January 11-12, 2013
Driving south to Auckland, the highway goes along the base of a south-facing peninsula before it reaches the Harbor Bridge. If you continue over the bridge, you’ll arrive in Auckland, but if you exit here you’ll find yourself in the small suburban city of Takapuna. (Further down this peninsula is the upscale suburb of Devonport and its pretty village at the tip of the peninsula.) See map below.
For this first trip, we had some serious business to attend to in Takapuna before we could head on to Auckland. Takapuna is home to our first Starbuck’s on the drive south, and Rich and I hadn’t been to Starbuck’s since April 2012. It was a Starbuck’s emergency!
After exiting the highway, it was a bit of a shock to find ourselves in this small but busy city full of traffic, traffic lights, and people. We managed to park and locate the Starbuck’s, and going inside felt like home! After guzzling those long-awaited frappuccinos, we went to check out a nearby marina called Bayswater.
Bayswater Marina is across the harbor from Auckland, and we were seriously considering bringing Legacy here for a time. But we could see the handwriting on the wall: we’d meander over to Auckland for the afternoon and then wind up in evening rush hour traffic back across the bridge. We figured if we ever brought the boat to Auckland, it needed to be on the city side of the Harbor Bridge.
The next day we took the ferry to the Devonport’s village at the tip of the peninsula (a 12-minute ride and faster and more convenient than driving there from downtown Auckland). What we found was reminiscent of Catalina Island (back home in California), a suburban village with tree-lined streets full shops, cafes and restaurants that cater to residents and visitors alike. It’s a laid-back, charming neighborhood and a nice place to visit.
The photo gallery below sums up the feeling of Devonport, including a picture of the Auckland skyline from the ferry ride over. Somehow the pictures from Takapuna were all of Starbuck’s. I guess I was a little obsessed. The one Takapuna picture in this gallery–taken at Starbucks– is pretty much our entire memory of it for this trip.–Cyndi
(Click on any photos to enlarge and scroll.)
