Auckland

Finally arrived at Auckland, but we had trouble going through customs because we didn't have our itinerary . . . luckily Tim had his computer with the itinerary on it. Rented a car, drove to Auckland Museum, which turned out to be closed until 10, so we drove down to the main drag in Parnell and had breakfast at the Strawberry Alarmclock. I had a great salmon, avocado, and cream cheese bagel.

At the Auckland Museum, we learned - well, I didn't really learn much, because I only looked at the stuff and didn't actually read anything. . .but I got lots of great pictures- about the Pacific Islands and NZ. The outside of the museum really reminded me of the Legion of Honor in SF.


We then headed on our way up to Whangarei. On the way, we stopped at a Honey Stop for ice cream - hokey pokey ice cream and coffee. We then stopped at Sheepworld and took pics. In Whangarei, we checked out what apparently was the world's largest sundial.


The hike around Whangarei falls is really pretty, and afterwards we headed into Tutukaka for dinner at the local's hang out - Moochas. It didn't have great food, but we were so hungry! We took a few pictures of some small row boats stranded on the beach during low tide. Back at the Lupton Lodge, we watched Whale Rider. I think I learned more about Maori culture from that movie than the museum!