Auckland anniversary regatta

Auckland anniversary day is January 28 beginning in 1840 when the city was founded. It became the capital for a few short years (Wellington has been since about 1860) and was the second city after Russell. We climbed up N head in the quaint town of Devonport to watch the spectacle of boats. There were races of small sail boats, 40ft and 120ft megayachts with spinnakers filled. America's cup boats quietly flying by. We could see why Auckland's nickname is"the city of sails" as 500 boats sailed in the harbor. Auckland has 1.4 million people -a fourth of all Kiwis and is considered one of the most livable large cities of the world. Auckland sits between the Manukau harbor of the Tasman sea and Waitemata harbor of the Hauraki gulf of the Pacific Ocean. At its narrowest isthmus it is less than a mile between the two. When the Maori settled Auckland in 1350 they would portage their canoes between the two bodies of water.