Auckland, N.Z. Feb 6, 2002 Disembark at Auckland, N.Z.

By Bob Van Leer
(AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2002) - We disembarked the Crown Odyssey yesterday after 31 days aboard.

It is a good ship and a good cruise. Since leaving Singapore we sailed 3028 nautical miles (1.15 statute miles to a nautical mile).
  We were to spend two days in Auckland before returning home. We were bused to our hotel, the Ascott Metropolis, for the short stay.
  Today we took a tour to the other (west) side of the narrow isthmus of North Island to see a gannet rookery. The gannet is a large sea bird that raises its young on an island and two points on the west side of North Island, a place where the birds can take advantage of the constant winds for takeoff and landing.
  This is Waitangi Day, a holiday to commemorate the signing of the treaty of the same name in 1840. Many shops and offices are closed.
  After seeing the birds, we visited Abbottsford, a sheep and fallow deer ranch operated by Trevor and Jenny Holst. They give demonstrations of sheep shearing, sheep dogs working and tours of their ranch and garden as well as serving a lunch featuring lamb and venison sausage.
  The climate is mild here. The Holsts are actually growing bananas in sheltered locations. This is a country of constant winds and there are tree and bush windbreaks all over the island. The average annual rainfall at the ranch is 52 inches, compared with 80 inches at Gold Beach.
  A sizeable industry in Auckland these days is the upcoming challenge for the America's Cup for sailboat racing. New Zealand currently has the cup and has kept it through one challenge, but another is being reared. This is big business. We are told that $50 million is about what it takes to mount a serious challenge and there are 13 challengers. These include four from the U. S. There is an area on the waterfront that has huge warehouses for the challenge boats and headquarters for the challengers. Our guide says challengers will compete against one another starting in November. One challenger will be selected from the 13, which will race against the New Zealand defender in February, 2003.
  Tomorrow begins the long journey home. We will fly from here to Los Angeles, then to San Francisco and finally to Medford. We will gain back the day we lost coming over.
  We are a day ahead of the U. S. here. The Superbowl was played Monday New Zealand time. And we will be going from summer back to winter. Sunset has been as late as 9:00 p.m. lately. New Zealand is as far from the equator as we have been on this tour and it is still shirt-sleeve weather here.
  It has been an interesting and educational tour. I've seen a Komodo dragon, a Tasmanian devil and a Kiwi. But we have been away five weeks and it is time to go home.
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