The day started with no tea. The new hostel we are staying in had no endless supply of tea that our first place had and which we had become accustomed to. So the day started poorly and as we left the hostel it rained continuously. The main upside of this morning is that the way to Devonport is all downhill which in Auckland is a blessing, although its saving the uphill for later, hopefully I’ll have had tea by then!
We stop for tea, end of day.
Then we carry on down to the ferry at which point a storm whips up around the harbour, the boats tilt, the plants fall horizontally in the wind and the rain strikes every surface it can. To those a little less nautically inclined it felt quite off putting but as this was a must see recommendation we stuck determinedly to our course, which worked well as the weather eased as we stepped onboard, after a short slightly choppy ride we arrive in Devonport, I’m feeling a little seasick but thats owed more to my gratuitous cookie eating than the journey.
The weather lifts even further as we walk along the parade, we shed our cagoules and head towards North Head. As we are finding frequently throughout this trip we seem to have the place to ourselves. There are several different paths around North Head all of which we end up merging and meandering along and enjoying brilliant views of Auckland from our natural lookout. My stomach churns again at the idea of this place being used as a military base, as it was during the World Wars. It seems so peaceful and sleepy now, that even the cafe is closed.
Ending up down on Cheltenham Beach which is beautiful and sunny we decided to bring some food back here for lunch.
I paddled a little in the Pacific Ocean, and even tried to convince David it wasn’t super cold. It was. He sensed the lie and didn’t take the risk.
Our final destination was up Mount Victoria. We had spotted the summit in the distance from the Skytower and other spots in Auckland. We wound our way around the hill and didn’t seem to gain any altitude until abandoning the path we staggered up and up, greeted at the top by the sight of a couple furiously snogging and a multitude of manmade mushrooms.
We trip back down the hill having seen the ferry coming back in the distance and once back in Auckland we make our way steadily up the hill to the hostel where we wait for the English girls chips, spring rolls and sausage rolls to cook before our pizzas are finally granted oven space. We fall asleep again before nine. Bliss.
Denny and Debbie's Little Big Adventure 