KEY POINTS:
The Aussies are here ... and if you weren't watching closely, you didn't see them coming.
For these sailors, a trip "down under" means going beneath the sea in one of one of the largest and most sophisticated conventionally powered submarines in the world. Their ship is the submarine HMAS Rankin, known as "the Black Knight", and it popped up in the Waitemata Harbour on its way to Devonport Naval Base, where it will spend two weeks on a maintenance visit.
Royal NZ Navy officer Dave Barr said the Australians were looking forward to their time in New Zealand waters. Most Australian submarine operations took place in Perth, so visits to Auckland were rare.
The last Australian submarine to visit Auckland was HMAS Farnscombe in 2005.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
