Day 90: Auckland, NZ (April 7, 2011)

90 days?  Does it feel like I've been gone for 90 days?  When I stop and think about how much I've done, yes.  But I remember that first day in Ghana so clearly; getting off the plane, looking for my driver at the airport, standing in that woven grass hut and wondering what I'd gotten myself into, lol.  Other things seem further away, like Sri Lanka seems long ago although it's all clear in my mind, and Bali is already fading and feels like it must have been some distant vacation.  I'm so glad I wrote each day, that'll keep everything alive.

Yesterday was a very full day.  I was too tired to write last night, and fell asleep without reading even.  Rachel, Andrew and I first took a drive over to the west coast, about 30 minutes away from their house.  There's some little town on the beach, with a lone coffee shop, so we had coffee then admired the view.  It was super windy and rainy, so the view was less than perfect and taking photos is always a challenge in those conditions.  But I'm glad I got the view, and I couldn't have gotten there on my own.

Andrew dropped me off at the train, which is Auckland's limited metro/subway system.  It only has 4 lines and Auckland seems pretty spread out, so unless you live right along a line, it doesn't seem particularly useful.  Rachel and Andrew commented that the public transport here isn't the best, but it's better than it used to be.  There was nothing wrong with the train itself, other than its limited reach, as far as I could tell.

My first stop downtown was at the Maritime Museum.  I heard it was really good and it was.  It has information (mostly New Zealand focused) on all sorts of stuff related to the ocean and boats:  How the Maoris first arrived, early european boats, whaling and other ocean mammals, modern boats, like the New Zealand yatch that won the America's Cup.  I took a guided tour included in the ticket price.  I'm so glad I did; the guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, without being a goofball about it.  I'm sure I've mentioned before, I've never been much of a water or boat person, so almost everything was new to me, but I like knowing new things.

One unexpected result of that visit was I am now more interested in Tahiti, and even in Easter Island (although I've always been interested in the latter).  Learning how the polynesian peoples spread out across the pacific ocean made me see how all three of those places are related, and I now think of New Zealand as part of the pacific islands.  I don't know if others see it this way, but all along my trip, I've liked seeing how one stop links to the next stop -- and now I see how New Zealand and Tahiti fit together.  So maybe I'll like my next 5 days after all!

An anchor from the H.M.S. Bounty.

The museum inspired me to take the ferry across the bay to Devonport, another branch of Auckland.  It's supposed to be the cute little town where people can window shop and dine in cafes all day.  And I guess it was that, but I also guess I've seen enough of that, that it wasn't a novelty or anything.  Some of Auckland's volcanoes are over in Devonport, though, so I walked up one of them for more views of the area.

One unusual thing at the top was this, what is it called?  Recessed cannon, that hides in a big bowl until it's needed, then it gets cranked up and can be used.  It was built in the 1890s out of fear of a Russian invasion, but it was only fired once (and not at Russians).  The reverberation wound up breaking the locals' good china, and they complained, so it was never fired again.  Also at the top was this collection of, um.... mushrooms?

That's another volcanoe off in the background.

I ferried back to downtown to catch a game of netball, which I've seen on TV but never in person.  Netball is played here competitively by women, and only recreationally by men.  At first glance, it looks like basketball because to score points, the players have to put a ball through a hoop (with no backboard).  But every single other thing about the game is not at all like basketball, so it's a mistake to compare the two.  In fact, technically, it's not even a contact sport.  Although the women do wind up touching each other quite a bit, players have to stay 3 feet away from the player with the ball.  So more of the action takes place while players pass the ball, rather than when they shoot the ball.  It was a fun game, made more fun by the almost complete lack of clock stoppages, other than quick breaks in between quarters. 

Kind of related:  I've been told that american football games are sometimes edited before they are shown overseas, so europeans who watch our sports on TV think the game really does take only one hour, because they don't see the many time outs and the time to move the chains, etc.  Sadly, most american sports are becoming slower rather than faster, which is odd in a culture that is more focused on being fast and instant gratification.

We finished the night with some take-out pizza and pasta, which were fine but not my favorite meal in NZ.  Then we crashed.  :)

This afternoon I head to the airport to catch my flight to French Polynesia.  Starting tonight, I will be 6 hours behind the East Coast.  I'm not sure what there is to do in French Polynesia, but I'm sure I'll figure it out, as I have elsewhere.