Devonport

On to Devonport: The view astern

On Saturday we headed to Devonport, a neighborhood of Auckland. It is so easy and feels so urbane and sophisticated to take the bus to the ferry, the ferry to Devonport. All of this is paid for by our PT card, which we add money to either via machines (like the metro in DC), or electronically from the comfort of our homes. All so modern, right? 

Walking off the ferry: parallel dock

We left a little late. . . . 1p or so. It had been raining all morning, and while the weather reports decreased the chance of rain, we have learned that storms can blow in at any minute in an island nation. It's part of the charm. We did take the precaution of sitting inside the ferry rather than on top.

You've seen the ferry port at Devonport, and heard me wax philosophic about "the place that got away". But we hadn't actually de-ferried there before. It is every bit the small (likely extremely expensive) Victorian neighborhood. "It was clean it was neat. The water was warm, there was plenty to eat". Thank you, Dr. Seuss. 

Upon arrival in Devonport

The sea is everywhere in Auckland. You may not see it, but it is there. So as you gaze across the decking coming in from the ferry, you see a parallel doc. As you look ahead, you see alovely Victorian era building, which now houses a restaurant. So many restaurants and cafes in Devonport. And then there are 2 amazing book stores, an abundance of tourist-oriented shops (John bought a new jacket), a shoe store that I really want to go back to (but who has room to pack more shoes?) and at the top of the hill, there is the oldest continuously theater in the world. Who knew? I asked the lovely woman at the tourist information center is it was just for cinema now, and she said no! It is also used for live theater. Sometimes. Among a plethora of other movies, "Solo" has just opened.

At the base of the hill, by the theater, is the path that leads up Mount Victoria, the highest point in the area. I suppose that because the ground doesn't freeze here, and the ecosystem is robust because of the soil type and rain, the trails up the mountain are pretty much straight up. We were lucky enough to see a guy-walking-two-dogs take a side trail that went around the perimeter of the mountain, so we brazenly followed him. It was a little muddy and wet, but not bad. We were dodging raindrops and downpours all day, but we were able to do it. And we actually hiked up 2 extinct volcanic cones. . .Mount Victoria was just before dinner, and North Head, which I'll tell you about in the next post, was earlier in the day, after a visit to the Naval Museum.