Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

After breakfast with Jose and John and saying goodbye to everyone we left the Reyden’s and headed into Auckland. Having heard there had been some changes we took a walk around the water front. There was a new foot bridge and some restaurants along the wharf near the fish market and lots of new development rising up.

We then headed to the Auckland Museum and spent 2-3 hours there. They had some good exhibits and it passed the time. Even then, we were a little early so we drove up to the top of Mount Eden and took a nap in the car. After that we headed over to Lew and Tracey’s home, parked the car and went for a walk. For some odd reason we spent a while in a furniture store which is all entirely irrelevant if you live on a boat.

When we returned to the car we ran into Lew and were soon in, relaxed and with glasses of red wine in hand. Tracey cooked up a great dinner and we were joined by David and Helen who we met up in the Bay of Islands earlier this year and a lifetime ago.

As we had an early start we were all set up to leave without waking anyone up. In the end we woke before our alarm clocks and sneaked out – hopefully not waking any one. At 4:20 in the morning the trip to the airport was effortless and clearing in didn’t take too long. We now have just a few minutes before we board our first flight of three today.

The morning progressed smoothly. We did our final clearing up of the boat. The generator compartment was cleared for access. The slop bucket was emptied for the last time. We showered to get as much yard grime off as possible. Around 9:30am Peter came by to collect his batteries. We had no further reason to stay.

After a brief stop at the supermarket for essential supplies we headed south down a very familiar road. On the advice from John, our host for the weekend, we took the coastal route (rather than the toll road) and stopped at Orewa for lunch and a leg stretch. Being a seaside town we couldn’t resist fish ‘n’ chips for lunch and enjoyed it immensely despite the horror of dripping oil from the battered and fried fish.

After lunch we took a stroll towards the sea front and more or less came straight back as a scream cold south westerly was blowing in from the land and intensifying over the sea front. It may be ok for the locals recovering from winter but it was too much for us. Isn’t wasn’t long before we were back in the car and heading on.

We arrived at the Reydens’ a little earlier than planned and found Jose at home. We were soon chatting and relaxing. When the sun came out we’d sit out side and when it went, in we went. When the weather improved a little we headed off for a walk at a nearby dam holding back fresh water which supplies a 1/4 of Auckland and presumable the local area. After this walk we stopped by for the view at the highest point in the (Pukematekeo I think) for the views of Auckland, the coast and the area around us. It was blisteringly cold so we took pictures and ran back to the car.

As the afternoon progressed the family returned from their weekend work/activities and we ended up sharing a take out Thai. And a glass or two of wine.

There are are some ideas about where to go/what to do today but it’s all dependent on where the wind blows, or more importantly where it blows from. Hopefully no more of this Antarctic stuff.