakfast in the morning and lunch during our excursion.