Last Morning in Auckland

The Auckland Sky Tower

Auckland Museum

The Outside of the Auckland Museum

four Maori Carved Figures The day is perfect: sunny and warm with a Sunday morning relaxed vibe.

We are at the Auckland Museum for opening at 9:00am. It is a great museum with interactive exhibits on New Zealand, volcanoes, Maori culture, animals and New Zealand’s involvement in military conflicts. John and I have no problem passing away a few hours.

A Spitfire Plane

Kim and a big penguin A Taxidermy Kiwi

Auckland Dominion Gardens

A fountain with a rainbow at its base
The conservatory of the wintergarden We next go out into the Auckland Dominion Gardens stopping for coffee and ice cream at the duck pond with its rainbow adorned fountain.

We visit the Wintergarden Greenhouse with it’s gorgeous begonias mixed in with ornamental eggplants. The outdoor fern forest is very pretty.

John sticking his head in the begonias

Frustration at Auckland Airport

New Zealand from the Airplane
Our Air Tahiti Nui Plane Next we are off to the airport to catch our flight to Tahiti. Auckland airport is an exercise in waiting and waiting. John had heard several news stories about passenger delays due to lack of staffing which appear to be true. It takes 3.5 hours to go from check in to get to the gate.

On a bright note, I think I just saw Will Farrell sitting in first class…or at least a dead ringer.