Hokey Pokey Truffle

Today we intended to catch some of the US election coverage, but that didn’t pan out as we were busy. We walked down to the harbor and over to the fish market (passing Z-pier) intending to stop in on a fish auction. I think we got there a little too late for the market, but the fish mongers had impressive displays of fresh fish and green-lipped muscles. It was a little early for lunch, which was a shame as they had little grills set up so that you could buy the piece of fresh fish you wanted and then have it grilled up right there. Down at the ferry building we bought a few tickets to head over to Devonport, a small island off of downtown Auckland. Devonport was a little less exciting than we expected. There was a main avenue with semi-interesting cafes and stores, some of which were not open, others that sold junk. We took a walking tour of the island, which took us along the water front and up to the top of northhead, a little hill that once formed part of the strategic defenses of Auckland during one of the world wars. We toured some of the bunkers and stood on the uber-windy top before taking in the free 15 minute cinema on the history of northhead. Apparently, the US once plotted an invasion of New Zealand during WWI, as they had a pact with Japan and therefore might have become an enemy of the US. All of the high points visible from northhead are volcano cones, some of which are still active. The next part of the walking tour took us along a beach on the north side of the island, where sponges had washed up alongside various other shells. We hooked up with an Australian lady that was in theater and chatted about nothing in particular until our walking path took us straight up mount Victoria. Ingrid and I went up the mountain and took in another nice view of the island and distant downtown before stopping near the ferry terminal for an unspectacular lunch. A quick stop at an internet café to say happy birthday to dad and look at the US election progress and went back to the mainland. After making dinner reservations for the next evening at the revolving restaurant atop the sky tower, we headed down to the Harbourside Restaurant at the old ferry building. What a disappointment. I had the seafood platter, which boasted the “freshest” seafood. But the oysters were shucked poorly, leaving shell bits in the bite and the oysters and clams were far from fresh, making me ill for the rest of the evening. At least the hokey pokey truffle we bought on Devonsport was delicious with the rest of our last bottle of wine, a pinot noir.