Auckland, New Zealand

We arrived around 6 am and moored at Princes Wharf, across from the Hilton Hotel.  In the past, we have moored at the Queens Wharf, which is a couple of hundred yards to the east and is home to the Auckland Ferry Terminal.  

Rain was in the forecast, and Auckland had experienced extremely heavy rains over the last week.  The Auckland airport was closed, and several low-lying areas in Auckland had severe flooding, with many homes and businesses destroyed.  

Our plan for the day was to visit the same 4 yarn shops we visited in March of 2020 using Uber.  

Here is a Google Map showing the locations of the 4 yarn shops (red stars) along with the location of Princes Wharf and the Barbershop I visited.

New Zealand is strict about not allowing food to be taken off the ship.  Normally dogs that are trained to detect any food will sniff passengers’ bags as they leave the ship.  When we left the Zuiderdam at 11:30 am, the agricultural inspectors were gone, and no one was having anything inspected.

Right inside the terminal, there is a vendor with a small shopping area and some chairs set off to the side for people to use the WiFi that is available in the Terminal.

We walked down to Quay Street to get an Uber as we weren’t sure how close Ubers could get to the ship.  There was a taxi stand close to the terminal if you didn’t want to walk to the end of the pier to catch an Uber.  We walked thru the large HBSC building across the street and requested an Uber to pick us up on Lower Albert Street.  As it turns out, this street is for busses only, so we had to walk to corner the of Lower Albert and Customs Street to find a spot where we could meet our driver.

Uber in Auckland is very efficient.  We never waited more than 8 minutes for a car, and all the drivers were experienced and pleasant.

Whenever we travel around a port, we go to the furthest location first.  This way, we are always getting closer to the ship and will have less distance to cover as the day goes on in the event we might encounter traffic or delays.

Wild and Wooly

Wild and Wooly is in Milford, about 12 miles from Princes Wharf, and the Uber ride cost $24.99 NZD.  The Proprietor, Bronwen, is from South Africa and has been in New Zealand for about three years.  She bought the shop seven months ago and has been improving Wild and Wooly’s online presence and web sales.  You can find her website HERE

The shop is light and airy and has a nice selection of yarns, including possum and possum blends.

NZ Fabric and Yarn

NZ Fabric and Yarn was a favorite among cruisers for years as it was located in the Queens’ Arcade, an easy walk from the Auckland Cruise terminals.  During the COVID Pandemic, most of central Auckland was closed, and the shop lost over 90% of its business, forcing a relocation to Birkenhead on Auckland’s north shore.  It costs $19.62 NZD to travel from Wild and Wooly to NZ Fabric and Yarn.  Tracey is proud to feature yarns and fabrics native to New Zealand.  You can find her website HERE.

Knitnstitch

After NZ Fabric and Yarn, we headed back across the bridge to the southern side of the harbor to visit our third yarn shop: Knitnstitch.   The Uber fare was $29.22 NZD

Beth is the owner of Knitnstich and she moved her shop to Kingsland since we last visited in 2020.  The shop is in a commercial area that doesn’t have much else of interest in the area so this isn’t a good spot to browse other businesses in the area afterward.  

This shop has local yarns and a big selection of Malabrigo and the recently discontinued Shibui.  You can find her website HERE

Loopine

Loopine was our final stop.  Alanna Penk, formerly from Wisconsin, is the proprietor.  She moved her shop a few doors down the street since our last visit in 2020.  She also owns Black Cat Knitting a design company, and you can find her on Ravelry and Instagram.  Her shop is cozy and very welcoming, with a nice selection of local New Zealand yarns and popular yarns from around the world, such as Brooklyn Tweed, Knit Circus, and Spincycle Yarns.  The Uber fare was $12.12 NZD.  

Alanna offers twice-weekly knitting/crafting groups; Thursday Mornings from 10am-2pm and Friday Nights 4-8pm.  They have a nice room in the back of the shop where they host the knitting group meetups and give lessons.  You can find her website HERE

Haircut

It has been a month since my last haircut and I was due for a trim.  The “Ultimate Barber” shop is located close to Loopine and was open with no waiting when we walked by.  Shah is very friendly and he gave me a nice haircut before we headed back to the Zuiderdam.  Check out his facebook page HERE

The haircut cost $40 NZD and the Uber fare back to Princes Wharf was $18.42 NZD

The forecasted rain never materialized during our visit, and we enjoyed a wonderful day in New Zealand.   

We will be in Tauranga tomorrow.