Museums

Our first full day in Auckland (and it was a very full day) began with a morning exploration of the Auckland War Memorial Museum. It is set at the top of a hill in the Auckland Domain, a huge, lovely park with lots of open space, trails and heritage trees that would be an easy and scenic jog from our accomodations at The Langham Auckland. While its name might suggest that its exhibits are focused on war, the museum houses a broad and fascinating range of collections encompassing natural history, geology, culture and mankind’s history in the Pacific. Set atop one of Auckland’s numerous extinct volcanic cones, the building possesses a commanding view of the area and presents a solemn, classical columned ediface as one approaches up a long drive. Looping around to the opposite side, however, one comes upon the modern Grand Foyer with its wooden “bowl” which sweeps up over the heads of visitors to support a large exhibition and banquet space four floors above.

One could easily spend a day or more at the museum, and it boasts everything from very kid-friendly, interactive exhibits to a well-respected and much-used research library. Admission is free (a $10NZ donation for adults is welcomed), although there is a charge for guided tours and some special exhibits and events. We made good use of our time visiting just a few of the highlights.

New Zealand sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the museum boasts a gallery full of displays on earthquakes and eruptions, complete with a “Shake House” where one watches a mock T.V. news broadcast of an impending volcanic eruption in Auckland’s bay as the house lurches from tremors. We also enjoyed a half-hour Maori cultural performance (the only location in Auckland to present such shows on a daily basis) which included songs, a demonstration of games which were also used to prepare and train warriors, and the haka, a pre-battle ”dance” and chant meant to intimidate one’s foes. (If you saw Invictus, you saw the New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks, perform a haka before their match.) One of the performers then took us on a brief guided tour of the Maori Court to explain some of the symbolism behind the carvings found on the model storehouse, meeting house and enormous war canoe exhibited there.

We then made our way down to the Viaduct precinct of Auckland’s waterfront to board one of Pride of Auckland‘s 15-meter monohull yachts for a luncheon cruise. We’d been watching heavy clouds building, and, sure enough, just as we stepped aboard, the first spatters of rain struck. After box lunches and hot drinks were handed ’round by the captain and his mate, we headed out into the waters of Waitemata Harbour. Some of us bravely (foolishly?) sat above in the gradually increasing showers, while others ducked below for a tamer but much drier experience. By the time our sandwiches were consumed, it was apparent that, rather than letting up, the rain was increasing to a steady downpour. Large waterproof ponchos were distributed to those still on deck as the healthy wind which accompanied the deluge pushed us along at a good clip. Being a Pacific Northwesterner with plenty of experience with and no fear of a little damp, I enjoyed the ride up top with my fellow writers from the Northeast who had experience sailing and also were not averse to a little weather. We made a quick foray under the Harbour Bridge and observed the bungy-jumping platform slung under the roadway above before heading back to port. Since Auckland hadn’t had any measureable rainfall since December and the region had just officially declared a drought, I was not going to begrudge the weather, especially since I still thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The “retail therapy” planned for the rest of the afternoon was effectively washed out by the continuing rain, however, so we slogged our way back to our rooms for a change of clothes before a most interesting visit to Air New Zealand‘s Hangar 9. For  insight into how one airline develops its passenger cabins, check out tomorrow’s blog.

 – Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader