On Jeff's first day at work in New Zealand, I decided to explore the city of Auckland via the Hop-on, Hop-off bus in the CBD. I really enjoyed seeing the city in more detail.
My first stop was atop the Bastion Point Lookout. This place was another gun emplacement for the military but now has a memorial set up for a Labor Party Leader from the 1930's.
It has fantastic views of the city and the islands in the Waitemata Harbour.
Loved the views!
You probably have seen the many "self portraits" of Jeff and I as we stick out the camera to take a quick pic. Obviously Jeff was at the office so this one is just of me!
From there, I walked down a little path to Mission Beach - one of the best beaches near the city. It was a wonderful sandy beach. The traditional activity here is to grab some take away food to enjoy on the beach, so that's what I did!
It had over hundreds of varieties of roses from all over the world.
These were so unique!
I then took a bit longer to enjoy the Auckland Museum. It sits atop a hill just past the CBD and can be seen from the Harbour. It is a beautiful building!
One great exhibit was on the Maori Rugby team. It was cool to see the history of the team and how the culture of the people is still ingrained in their traditions.
They do the Haka dance before the game to scare the opposing team! Really fun to watch!

They also had an entire floor dedicated to wars and those who had fought for their country. I thought this statue was cool - it is a dedication to the New Zealand Bombers!
One exhibit that I did not photograph was about volcanoes. I am now officially scared to death of volcanoes. I learned all about what they do to people when they erupt and even watched a dramatization on what could potentially happen if a new volcano erupted in Auckland. I sat in a fake house, watching a fake news report and the looking out my"window" saw the whole thing happen! They as the smoke and lava got near, the whole house shook and when black!
Wow - I never want to be near a volcano! I needed some happy thoughts after that one!
So, my last stop was the Parnell Shopping Village.
Parnell is the oldest neighborhood in Auckland and it was adorable!
That night, after Jeff and James were done with work we all ventured back to the CBD for dinner on the Viaduct. This area was developed for the 2003 America's Cup. This is a major yacht race they hosted and revitalized this area with great restaurants and shopping.
As we ate, we enjoyed the best sunset! I loved it!
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