Day 4 Wed. March 12

We awoke (in our plush surroundings) looking forward to a sunny day in Auckland, N.Z.  It began with a wonderful breakfast in the Sky City Hotel's Fortuna Restaurant which provided an enormous buffet style breakfast, which included one whole area catering to their Asian guests with all sorts of Asian dishes that I wouldn't normally think of as breakfast fare.  I passed on those offerings however I saw others in our group sampling some of the  "strange" dishes.  I personally loved all the fresh baked breads, and jams and honey, and all the freshly baked assorted sweet rolls.  Yummee!  And I am trying to get used to their coffee machines.  No ordinary Bunn coffee makers like we have in the States.  Large coffee machines with push buttons, selections ranging from "Long Black" to frothy cappuccinos.  I discovered that "Long Black" is what I have to order/select if I want plain black coffee, nothing added.  {In our hotel room the only choice is instant coffee, and a carafe for heating the water, also asst. flavors of hot tea and sometimes instant hot chocolate.}  I do love my coffee each morning.  (Still can't believe I did without coffee every morning on my A.T. Hike unless I was in a trail town!)

We departed our hotel (via motor coach) with our driver/guide Chris (and of course Jeremy, our tour director) for a narrated sightseeing tour of the city of Auckland.  Chris welcomes our questions as we go along, repeating each question before he gives his answer, making sure that everyone on the motor coach hears, and Chris always adds some humor along the way!   We see why Auckland is called the "city of sails" as we view the Harbor Bridge, the scenic waterfront, Mount Eden-a dormant volcano, Auckland Domain and Parnell Village, America's Cup Village, lively Queen Street, which leads right down to the Waitemata Harbor.

 We stopped at this memorial park honoring one of New Zealand's first leaders and heroes, Michael Joseph Savage.

 "The sisters" amid the beautiful memorial landscaping overlooking the ocean. 

After our city tour, we arrive at the world famous Kelly Tarleton's Sea Life Aquarium and discover a diverse collection of aquatic life.  The Aquarium showcases over 30 live animal exhibits, from over 80 different species in spectacular habitat displays, including the world's largest Antarctic penguin colony exhibit and amazing underwater viewing tunnels.

 This tunnel of ice was rotating and it felt like the walkway under our feet was swinging making it difficult to stand!  Cool!!

King penguins under the water...

 ...and above the water...

 ...and jellyfish...

 ...and I was almost eaten by a shark!!

 A fascinating fact about sharks with an accompanying diagram to show us how their intestinal system works!

 These Packhorse Lobsters are the largest I have ever seen...almost two feet long!

and some strange looking seahorses...

Kelly Tarlton was a Kiwi adventurer, diver, explorer and inventor.  He wanted to share his love of the ocean with others.  Before opening Kelly Tarleton's Sealife Aquarium, he set up several museums in New Zealand to house artifacts he found while diving shipwrecks.
Inside the Aquarium is a replica of Scott's Hut.  Captain Robert Falcon Scott's British Expedition 1910-1913 with four others were beaten to the South Pole by Roald Amundsen's Norwegian team, and died during their journey.  The real Scott's Hut is based in Cape Evans on Antarctica's Ross Island and has been standing since 1911, offering Antarctic explorers refuge in the coldest, windiest, driest places on Earth.  

Following our tour of Kelly Tarleton's amazing Aquarium/Museum we stopped at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, renowned for its unique collection of Maori and Pacific treasures.  It contained hundreds of exhibits and artifacts, way too much to see in the hour+ time allotment we were afforded there. 

 We had to remove our shoes before entering the intricately carved Maori chapel.

 I could not even begin to capture the intricate craftsmanship in this Maori sea-going vessel.....

Throughout the three levels of the Museum we admired the beautiful stained glass ceilings.

My sisters at the dinosaurs exhibit.

Interesting sink in one of the museum's toilets.....marble slab tilted back just enough to let all the water run into a trough that was tilted slightly toward the center... single drain.

...saw this unusual tree on the way back to our hotel.

We had a little free time in the afternoon so some of our group decided to take the passenger ferry over to Devonport, an eclectic small town across the harbor from Auckland, for a late lunch and a little shopping.

 It is such a glorious weather day we decide to have lunch served us on the sidewalk in front of the Manuka Café.

This is our fish and chips (fries) lunch....delicious!  Wonderful salad!

 One thing we have noticed about New Zealand is the lack of "ice".  We order water with our meal and are served a large chilled bottle of water to share, and a glass, no ice.  I ordered a coke ($5) and a glass of ice and got only a couple of small cubes!  We have yet to see a "fountain drink machine" with accompanying crushed ice anywhere we have been in New Zealand.  Quite a difference from what we are accustomed to in the States. 

We enjoyed just strolling along the streets of Devonport, checking out the foreign culture and ambience.

We stopped in at a small chocolate factory and watched them making gourmet delights!

 Remember, New Zealand is an expensive place to live.  Their "dollar stores" are $2-Marts.

We went into a local grocery store and thought it was interesting that they do not refrigerate their eggs here.

Norma and I soon made our way back to the ferry, while Donna stayed with Jeanne shopping in the many shops in Devonport.

We walked back to the Sky City Hotel after our long day of sightseeing!

Tomorrow we go to Hobbiton and the Lord of the Rings movie set on our way to Rotorua.