Day 31 – Mar 1 – Time to board the ship
Well, after a wonderful month in Devenport, it is time to board the ship for our cruise across the South Pacific back to the U.S.A. We packed everything up and restored our little home to the way we found it and waited (and hoped for) our ride to the ship. Far too much luggage to haul down to the ferry and lug across to Auckland, we had scheduled a van for 11:00 this morning and I was a little nervous about it, since we didnt really have a back up plan. Right on time a silver Mercedes van rounded the corner at the top of the hill. We loaded up and drove down the hill, around the corner, and up the hill to pick up Dan and Zaga. They were as relieved as we were to see the van come up the hill. We loaded up and headed to Auckland and Queens Wharf.
There was a line wrapped around the building – passengers checking in. The line was caused by the increased health questions being asked before boarding, to make sure no one who had been to China, Korea, or Italy boarded the ship. Several were denied boarding.
After dropping off our luggage, we launched up Queens Street to the Occidental Pup – which Dan and Zaga discovered last year and we visited a day or so ago. The Occidental is about 150 years old and has a rich history dating back to the early days of Auckland. At Zaga’s suggestion we ordered the “cherry beer” – it was delicious.
After our refreshments we did a little more pre boarding shopping, and made our way on board.
As we sailed away, we had this view of Devenport for the last time (at least on this trip).
Zaga Add-On Post
Devonport is definitely also one of our favorite places as well. We find our pace and taste very aligned with John and Sally which makes traveling together a pleasure. What John, being such a gentleman that he is, neglected to mention regarding the Sour Cherry Beer was that, I vacuumed up beer that the others couldn’t finish! Little lush that I am! I could not let perfectly great cherry beer go to waste! Okay, so it was just an extra half glass, but, I had to do it for the greater cause.
Yes, the check in was slightly more stringent, and thankfully everyone on board seems healthy. And so our adventure begins.