Auckland

When we left North America, it was late night on December 20th. I had been wondering if we should call the next day, the 21st the longest day of the year or the shortest, since we were heading south of the equator. But on the plane, we crossed the international date line, making the 21st of December last only a few hours! So, for us it was definitely the shortest day of the year!

We are staying at the Auckland Hilton, a modern hotel build to make you feel as if you were on a ship. The architecture, decor, and location combine to create this effect.

See the ropes in the background? Clever, right? I want to climb up them, but I have a feeling that is frowned upon. And maybe dangerous (since they’re unlikely to be load-bearing).

We have had a blast exploring Auckland. Being outdoorsy folk, we have gotten our impression of this city mostly from its parks. Right off the plane in the morning, we left our bags at the hotel and headed to Albert park. We had been looking around for “New Zealand Christmas trees,” which we learned about from a friendly kiwi on the plane. She had shown us a picture–just a glimpse–and described them as the most beautiful red flowers that bloom in December. These flowers below just might fit the bill. We’re honestly not sure.

Our goal was to find the Auckland Art Gallery on the corner of the park. I was frankly concerned about how tired we were and the lulling effect of a museum, but the exhibits we visited were fascinating. An exhibit titled Maori Portraits contained oil paintings by Gottfried Lindauer. He used the novel technology of photography to help him create stunningly accurate and evoking depictions of the Maori people. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed in that exhibit. We learned that in New Zealand too, there is a struggle surrounding the ownership of land between the native people and those who colonized the land. Art surrounding these topics can really make one think.

This is from a series called “X Marks the Spot.” The negotiation of land is still disputed today. The large stamp above says “Not Negotiable.”

Laura really likes art galleries. I have a sneaking suspicion she will drag us to more, but I don’t mind.

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Today we trekked up Mount Eden, a bona fide volcano. It was quite an adventure. Yeah…. we got a little lost in the city. It’s ok, we found an excellent playground.

We are still kids at heart!

We also walked by some neat street art! Detours are a wonderful thing.

We found Mt Eden soon enough, and headed up.

We felt pretty accomplished when we got to the summit.

The crater of Mount Eden, and the sprawl of Auckland beyond. There were actual signs warning folks not to climb down into the crater. After the hike, we headed to…. another park. I know. Riveting.