Auckland Area, New Zealand

New Zealand was like a whole new country! (: Auckland is by far the largest city with one-third of the country's population.

We took a jaunt through town and a nice park to get to the Auckland Museum. They have a very nice Children's area where Clark and Christopher played some music. They also had an interesting hair exhibit, but we didn't really get to explore that because Christopher had reached his limit...

We met up with Hicham Idriss, an old friend of Clark's from grad school in Illinois. He and his family were kind enough to have us over for dinner. Our first home-cooked meal in almost a month (excluding the pasta I cooked one night in Port Douglas).  It was a lovely evening. Their three children played with Christopher while the adults chatted over chicken, garlicky cucumber and a wonderful cake.

We took a tour up into the far North to the Bay of Islands. We took a nice cruise out to the Hole in the Rock. The captain even took our boat through the hole with only 8 feet to spare on either side of the boat. With ocean swells, this was not an easy task.

On the back side of the Hole in the Rock was this nice silhouette of a woman. Do you see it?

Once again Christopher got to spend a little time in the water. We were not prepared, so once his diaper fell off it became a nude beach...

Our next tour was to the volcanic town of Rotorua.  We visited the Tamaki Village for a concert and hangi (feast) in the Maori tradition. The Maori are COMPLETELY different from the aboriginal people. They originate somewhere in the Pacific Islands and have a lot in common with the Hawaiian culture.

We were warned to be very careful during this performance. No kneeling, laughing, raising arms, etc or we may be killed. Christopher was very fearful before the performance began, but enjoyed it once it got started.

Maori women dancing.

Christopher playing in the village near a totem pole.

The entire city of Rotorua is filled with steam vents and craters, in fact much of the North Island is very geologically active. I was amazed to find geothermal parks with children's playgrounds and signs warning of possible death by explosion. All over the parks there was yellow police tape around areas that had recently let off some major steam.

Christopher got to milk a cow and feed a baby lamb from a bottle at a farm show. We also got to see how dogs are used on the sheep farms.

Rotorua was a lot of fun. I definitely recommend it as a week-long destination if you are ever in the area. To the left is the view from the top of the gondola ride. We also tried out the free training track for the luge. Christopher had a great time.  Back down in the city we walked through the Government Park (complete with a bowling green) and spent a couple of hours at the Polynesian Spa in their family area.

At some point I plan to scan some postcards of the Waitomo Caves. Unfortunately they do not allow photographs inside the caves as this frightens the glow worms. Check back later for some cool photos of this interesting wonder.

We returned to Auckland for a night and to pick up a rental car. There was a huge windstorm that night. The next morning we came across this broken tree on the University grounds.

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