Auckland Skyline
It takes just 3 hours to fly from Fiji to Auckland, New Zealand, so taking a summer break in Fiji is like going to Greece or Spain for northern Europeans. We had a fairly easy drive in from the airport to our hotel (Scenic) in central Auckland. The hotel has a strange layout as it was orginally the first iconic high rise office block built in the 50’s. The room is fine but I think the bed was where the Xerox machines were as it is away in a small alcove. Yesterday we just took it easy and walked down into the town to discover a pleasant waterfront with a great harbour perfect for sailing and similar to Sydney Harbour. As it was Sunday afternoon the harbour was full of yachts with sunshine and a good wind.
Seafront
We saw what I think was the America’s cup yacht praticising as it kept up rather well with the ferry we took from Auckland to Devonport just on the other side of the harbour.
Rangitoto Volcano
Today (Monday) we took a trip to Waiheke Island which is a beautiful and fashionable island about 40 minutes away by ferry. On the way you pass a volcanic island called Rangitoto which is claimed to be dormant but looks like it may erupt to me again as it has that perfect volcano shape. Turning into Waiheke Island reminded me immediately of Devon and Cornwall.
Waiheke coastline
It could be Fowey or Falmouth Estuary with green pastures, a couple of cows and some rolling hills. It seems to have become the chic place for wealthy Aucklanders to build luxury houses ( or “Lifestyle Homes/Bachs”). Bach used to mean bachelor pad – but now just means holiday homes. Some of these pads are huge and cost mega millions. The island is still mostly unspoilt and has some lovely scenery and luckily also still has Devon-type country roads. Waiheke island also has some excellent vineyards which claim their quality from the rocky jurassic aged rock and warm climate. 
Of course we walked to one – Cable Bay – tasted some and bought a couple of bottles back – they are certainly very good.
Empty Beach
We took a quick tour of the western part of the island by bus to discover some wonderful beaches, jumping off at Oneroa to go down to the beach for a swim. The weather at this time of the year is very pleasant and the sea, although cooler than Fiji, is still comfortable for long swims. In fact it is much more refreshing to swim in cooler water.
I don’t know about the rest of New Zealand but Auckland really is a melting pot of cultures. On a rough survey of people walking around central Auckland I would say about 40% are not native English speakers- many Chinese, Koreans and Asians as well as ex-Yugoslav, and a few Greeks, Italians and Spanish. All this makes for some great restaurants.
