Blowing a gale - lashing it down

Thursday 05 March - very windy, but warm. Rain later in the day.

Wooden blinds and open windows in high winds don't make for a good nights sleep. Add in someone having a loud argument outside at two in the morning and it can really spoil your night!

Nonetheless, breakfast the restaurant at the hotel was worth investigating, especially poached eggs and bacon and all this whilst our laundry was doing its thing in the washing machine. Armed with clean clothes and well fed, we headed out to walk to the nearby rose gardens. We were well buffeted by the wind as we walked down St Stephens Road, but the gardens were well worth a visit. Many of the roses were still in full bloom and on a good day, the view of Auckland and the harbour would have been spectacular. There are several war memorials in the gardens, a very peaceful place for them amongst the magnificent trees looking out over the city. Amazingly, the rain held off as we walked back to the hotel.

With rain threatening, a visit to Kelly Tarlton's aquarium seemed appropriate. After catching the Link bus to the Britomart, the transport hub of Auckland built inside the old 1920s post office, we stopped for a very American Subway lunch. A second bus ride later saw us at the entrance of Kelly Tarlton's. The gentleman in question was a well known diver and naturalist who wanted to build a really special aquarium to share his love of the sea. Eventually, after many disappointments, he came across some disused sewage tanks buried in the cliffs in Auckland Harbour. After cleaning them out and installing a undersea, perspex tunnel, the tanks were flooded with seawater and thousands of fish released into them. The result is astounding. A tank with a collection of very large Short-tailed Manta Rays is a spectacular sight, one of the rays weighs over 400lbs. The underwater walkways have a moving belt for visitors to stand on as they are transported through the tank containing sharks, rays and many other fish species. In addition to the fish, there is also a colony of penguins to visit by snowcat!

Rain was threatening again as we left and with no bus in sight, we walked toward the centre of the city. Finally, the wind and rain beat us and we waited in a bus-shelter rather than end up drowned rats.

Oh Calcutta! is an excellent Indian restaurant on Parnell Road and fed us well in the evening.