Socializing and Sailing Lessons
On Friday evening, Alaina drove the 3 of us down to the posh suburb of Ponsonby (her favorite Auckland haunt, just west of the city). We had drinks with a few of her kiwi friends and tried to keep up with the conversation, in spite of the loud music and troublesome accents! Diane and Sid were a riot, even if we couldn’t understand a word they were saying! We stayed at Ponsonby Backpackers for the night so we could meet Alaina’s dad for sailing on the bay on Saturday morning.
We met Murray and Jean at the marina around 9am, loaded up with some fresh quiche and panini from the café and set off on their gorgeous 41-foot sailing yacht, First Landing. Murray has been doing recreational and competitive sailing since he was 10 years old and he and Jean have entered some competitions together. Currently, they live on Australia’s Gold Coast during the winter and sail around New Zealand for a few months each summer.They told us they like Waiheke Island the best and gave us some great food, wine and hiking tips to follow while we're staying there.
Josh got to take the helm for a bit as we sailed out into the harbor, past Devonport. We saw 2 retired America’s Cup yachts doing sailing tours in the harbor and passed the Rhapsody of the Seas cruise ship docked in Auckland’s port. Josh (on the lookout for more dangerous sea life) spotted a little jelly fish floating by. We dropped anchor near Cheltenham for lunch, but it was a little too chilly to get in the water. Murray and Jean shared some fun stories about their adventures and it was great to see a couple who really is living their dream!
After motoring back into the marina and docking the boat, we parted ways, hoping to meet up with Murray and Jean on Waiheke Island in a few weeks. Then Alaina dropped Josh and I at the airport to catch our flight to Christchurch – the South Island journey begins!
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