Devonport, NZ

Also on the "must do" list was a boat ride to Devonport, an island suburb of Auckland. With 12-minute ferries twice an hour from Downtown Auckland, it is easy to get to this beachside escape from the city.

The community of Devonport prides itself on being the site of a number of firsts, including the first suburb on the North Shore to get electricity (1914), the community to have curbside recycling (1977) and the first place in New Zealand where women cast their votes (1893!).  

I found Devonport to be the cute village exactly as described by the websites I studied prior to the trip. I failed to note that the cafés near the wharf shut down early making it not the ideal place to get dinner. Still, it has a picturesque Art Deco-style main street to walk along with buildings such as the Post Office having been converted into cafés.

Loving seeing spring in September!

Since it was already after 4 by the time we arrived, I googled places to watch the sunset and was led to Mount Victoria (Takarunga, we quickly learned every place is identified both by the European name and the original Maori one), the site of another volcano. It was an easy stroll to the top, my kind of "hiking."

New Zealand's coastal defense,
this cannon dips underground
when it was not in use.

These colorful "mushrooms" are
vents for the water pumping station
that lies beneath the field.

Stunning view

The road was closed to traffic in 2018
out of respect for the Maori who view
the area as spiritual

Back to the main street we walked to the other side of the pier, to the beach, where I dipped my toes in the water for the first time on the trip.

The highlight of the island (for me) happened by chance when I was looking at the map trying to find the (closed for the night) chocolate shop and I noticed an indication on Google Maps for Benjamin the Library Cat statue. I'm a fan of libraries, but with all the street construction, I hadn't noticed the statue or the library. We tiptoed through the muck and found Benjamin. Someone thoughtfully made him a scarf so he wouldn't be cold. Benjamin was beloved by many, including tourists who would return and ask about him. A cat flap was installed when the library underwent a massive renovation. Sadly, Benjamin the cat died in 2017 at the age of 17. The statue reminded me of Dewey, another beloved library cat.

A little more wandering around and we found Bikes and Beyond, a traditional bike shop that also features ebikes and escooters because the owner recognizes electronic transportation is the future. He and his wife drove off in a gas-powered car. She sported the first chin tattoo we saw. We later learned it is very traditional, but still felt jarring to our American eyes.

Not finding a place to eat, we took the ferry back to the mainland. We were treated to stunning views of the skyline. I played with different camera settings to get it just right.

We went to The Shakespeare Brewery, New Zealand's first brew pub in an historic building in Auckland's CBD (1892). As I write this, I am chuckling at the long list of quantifiers. My notes from that night simply say "the oldest pub in Auckland." Not quite the same. My emu burger and fries were burnt. Don's burger was perfect, as were his fries. He thoughtfully let me "Hoover" his fries.

As this was only our second night, we crashed early waking at 3 am to loud "music" booming from the street below, followed by horn blares. Who needs sleep on vacation?