Auckland

February 24-26, 2009

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Our last stop in New Zealand was Auckland. We got back on the train at National Park and continued north to Auckland. We arrived in the evening and checked into the Aspen House, a nice hostel/hotel close to downtown but far enough away to make it fairly quiet. We had a nice large room with bathroom.

The first full day, we took a bus out to Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World. This attraction was a mixture of Antarctic exhibits, including penguins, and large tanks with sharks, fish, eel, and other underwater creatures. We had fun looking around. Our second day, we took a boat out to Rangitoto Island, which was formed only around 600 years ago as the result of a volcanic eruption. We did the hike to the top of the volcano, Mt. Rangitoto, and enjoyed the views beyond and back to Auckland. After returning to Auckland, we went to the Sky Tower, the highest structure in the southern hemisphere and the focal point of Auckland’s skyline. We spent some time in the observation decks, watched a few bungy jumpers, and had our last dinner in New Zealand in the Orbit restaurant up in the Sky Tower, which rotates about once an hour offering changing views while you have dinner. We watched the sunset while having dinner! On the last day, our flight didn’t leave until evening, so we spent the morning visiting the Auckland Museum, which had a number of interesting exhibits and a Maori cultural performance. Then it was time to catch the bus to the airport for our flight home.