Gym's Ramblings: Auditing Auckland and the Glow Worm Caper

M/S Insignia sailed into Auckland Harbour on Sunday, May 13, 2018. It would tie up on the waterfront and dock there for about 36 hours. This gave Gym and Mrs. Gym ample time to do their own thing on Sunday and attend to a full day Oceania tour on Monday.

Auckland is a big city with more than 1,500,000 inhabitants. This is about one third of the entire population of New Zealand which only has 4,500,000 citizens. Unique to Auckland, a significant percentage of the population is native Pacific Islanders including about 150,000 Maori and about 100,00 Fijian, Tongan and Samoan peoples. It is a major cosmopolitan city. It feels a bit like a more tropical San Francisco given it's nice waterfront, the numerous green spaces and the restaurants and shopping opportunities close in to the shore-line. And like San Francisco it is not flat, you rise up to 40 or 50 meters above sea level within a few blocks of the cruise ship terminal.

On Sunday, our adventurers would assail the steep streets of Auckland on a walkabout that targeted two large green spaces, Albert Park near Auckland University and the Auckland Domain a couple of kilometres further inland. Gym passed through Albert Park searching for a statue of the man who was hitched to Queen Victoria and was unsuccessful finding his likeness anywhere, although he did find a statue of the Prince's wife. Later on, the intrepid couple circled the Auckland Domain and then checked out the Winter Gardens and the Fernery which were free exhibits inside the Domain. From there they circled around Albert Park and descended back to the ship, down Queen Street which is the "main drag" of Auckland, as it is lined with high end stores and restaurants serving every type of cuisine imaginable. Interestingly, there is a preponderance of American fast food outlets along Queen Street, including Mcdonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, KFC and even a Carl's Junior. Who is winning the burger war?

The next day Gym and his lovely sidekick were in for a long bus ride to see the how a bunch of worms with glow-in-the-dark poop can turn a damp cave into a tourist attraction. It rained that day on and off but we were told that this was not unusual for New Zealand in the fall and the result of all the precipitation made for a very green countryside. The tour zoomed off south of Auckland and into the New Zealand dairy country. Did you know that the dairy business is New Zealand's largest export? It is first and then comes exports of meat, followed by lumber, in third position. Sheep used to dominate the countryside around Auckland and although there are still a few sheep, most farmers have switched to dairy which pays better. Most of the milk is converted to milk solids and shipped to China. Gym learned all this and more that day cruising a countryside that reminded Mrs. Gym of Ireland.

After a couple of hours in the bus, the tour arrived at the Waitomo Caves. Waitomo Caves are run by the local Maori and they know what they are doing. It is a very slick operation that gets you underground in an orderly fashion where your guide educates and entertains you until it is your turn to get on a boat to go check out the glowworm's work. Yes, you get on a boat and your Maori guide takes you into the cavern to look up at the ceiling where the worms incandescent waste forms a crude rendition of the Milky Way, amoungst the stalactites. It is a 5-minute boat ride but somehow the show makes it worthwhile. You then leave the cavern in awe of nature's artistry so you can pass through the gift shop to pick up a glowworm teeshirt.

Following the glowworm caves, Gym and Mrs. Gym were treated to lunch at a nearby dairy farm. The family at Crosshills Farm (see them on tripadvisor) served up a shank of lamb and some meatloaf with all the fixings. Gym especially enjoyed the green tomato chutney and actually acquired a copy of the recipe if any of you is interested. After lunch, the adventurers strolled through the beautiful grounds adjacent to the house, before reboarding the bus, for the return to the ship.

Due to the storm that drove us around the north end of the North Island, the ship was proceeding down the eastern side of New Zealand in opposite direction of the original itinerary. Stay tuned for stops in Tauranga, Napier and Picton (our only port on the South Island).