Devonport

After a couple of quiet days my friends Barbara and Peter took me to Devonport. This is an old naval base at the bottom of the North Shore. There is a regular ferry from there to Auckland and to Waiheke Island.  The skyline of Auckland City can be seen in the background.

You can also see Auckland Harbour Bridge from the pier. This has contributed to the huge expansion on the North Shore, which is a very attractive area to live in . The beaches are so beautiful and at the moment the Pohutukawa Trees are absolutely magnificent; a particularly good year so my friends say. 

Being one of the older parts of Auckland there are some buildings dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s.  This hotel, The Esplanade was opened in June 1903.

On the other hand you find very modern buildings like this beautiful library. 

The buildings on the pier are very light and airy and feature lovely outdoor dining areas. I was quite surprised to be taken to a Turkish Restaurant. Apparently Peter is fond of the Turkish red wine, but the supply has dried up. I had a Turkish speciality from the Dessert Menu that was made of mainly filo pastry and honey. It was called Petit Four Baklava.

I was, however, pleased to see that they also had Fentimans Rose Leomonade, a favourite drink of mine in the UK. The Baklava would cost £8.60 so its not exactly cheap. 

After a lovely day in Devonport and Milford my cousin Dawn picked me up and drove me up to her house in Stanmore Bay on the edge of the Whangoparaoa Peninsular. When I lived in Auckland in the early 1970s this was all farmland. It just shows how this part of New Zealand has expanded with good infrastructure.