NZ +17: Another Auckland Day

We did more in Auckland today, some of it successful and some of it less so!

The first thing we did was go to Kelly Tarlton's Underwater Sealife and General Oceanarium Antarctic Experience. I think that is what it was called...and this was one of the things that was good!

There's a whole reconstruction of Scott's Base at the South Pole, or thereabouts. God knows quite why he needed a piano...



But I can see the need for the Lyle's Golden Syrup and Heinz Ketchup... (You will need to zoom in!)



Anyway, that's all merely a sideshow to the main event which is/are the groovy sea creatures. Now, it's all supposed to be lovely and Kelly Tarlton was an environmentalist and all that, but he's still created underwater cages much smaller than these animals' usual habits and is keeping them captive. You can debate that at your leisure, meanwhile, here are some photos...

This is Phoebe. She's a stingray. She's really, really big. And probably quite stingy, but I didn't get close enough to find out...



And here are some penguins. The genuine article, not stuffed or anything...!



We were of the general opinion that these were quite cute. So here the are looking cute from a different angle...



Disappointingly, none of them looked very much like Pingu. And they smelt quite badly of fish. As you might expect, I suppose.

Now, there was also one of those under sea perspex tunnels where all the fish and random aquatic life swim/float/splash around above your head and I know they have those in loads of places now, but this one was the first one in the world. it even has an airport travelator going through it so you don't have to walk.

When you try to take photos through perspex with an automatic digital camera, either the flash goes and reflects and blinds you, or the automatic focus automatically focusses/focuses (??) on the perspex and not the fish, or it's too dark and the exposure isn't quick enough and if you are like me and have never actually read the manual that came with the camera and worked out how to do it all manually and professionally, you don't get very good photos.

Out of about 30 I took, this one was the nearest to being any good. At least you can make out fish. They are interesting and exotic and tropical etc. Take my word for it, they are not cod.



So, enough of the fish. We went in search of a genuine Maori settlement! Did we find it? No, we didn't. The map was unfortunately lacking enough detail and when we had tried a couple of dead ends and found a monument to a dead prime minister...*



...we gave up. But that doesn't matter, as genuine Maori settlements are two-a-penny here and we have a couple of others on the itinerary.

So instead, we went to One Tree Hill.

Now, what would you expect this to have at the top???

30 seconds thinking time...



And after playing a fairly fruitless game of Spot the Tree, we gave up and looked at the nice obelisk instead.



However, by this time, as you can perhaps tell by the photo, it was absolutely chucking down and we ran for cover, never knowing what the obelisk was actually there to commemorate. If Ann Crocker gets back from her hols anytime soon, she will no doubt tell me, unless someone beats her to it. Now there's a challenge...

We had been welcomed to Auckland by Jen and Ian...



...and we had an a really lovely meal with them on Sunday evening.

With them and their son Mark and his wife Rachel and their son Zachary and Mark's sister Karen and her husband Murray and their children Harley and Lauren and Rhys. And Murray's sister and her husband and daughter. And Murray's Mum and Dad, Bill and Sheila, who are off to the UK on Tuesday and wanted to know all about it. And Murray's brother. And I think that's it! A real houseful, but it was lovely to be welcomed into their family and treated so well.

Jen and Ian are both teachers, so we fell into lots of deep, meaningful education conversations as teachers tend to do when they get together. Hmmm.

Off to Rotorua tomorrow. Or RotoVegas, as we have heard several Kiwis call it.

It sounds classy.

* Dead Prime Ministers are also two-a-penny here, unfortunately. The monument, however, is for Michael Joseph Savage, NZ's first labour PM.