Day 25 - Auckand NZ

Weather
Sunny, Low 70's

Map

First Impressions

What we did
In the morning we took the included excursion which took us to an area high up where we could get nice photos of the city. Auckland is a beautiful, clean city. We were taken to the Auckland museum which was fantastic. They had various sections including one on volcanoes and another on the Maori people, time well spent. We returned to the ship for lunch before heading back out on our afternoon excursion which was a trip to the Weta Workshop and the Sky Tower. The Weta Workshop is known for creating special effects for many movies including Lord of the Rings, Avatar and others. We were given a glimpse of how they create these special effects. After, we went up the sky tower which is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere (328 meters). From there, we obviously had 360 degree breathtaking views of the surrounding area. After the tour we opted to walk back to the ship. The ship's port is right in the center of the city and was extremely close and convenient to everything.

Cultural Highlights/Local Flavors
Auckland is know as the "City of Sails" where 1 in 3 residents have a boat. It is also New Zealand's most populous city with a population of over 1.5 million.

Travel Tips
We could have saved money by going to the Weta Workshop on our own versus booking through Viking. It's very close to the ships port (a 10 minute walk). The Weta Workshop and Sky Tower buildings are connected.