A Nation of Sailors
Day 61, Grand Asia 2017
Friday, Dec. 1, 2017 – Auckland, New Zealand
When it’s an island nation or a natural port, a locale’s history is intertwined with the sea. I saw an example of that today in Auckland, where I spent a couple of hours at its maritime museum.
The museum is an interesting contrast with its counterpoint in Hong Kong, which I visited earlier on this cruise. Both are built on piers jutting into beautiful bays. Skyscrapers surround Hong Kong’s maritime museum as far as I could see. In Auckland harbor, apart from the central business district green islands with stately mansions surround the bay. Hong Kong’s harbor is busy with ferries, commercial ships and smaller fishing boats. Auckland’s is full of sailboats.
Both museums start their stories with small boats, built according to the local needs and seas. In Auckland, outriggers provided the initial discovery of New Zealand by adventurers who traveled throughout the South Pacific on seeming impossible journeys. With time, European nations such as Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Great Britain arrived to establish trade and colonies. The museums dedicate themselves to telling the story of colonization, with their descriptions differing according to the outcome. China eventually rejected the colonists; New Zealand continues as a member of the British Commonwealth.
New Zealand also sets its museum apart by a heavy emphasis on sailing and racing, due in large part to its two-time America’s Cup championship. It is a nation known not only for its winning sailboat captains and crews, but also for designers of boats that have raced around the world in record-breaking time.
Some passengers took the opportunity today to sail in former America’s Cup yachts. I have done that before in Saint Martin, and it can be a fun excursion. We were docked at Queen’s Wharf in the middle of town, so it was easy to explore on foot.
I achieved my three goals for the day: visit the maritime museum, find a café with some fast WiFi and get a pedicure. While a haircut on the ship is a bargain at $35, a pedicure is $65 and they are booked out a week. I found a local place that did a nice job for $35 New Zealand. More like $30 USD. Lunch was some calamari and another good local beer.
Leaving Auckland’s beautiful skyline at sunset and New Zealand feels like turning a corner and heading back home. We still have six ports left and a bunch of sea days. Someone commented that the longest cruise they had ever taken before this was shorter than the 20 days we have left. But it does feel like the clock is ticking down.
At some point, we will get back the day we lost when earlier crossing the International Date Line. Then I will no longer be a day ahead of home and will lose the grace time I’ve enjoyed in getting these blogs posted.
