After sleeping about 12 hours to recoup, we were treated to a great breakfast by our hosts Graham and Katrine Paton. We even got to try Vegemite, a concoction made from yeast extract and we were informed it was an acquired taste by another guest from Australia, staying at the B&B. We were instructed to put a very light layer on our bread and not to put it on thick like peanut butter. It is very salty tasting but was not unpleasant. I think with the small amount you place on your bread, the nutritional benefits of the years extract would be quite small.
You can read about Vegemite here:
We dove into Auckland to explore the city. Quay street is at the edge of the harbor and is where the cruise ships dock. We parked in a parking structure that was fairly expensive but probably more safe than parking on the street and not understanding parking restrictions. We then walked up Queen Street and wanted a good cup of coffee. We found a Starbucks and ordered a large coffee. This decision turned out to be a disaster as they had no prepared coffee and made theirs like Coffee Americano by diluting espresso with water. This made a large cup of coffee very weak and had I known they made it in this manner, I would have only ordered a small cup so the brew would have been stronger. In addition, the Auckland Starbucks does not sit our coffee lightened (1/2 and 1/2, milk, etc.) Instead, they give you a separate cup of cream for you to pour in your coffee.
After the disappointing coffee, we walked up Queen Street and found a Diwali festival going on. This is a festival to celebrate Indian life.
I learned that there is a large Indian population in the Oceania area and resulted from when the British used the Indians to work on their sugar plantations.
We wandered around and it became lunchtime so we discovered a new Brewers Co-Op that had just opened at the corner of Victoria and Nelson Streets. They had a great chocolate porter that was great. We ordered food and huge portions were delivered. Earline ordered a fish chowder loaded with seafood and served piping hot. I ordered a brewhouse burger and was amazed when it came out about 8 inches high and contained a fried onion ring, ham, cheese, a fried egg, salad greens and a large hamburger patty. I had never had a hamburger with a fried egg bedore and learned this was a fairly normal New Zealand custom. I was informed that sometimes they even place beets on the hamburger patty.
Following lunch and beer, we went to explore the Sky Tower, a large casino, hotel and restaurant at the top of a “space needle.” People do base jumping from the ring around the Sky Tower and to ride to the observation deck it costs $28 NZD. We elected to skip going up as the weather was overcast and we weren’t going to be doing any base jumping. :)
Earline had on her bucket list the idea to purchase wool blended with New Zealand possum. These possum seem to be different from the possums in the USA and are quite furry. They are considered a nuisance in New Zealand and the government pays a bounty for killing them.
The fur is pulled out while the animal is freshly killed and blended with sheep wool. Earline went to “Masco The Wool Shop” located in the shopping mall next to the cruise ship dock and bough a skein of hand dyed wool blended with possum and silk. The woman in the shop hated cruise ship passengers so if you are not from the cruise ship and are looking to purchase unusual wool, tell her you are not from the ship and you will get great service.
We returned to our B&B for a rest and were trying to figure what to do for the evening. We decided to look for live jazz music and found a performance as part of the Auckland Jazz Fest but it meant returning to the city again before 8:30 pm. We asked another guest at the B&B to join us and we drove back to the Club One 2 One located at 121 Ponsonby Road in Auckland. Parking was difficult in this “happening” area but we did find street parking and walked to the small coffee house that held perhaps 50 people. The cover charge was $10 NZF (about $6.40 US Dollars) and the group playing was The Julie Mason Group.
Julie was a pretty good pianist and sang in the style of Jane Monheit and she was joined by Alberto Santarelli, a bassist and Frank Gibson, and amazing drummer who had played with such big names as Diana Krall, etc. For the second set, Julie was replaced by her husband, Phil Broadhurst who is considered on of the best jazz pianists in New Zealand. He did not disappoint. I must say that were were extremely fortunate to chose this music venue.
We returned to our B&B at 11:15 and went to bed because in the morning, we are off to the Coromandel Peninsula.
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