Coming back to Auckland felt like revisiting a city we already knew well enough to skip the tours and simply let the day unfold. With no schedule and only one sweet mission in mind — finding Giapo, the city’s most famous ice cream — we set out to wander wherever the streets pulled us.

We drifted through downtown until the smell of spices and grilled food pulled us into a farmers market tucked between the buildings. It felt like the whole world was cooking at once: dumplings steaming beside fresh pastries, skewers sizzling next to trays of sweets, every aroma trying to outdo the last. People wandered with coffees, kids tugged at parents for treats, and the whole place buzzed with that relaxed, weekend energy.

From there, our wandering carried us into Auckland’s Chinatown, where the pace shifted from calm to electric. Lanterns were being hung, decorations were going up, and vendors were setting out treats in preparation for Lunar New Year. The whole neighborhood felt like it was humming with anticipation.

Somewhere between the lanterns and the market stalls, we remembered that we were supposed to catch Andy — a fellow passenger we’ve gotten to know over meals — take his big leap off the Sky Tower. We thought his jump was at 2:30 p.m., so we made our way over, half excited, half curious to see how calm he’d look before stepping off a perfectly good building. His jump time turned out to be later than we’d thought, but we still managed to find him just as he was being prepped. We snapped a couple of photos, wished him luck, and left him in the capable hands of the crew. Our ice‑cream quest wasn’t going to complete itself.

By 3:08 p.m., we were in the queue at Giapo, and at 3:52 p.m., we finally had our cones in hand — a wait that was absolutely worth every minute. The flavors were bold, the presentation was fun, and the whole experience felt like a little celebration of its own.

We headed back to the ship feeling like we’d accomplished our day’s mission, cones in hand and spirits high. Tomorrow we arrive in Tauranga, where we’ll reunite with Aidan, Katrina and Phil — friends we first met on our Trafalgar trip to Turkey in 2022 — and we’re already looking forward to catching up.

Andy later told us his jump was great and shared a video from the leap, still buzzing with excitement — and he added the fun fact that if you’re 80, you jump for free!

There goes Andy — committed, airborne, and all in as he sails down the Sky Tower!