Week eight: Devonport, Pericles, Mamma Mia, Mission Bay and Pasifika

It's March! I can't believe we've now been in Auckland a month. Last Saturday we caught the ferry across to Devonport and clambered over the rocks at the base of North Head around to the beach. It was then a climb up to the top with amazing views across to the CBD. There weird lots of old naval defences and we were surprised that New Zealand ever felt they might be invaded by anyone.
On Sunday I walked to The French Market in Parnell and back through the Domain. The glass houses contain some amazing tropical plants and I particularly enjoyed the fernery.
All week the cast of the Shakespeare play Pericles have been performing on an outdoor stage next to our apartment. They make a lot of noise doing their warm up right outside our window and the live band is quite load too. Who knew that they had the theme from Rocky in Shakespeare's time!
On Monday I joined in an Aqua Zumba class at the gym. I've done aqua aerobics and I've done Zumba, so it was fun to put the two together. On Wednesday I caught the train to Newmarket, a swanky shopping area. It rained so I spent most of the time looking around the shops and trying not to spend too much money.
On Thursday we met up with friends for dinner before going to see Mamma Mia at the Civic Theatre. I was very impressed by the show and the interior of the theatre is amazing.
We cycled to Mission Bay on Friday and ate fish and chips in the sunshine with a beautiful view across to Rangitoto. After a cold spell the weather has improved, but they have gad terrible storms and flooding in the south.
On Saturday we went to the Pasifika festival in Western Springs. Each Pacific island nation has it's own village with stalls and a stage for performances. We sampled food from different islands and especially enjoyed the Hawaiian and Tongoan dancing.
We spent Sunday up in Red Beach with friends who invited us for lunch. It is a beautiful location with views across to Coromandel and the Barrier Islands.
It is now our last week in Auckland. Better make the most of the sunshine before we head to Dunedin!