Tourism isn't for sissies. We did more in a day than I've done in a month. I'm sorry for my continual whining, but my feet hurt. I'm still really weak and can't walk or stand for long without feeling like I can't any more, which is very frustrating for someone who has trekked the Himalaya.
I've got to say that I'll be glad to get out of Auckland tomorrow. As big cities go, it's okay. It's San Francisco- and Seattle-like; it ain't no New York. Not too polluted. Huge and sprawling.
Syd and I are trying to learn how to be together: who gets to be boss when, mostly. We began our day with a walk down to an outdoor gear store downtown in hopes of scoring me a pair of pants that don't fall off. It was a bust. We walked and bussed back to our lodging. The bus had an overhead monitor with Maori words for local places and their pronunciation. I should have written them all down. All I remember is that “wh” is “f,” and “oa” is “oer.” Thus, Whangaroa is Fangeroer. Thus, as Syd pointed out, I am Ginner.
Then we walked and bussed to the University of Auckland to find a friend of Syd's. The friend didn't know we were coming for a visit, and Syd didn't know where on the large campus she worked. Amazingly, we jumped off the bus and found her.
After a half-hour visit we had pad thai and then walked and bussed and walked to the Auckland Museum, an overwhelming place with, most notably to me, Maori cultural artifacts.
Now, you're going to say it's me, but this place is filled with penises: on the walls and in the air and everywhere. Monstrous ones and humble ones.
See what I mean?
I rest my case.
The museum also had a simulated volcano experience, which was cool. Then we walked and bussed back downtown to the ferry and came over to Devonport, which you'd think is an island but which is an isthmus, which I never could define until today. Come to think of it, I still can't. Here's a volcano offshore.
Then we walked up to the top of Mount Victoria for a panoramic view of even more sprawl and water.
I just ate half a giant brownie and half a crustless fruit pie for dinner. It's dark out. Ahead of us are a ferry ride back downtown and a bus ride home on the Inner Link.
Next: rent a car and head north.
Ew. Ewewew.
We have penises here, too, you know. You could have saved yourself some trouble and just stayed home.
I thank you for sharing those elucidating phallic museum photos. You certainly know what is most important to document during one’s travels, and I do mean that.
It looks a nice little city, for a city! WUV.