Monday, March 9, 2009

Auckland New Zealand

We're ready to begin a family vacation with Laura and Beth, and our friends from Fort Collins, Peggy and Mike Connor. After an uneventful 13 hours of flight in row 74 (the 2nd last) of a 747, we made it to Auckland. Laura and Beth will arrive tomorrow.
We arrived at our hotel about 8AM. Since our rooms won't be ready for hours, we decide to take the ferry boar to Devonport. Devonport is a cute little town, a nice place to live and still be only 12 minutes from the city center. We had breakfast at a little cafe, then walked the Mt. Victoria hill which was an ancient Maori fort, and more recently a hidden gun emplacement to protect the harbor.
In the afternoon, Mike an I went to the Auckland Museum, especially known for its Maori artifacts, especially a storehouse, lodge, and war canoe from the 1800s.

Maori Storehouse
On the 1st floor were dinosaurs, and exhibits of extinct moas. kiwis, and penguins. We also lucked into T. Rex Sue on a visit from the Chicago Field museum. The 2nd floor was filled with war memorabilia.
Mary and I managed to stay awake till 8:45 PM and then to bed.

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