Springtime in Auckland

We arrived back from the States on November 1st, by which time Spring was in full swing in Auckland.  The days are getting longer and longer, although nights are still cool and it rains a fair amount.

Along with a few coworkers, we won a charity auction for a fishing trip on Rob's boss's boat in the Auckland Harbour, and finally got to use it this weekend. We didn't catch anything (not so much as a bite), but we had a great time!  

At one point we pulled into a bay to hang out for a bit. Most people won't swim in the water around here until after Christmas because it's so cold, but the boys all thought they'd give it a go. It was predictably freezing, but they made it all the way to shore. The partner had a little dinghy with an outboard motor, and offered to take me and the other girl (neither of whom were wearing swimsuits) into shore in it - but he could only take one of us at a time.

On the way back to the boat, we ran out of gas only a couple meters from shore. Predictably, one of the dinghy's oars had broken the month before, so we were stuck in a little dinghy with no gas and only one oar!  One of the guys swam over to give us a bit of a tow, but the other girl ended up having to swim back to the boat in her underwear. 

 

That same day we had our work ball, which was hosted at the Auckland Museum. We only had about an hour to get ready between the boat and the ball, but I think we did okay! 

They provided entertainment in the form of women dangling from the ceiling on various contraptions. Good times!