Day 51-52 – February 24-25 – Auckland, New Zealand
Photos from February 24th
Auckland as we approach from the East
Tug helping with docking
Kelsey and Jan ready for today’s excursion
First stop – Sky Tower
Entrance to the sky tower elevators
At the lower observation deck
Looking down through one of the glass panels on the floor
View to the East
View to the South
View to the Southwest with shadow of Sky Tower
View to the Southwest
View to the Northwest with harbor bridge
View panning from North to Northeast
Just before we lined up for the elevator from Level 51 to Level 60
Ready to go up to 722 feet
Looking Northwest
Looking down where MSC Magnifica was docked
A ring walker getting instructions from a safety person
Looking Southeast
Chart showing tall structures
Looking from Northwest to North
Entry to Sealife Aquarium
Walking down the ramp to the aquarium
Getting close to the exhibit for work at Antarctica
Replica of the shack assembled in 1911 in Antarctica
Replica of the tool room in the shack
Revolving drum at the entrance to the penguin exhibit
Penguins swimming
Penguins swimming
Penguins swimming
Gentoo penguins
Gentoo penguin
Feeding Gentoo penguins
King penguin
One of the jellyfish at the aquarium
One of the jellyfish at the aquarium
One of the jellyfish at the aquarium
One of the jellyfish at the aquarium
One of the jellyfish at the aquarium
One of the jellyfish at the aquarium
One of the jellyfish at the aquarium
One of the jellyfish at the aquarium
Don’t know what it is but looked interesting
One of the turtles in the tank
Same turtle – different angle
Rays
Another turtle
Same turtle – different area of tank
Another turtle
Shark swimming toward us
Getting closer
Swimming over us
Nice teeth
Goodbye shark
Kelsey inside great white set of teeth
Down the tunnel with more sharks and other fish
Another of those friendly swimmers
Starfish on the side of a tank
Blue eel
Lobster
I hope this isn’t tonight’s dinner
Seahorse uncurled
Seahorse
Crab
Kelsey and Jan with our guide from the ship
View of Auckland skyline from the aquarium
Panorama across the street from the aquarium
Grill with kiwi cutouts on the back of our tour bus
Jan showing Kelsey how to defend against an attacking shark (punch the nose)
Church where Sir Edmund Hillary’s funeral was held
Lunch at the food court off of Queen Street in Auckland
Essentials we picked up at Woolworths
Walking in Auckland
Jan, Kelsey, Sonja (cruise director) and Christian (great guitarist)
Cheese plate for dessert with plenty of blue cheese
This evening’s performance of Māori songs and dances
Māori dancing
Māori dancing
Showing a passenger how to swing the white ball
Māori dancing
Māori dancing
Māori singing
Māori dancing
Māori dancing
Māori dancing
The dock and near us at night
Harbor bridge lit in red
Harbor bridge light show
Harbor bridge light show
Photos from February 25th
MSC Magnifica from the Princess pier
A bagel shop across from Woolworths
MSC Magnifica with our balcony visible
Today’s driver/guide Richard (from England via Barcelona)
Kelsey and Jan ready for our Devonport excursion
Black swans at a lake in Auckland
Single black swan
Children leaving grammar school in Devonport
House over 140 years old in Devonport
Selfie with Auckland skyline taken on Devonport beach
Auckland skyline with MSC Magnifica below Sky Tower
Closer view of MSC Magnifica
Past America’s Cup winning yacht with cup symbol on sail (we saw the same boat in 2025)
Panorama of Auckland skyline
Another view of the Auckland skyline from Devonport
House built using ballast from a sailing ship for the front wall
One of the ancestral mountains used by the Māori
View from Maungauika
Beach below Maungauika
Gun emplacement erected during World War II
Panorama from Maungauika
Cemetery where Māori chief Eru Patuone is buried. He lived to be 100.
Mount Victoria in background – another part of the Māori cemetery
Looking up the business street (Albert Street named after Queen Victoria’s husband) in Devonport
Looking down the business street (Albert Street named after Queen Victoria’s husband) in Devonport
Kelsey enjoying a cup of gelato
One of the Op Shops where we looked for a macadamia nut cracker
Home for sale in Devonport for $2,899,000 NZ
Ferry coming to take us back to the Auckland dock
Panorama from the ferry dock in devonport
Selfie waiting to board the ferry
Signaling good-bye as we leave Auckland
Using the bow thrusters to point Magnifica correctly
Light panels on the side of the Toyota parking garage (for card offloaded from carrier ships)
View of the Auckland skyline as we leave
Sunset as we leave Auckland
View of Sealife Aquarium as we leave Auckland