[going back to March 14, 15 and 16]
What are the odds? I guess sufficient, given the number of travelers. I am triplets with a brother and sister from Bologna, Italy. She draws comics based upon her travel experiences. Upon asking me to guess where they are from, I ask her to say something. When she gestured as a prelude to speech, I guessed Italy beofre she even got a word out. I remember them from my first night in New Zealand. And they saw me where we stayed in Taupo. I didn't notice them there. And now again, for a third time, we are staying at the same place. It is the same place we started, so really it is the first place for a second time.
Excellent Thai drunken noodles from a ma and pa place nearby. Play chess with folks from France and Germany. Later grill lamb and have it with satay peanut sauce and rice that I had taken away from the Thai place earlier.
The lock on my room wasn't working properly, so I tried the simple dis-assemble, re-assemble approach, using my trusty Swiss Army knife, and it worked. The next day, the owner was very appreciative. I could have been in trouble, since I hadn't asked, but it all worked out fine.
So two days to see the rest of Auckland. Started with the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Great collection of Maori and Pacific Islander artifacts. Excellent for animals and geology. But the fish were limited to the large game fish, so the minor fish were not to be seen.
Next stop: New Zealand National Maritime Museum. My favorite display was the steerage quarters which we could walk through. They rocked to the waves. School children get to come stay for the night, with the wave maker turned off after bed time. The bunks are three high, and for space efficiency, they are simply slots that are entered feet or face first. It was great to see how most people traveled to get to New Zealand. An earlier display showed how the natives traveled to get here.
I am still thinking like a shark - big eyed tuna for dinner - extra rare.
Chess exchange travel ideas with French and Japanese.
Last stop: Kelly Tarleton's Antartic Adventure & Underwater World. Seemed like a tourist trap, especially with a name that long, so I saved it for last, in case I ran out of time. I missed my stop on the bus. I was looking for a large building on the bay side. It turned out to be a small entrance on the shore side. Like a subway entrance. And I found out why it was not what I had expected. A tourist trap, yes. And a worthy one. This fellow re-claimed some abandoned sewer works and converted it into aquarium tanks. He made use of the structures provided, most all hidden underground.
And I liked what inside. Penguins too! King penguins, at 16 kilograms, second in size to the Emperor. And Gentoo penguins, at 6 kilograms. In the fish tanks, there were sharks, rays, and local fish. Great to see the local fish, so up close, including ones that were not even in the Museum from the day prior. There were feedings too. Some of the tanks had plexiglass arched tunnels trough them, so the fish were above us. Very enjoyable design.
Then downtown. Exhaust my cash on a Brisket Noodle Soup dinner, with 40 cents to spare. And catch the bus from the Sky Tower to the airport. Luckily I hadn't lost my return ticket. On the way, the bus stops to refuel - 30 gallons of diesel.
Check in to my flight. Purchase my exit sticker (NZ$25). And have a nice flight to Tahiti.
Labels: Auckland
