HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY IZZY!! Sorry we’re not there to share it with you but we’ll make up for it when we get back.
It was still raining when we woke this morning, though not as hard. I did what I hope will be the last lot of laundry here so everything we have, apart from what we’re wearing, is now clean. Next wash will be in Sydney!
We had a sort out of everything we’ve bought since we got here so that we can send some bits home rather than carry them around with us in Oz – I think it’ll have to be in 2 boxes!! I didn’t think we’d bought a lot but when it’s all put together, it’s quite a pile. Mostly books and a few small gifts but also ticket stubs and visitor info – all to be put in a scrapbook (or books!) when I’m home. I think everything else will now go into the 2 original suitcases, but I’ll have to do a trial run tomorrow in case we need to buy a bigger case – if that’s not too many “cases” in one sentence!
This afternoon, we’ve been to the Auckland Museum, which is another museum that puts Te Papa in the shade.
I realise it’s been around for a lot longer than Te Papa, but it is fantastic. We spent 4 hours there and could easily have been there longer but our feet had had enough. There’s just so much there to describe and I’d hate to have you go all crosseyed with boredom, so I’ll just mention a few things. The section called Weird and Wonderful, which isn’t just for children,
has the biggest collections of all kinds of living things (except that they’re dead!), all mounted on boards and in drawers for them to study and admire. There are also living displays of locusts, roaches, stick insects and other creepy bugs and lots of stuffed animals and birds. The Pacific Peoples displays are very good, with some ancient bits of carvings and ornaments and they have Maori cultural performances every day. The entire top floor is given over to Scars on the Heart – a history of warfare which has played a major role in shaping New Zealand’s identity – very moving, with some actual footage of some of the conflicts that NZers have been involved in and servicemen’s own reminiscences.
There’s a small section on Asian Arts, which has some superb hand embroidered garments
– I was so jealous of the skills shown. The building itself is beautiful on the inside
– the outside is grand but not spectacular.
The only complaint we had was the cost of car parking - $20 for 4 hours.
One of the reasons for coming to Auckland on Saturday was to go to the concert on the Domain with Kiri Te Kanawa, but with the weather as it was, it was cancelled. Tonight, however, the weather has completely changed, and it’s warm but humid. Perhaps we’ll have some good days in NZ before we leave. The car has to go back tomorrow so we’ll be dependant on public transport and feet for 2 days, which I’m sure we’ll manage.
We have no access to wireless internet in the motel, but we’ll try to send a few e-mails from town in the next few days. Tom found a motel just down the road to post the blogs but was accosted by the owner as he was sitting outside with the laptop!
On a completely different note, I’m so disappointed – we’ve found a booklet that’s entitled “Margaret’s Memories” (from the Buried Village). SHE’S A FAKE! The letters are imaginary, made up to make the story of the eruption more personal and interesting. What a swizz! There’s no indication at the village that they’re fake although I suppose if we’d said how we’d enjoyed them, the staff might have told us the truth.
This evening we’ve walked down the road from the motel and found a Nando’s for dinner and had a very pleasant meal. There was hardly anyone else in there. Afterwards we went into the coffee shop cum bookshop that is next door to it, and spent half an hour in there, but, as I think I’ve said before, books are very expensive here so we didn’t buy anything, just looked. We’re now back in the motel room having a pre-bed drink and a nice relaxing read. On the way to dinner, we found the nearest Post Office just down the road, so we won’t have to carry the box(es) far – or at least, Tom won’t! So I shall leave you all again for another night and hope Tom can get this posted tomorrow. Goodnight all.
It was still raining when we woke this morning, though not as hard. I did what I hope will be the last lot of laundry here so everything we have, apart from what we’re wearing, is now clean. Next wash will be in Sydney!
We had a sort out of everything we’ve bought since we got here so that we can send some bits home rather than carry them around with us in Oz – I think it’ll have to be in 2 boxes!! I didn’t think we’d bought a lot but when it’s all put together, it’s quite a pile. Mostly books and a few small gifts but also ticket stubs and visitor info – all to be put in a scrapbook (or books!) when I’m home. I think everything else will now go into the 2 original suitcases, but I’ll have to do a trial run tomorrow in case we need to buy a bigger case – if that’s not too many “cases” in one sentence!
This afternoon, we’ve been to the Auckland Museum, which is another museum that puts Te Papa in the shade.
I realise it’s been around for a lot longer than Te Papa, but it is fantastic. We spent 4 hours there and could easily have been there longer but our feet had had enough. There’s just so much there to describe and I’d hate to have you go all crosseyed with boredom, so I’ll just mention a few things. The section called Weird and Wonderful, which isn’t just for children, has the biggest collections of all kinds of living things (except that they’re dead!), all mounted on boards and in drawers for them to study and admire. There are also living displays of locusts, roaches, stick insects and other creepy bugs and lots of stuffed animals and birds. The Pacific Peoples displays are very good, with some ancient bits of carvings and ornaments and they have Maori cultural performances every day. The entire top floor is given over to Scars on the Heart – a history of warfare which has played a major role in shaping New Zealand’s identity – very moving, with some actual footage of some of the conflicts that NZers have been involved in and servicemen’s own reminiscences. There’s a small section on Asian Arts, which has some superb hand embroidered garments – I was so jealous of the skills shown. The building itself is beautiful on the inside – the outside is grand but not spectacular.The only complaint we had was the cost of car parking - $20 for 4 hours.
One of the reasons for coming to Auckland on Saturday was to go to the concert on the Domain with Kiri Te Kanawa, but with the weather as it was, it was cancelled. Tonight, however, the weather has completely changed, and it’s warm but humid. Perhaps we’ll have some good days in NZ before we leave. The car has to go back tomorrow so we’ll be dependant on public transport and feet for 2 days, which I’m sure we’ll manage.
We have no access to wireless internet in the motel, but we’ll try to send a few e-mails from town in the next few days. Tom found a motel just down the road to post the blogs but was accosted by the owner as he was sitting outside with the laptop!
On a completely different note, I’m so disappointed – we’ve found a booklet that’s entitled “Margaret’s Memories” (from the Buried Village). SHE’S A FAKE! The letters are imaginary, made up to make the story of the eruption more personal and interesting. What a swizz! There’s no indication at the village that they’re fake although I suppose if we’d said how we’d enjoyed them, the staff might have told us the truth.
This evening we’ve walked down the road from the motel and found a Nando’s for dinner and had a very pleasant meal. There was hardly anyone else in there. Afterwards we went into the coffee shop cum bookshop that is next door to it, and spent half an hour in there, but, as I think I’ve said before, books are very expensive here so we didn’t buy anything, just looked. We’re now back in the motel room having a pre-bed drink and a nice relaxing read. On the way to dinner, we found the nearest Post Office just down the road, so we won’t have to carry the box(es) far – or at least, Tom won’t! So I shall leave you all again for another night and hope Tom can get this posted tomorrow. Goodnight all.
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