After a great time in Melaka, we said goodbye to Malaysia and SE Asia, took a bus to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and boarded an overnight flight to Auckland, New Zealand. Bob snapped this picture of "me as pillow" while the boys and I tried to get some sleep.
We stopped on the Gold Coast of Australia before continuing on to Auckland. New Zealand is quite strict on what can be brought into the country, so just getting through customs took over an hour. We watched customs officers digging through suitcases and, after having our questionable items inspected (namely, a few shells from Thailand), we finally exited the airport in late afternoon.
A funny first moment in New Zealand was when, at dinner, the waitress brought a pitcher of tap water to our table. We were all a bit stunned--partially at the realization that we could safely drink tap water again, and partially because it was brought to us without asking and free of charge (2 years of living in Europe has made us quite unaccustomed to this). As Emmett excitedly said, "I'm going to drink tap water just for the heck of it!!!" It's the little things in life.
The next morning, we picked up a rental car and then met these great people when they arrived the airport.....for the next 5 weeks, it's Moorhouses AND Murrays on the move!
We settled in at a great rental house and took a day to relax and recuperate from long flights and jet lag (especially for Mom and Dad, who travelled for more than 24 hours from the US). We planned this phase of our trip--when my Mom and Dad would travel with us through New Zealand and into Australia--almost an entire year ago. It was hard to believe the time had finally come!
For the rest of our stay in Auckland, we walked a lot in the city and saw some very British-looking buildings. Some of these included Town Hall, a Gothic-style church, and the historic Ferry Terminal, with its red gate, at Queens Wharf along the waterfront.
There were lots of people outside, including in these great bean bags set out on a green space between office buildings.
We visited the Auckland War Memorial Museum, which had great exhibits on the Maori people (the indigenous people of New Zealand). This war canoe was carved from a single tree, and the decorative detail was quite impressive.
This was a wall weaving within a traditional Maori building, a replica of which was in the museum.
There were also well-done exhibits on New Zealand's natural and military history.
The second floor of the museum is dedicated to remembering those who have died in military service to New Zealand. The stained glass and statue below were particularly beautiful.
The Auckland Domain (the park in which the War Memorial Museum sits) was preparing for a Chinese Lantern festival as part of Chinese New Year celebrations.
We came back to the Auckland Domain for the first evening of the festival in order to see the lanterns lit up in the dark. Unfortunately it started raining on us, but we were able to see a few of the displays before we called it and headed home.
Our visit to Auckland was a short one, but we were glad to experience this cosmopolitan city on the North Island. It also made us eager to get on the road and start exploring more of New Zealand!
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