Day 2 from Middle Earth began nice and sunny with a few clouds hanging about. I slept all night and woke up ready to go. After a great breakfast of pancakes, fruit, and tons of coffee (the advantage of a B&B) I was outside and on my way.
First off, I had to wait for the bus. While I'm there some lady starts asking me how to get to downtown on the bus. Oddly, I knew the answer and I explained to her that I'd only been in town for a day and the bus was easy. I'm not sure if she believed me but then her bus showed up and she was on her way. While I was still waiting, I saw 4 people that I knew walk by. They were the family from Seattle that are staying at the same place as me. We all thought that was pretty funny and they almost missed their turn to the Museum and I showed them where to go. As you may gather, Auckland is a pretty easy place to get around.
Since rain was forecase I decided to take the harbor ferry to Devonport. It was almost warm as I sat outside the deck during the crossing. Most of on the ferry were from the US, I met people from Boston and Portland. The ferry ride was nice and short and the water was calm and in no time I was at Devonport. I had no idea of what to do in Devonport but a bus was waiting so I hopped on and decided to just take a ride to the end of the line and see some of the area. It was a good choice because we had an excellent view of Auckland Harbor, and then we went by a historic fort and onto the city at the end of the line. I took the next bus back to the main area of Devonport and wandered around the shopping and antique area before going back to the mainland.
Next stop was the NZ National Maritime Museum which again turned out to be much more than what I thought. It started with the Polynesian arrivals and how they got here and what type of ships. It went on to European arrivals, a whole room about whaling and whaling bans and then my favorite room - Immigrants. This section had a replica of the berths in steerage where people spent 3 - 6 months of their lives. The room even rocked as if you were on the ocean. This was with a photo exhibit of different people who came to NZ and why. There was more - of course yachting and the America's Cup, replicas of ships and art, and so much more.
Time for a sandwich and drink, then I was off for a garden walk. When I arrived at my destination it was pouring rain and almost hailing so I stopped that plan and went to plan B. I didn't know I had a plan B but I figured if I stayed on the bus it would come to me. Sure enough, the next stop was Art Gallery. This was time to look at art and stay dry! The guy even gave me a $2 discount because I told him the only reason I was there was to get out of the rain. Like the other Auckland museums, this one exceeded expectations and it had all different types of art and exhibits.
Leaving there I walked downtown and checked out the shops, restaurants, and the plaza. There was a Tahitian Pearl store that caught my eye and of course I loved everything in it but bought nothing. I was too worried about losing something while I traveled about. While wandering I found a Malaysian restaurant so that's where dinner was. Yum! Malaysian Curry and Tom Yum! There's no other cuisine like it in the world.
So here I am back at my B&B. Tomorrow I'm off for Brisbane and I have to say good-bye to Middle Earth. I would have liked to seen the country but that can always be another time. I felt very comfortable here and I think all of you reading this would enjoy Auckland too. Next post from Brisbane!
First off, I had to wait for the bus. While I'm there some lady starts asking me how to get to downtown on the bus. Oddly, I knew the answer and I explained to her that I'd only been in town for a day and the bus was easy. I'm not sure if she believed me but then her bus showed up and she was on her way. While I was still waiting, I saw 4 people that I knew walk by. They were the family from Seattle that are staying at the same place as me. We all thought that was pretty funny and they almost missed their turn to the Museum and I showed them where to go. As you may gather, Auckland is a pretty easy place to get around.
Since rain was forecase I decided to take the harbor ferry to Devonport. It was almost warm as I sat outside the deck during the crossing. Most of on the ferry were from the US, I met people from Boston and Portland. The ferry ride was nice and short and the water was calm and in no time I was at Devonport. I had no idea of what to do in Devonport but a bus was waiting so I hopped on and decided to just take a ride to the end of the line and see some of the area. It was a good choice because we had an excellent view of Auckland Harbor, and then we went by a historic fort and onto the city at the end of the line. I took the next bus back to the main area of Devonport and wandered around the shopping and antique area before going back to the mainland.
Next stop was the NZ National Maritime Museum which again turned out to be much more than what I thought. It started with the Polynesian arrivals and how they got here and what type of ships. It went on to European arrivals, a whole room about whaling and whaling bans and then my favorite room - Immigrants. This section had a replica of the berths in steerage where people spent 3 - 6 months of their lives. The room even rocked as if you were on the ocean. This was with a photo exhibit of different people who came to NZ and why. There was more - of course yachting and the America's Cup, replicas of ships and art, and so much more.
Time for a sandwich and drink, then I was off for a garden walk. When I arrived at my destination it was pouring rain and almost hailing so I stopped that plan and went to plan B. I didn't know I had a plan B but I figured if I stayed on the bus it would come to me. Sure enough, the next stop was Art Gallery. This was time to look at art and stay dry! The guy even gave me a $2 discount because I told him the only reason I was there was to get out of the rain. Like the other Auckland museums, this one exceeded expectations and it had all different types of art and exhibits.
Leaving there I walked downtown and checked out the shops, restaurants, and the plaza. There was a Tahitian Pearl store that caught my eye and of course I loved everything in it but bought nothing. I was too worried about losing something while I traveled about. While wandering I found a Malaysian restaurant so that's where dinner was. Yum! Malaysian Curry and Tom Yum! There's no other cuisine like it in the world.
So here I am back at my B&B. Tomorrow I'm off for Brisbane and I have to say good-bye to Middle Earth. I would have liked to seen the country but that can always be another time. I felt very comfortable here and I think all of you reading this would enjoy Auckland too. Next post from Brisbane!
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