Our morning began slowly, with the usual tea and email/social media and blog work. Deb felt like a slow morning was in order, so Munroe left around 9:30 for a walk in Albert Park across the street. Here is the view back towards our Airbnb building from the pathway at the entrance to the park:
24 Kitchener - Kitchener Street Studios
The view from "our" corner of Kitchener St. You can see the stone sculpture from our window.
The park was beautiful with spring flowers and blossoms everywhere. On the other side of the park is the University of Auckland. Munroe took some time strolling around it, going into the lovely main library and the Human Sciences Building (where the political scientists hang out!). It is between sessions so the lovely campus - a blend of old and new buildings - was very quiet.
After leaving the campus Munroe made the short stroll through the downtown core to the waterfront and the ferry terminal. En route, he stopped at Jason's Books - a used bookstore that, it turns out, is going out of business. The store had an excellent collection and it is a shame it isn't viable - but for Munroe, it worked out since everything was half-price. They had a great New Zealand fiction section so Munroe picked up 6 books, two of which are Kiwi academic spoofs, so these represent a special couple of finds.
At lunchtime, Deb expressed a craving for Tom Yum Soup so we went to a nearby Thai cafe and enjoyed that spicy soup.
From there we walked to the New Zealand Maritime Museum on the downtown waterfront.
This highly regarded museum didn't disappoint. The huge space was divided into exhibits about the history of New Zealand navigation and yachting.
Navigation HistoryIt began with a wonderful video - about 10 minutes - on the evolving settlement of Polynesia, essentially a story of the gradual migration of Asians down the Indonesian/Phillipino archipelago out onto the Tahitian Islands, with two branches from there going to Hawai'i and New Zealand, the latter being the last part of the globe to be populated. We then encountered many examples of outrigger canoes and ocean-going multi-hulled vessels used for fishing and long-distance migration and trade (respectively).
This old sketch of Russell, which we visited in the North Island, caught Deb's eye. We had explored the top of this cliff and the town below.
Yachting
We spent about 2.5 hours in the museum and enjoyed seeing the specials on New Zealand's yacht racing heritage, including the Olympic wins, the ocean-racing yacht Black Magic, which won the 1995 America's Cup, and Enza, which won Around the World, an extremely dangerous, harrowing sail.
NATIONAL HERO - SIR PETER BLAKE
A large gallery was devoted to a New Zealand national hero, Peter Blake, containing many photos, documents, and sailing items from his illustrious sailing career. Races he won included the Whitbread Round the World Race, Jules Verne Trophy (another around-the-world race that set the world record), and America's Cup. Sadly, Blake was shot and killed by pirates while monitoring environmental change on the Amazon River in 2001. He was 53 years old, leaving lifelong supporters including his wife and 2 children. The country was in mourning.
AMERICA'S CUP WINNER- BLACK MAGIC - 1995
AROUND-THE-WORLD RACE - ENZA - 1994
Munroe looked through a fascinating logbook of shipwrecks in the Auckland area, especially in the 1900s. One was a schooner built in Pugwash, NS, and I'm sure they'd be more Maritime-built schooners if we could go through the entire (thick) book.
On the way back to our Airbnb, we passed a string of waterfront bars and obviously, the weekend was in full swing judging by the party atmosphere. We happened to catch a glimpse of a TV screen at a sports bar and a football game was being played (Thursday Night Football). It was snowing like crazy! Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Pittsburg vs. Cleveland. Cleveland had a big lead midway through the 4th quarter, but we decided to have a beer and watch the end. So we sat at the bar and had a couple beers - the guy sitting next to us turned out to be born in Pittsburgh (and remains a Steelers fan) but raised in Cleveland. His sister still lives in Cleveland and he was texting with his nieces who were also watching the game. He is a pilot with Hawaiian Airlines (has been for 40 years) but had lived in Buffalo for about 7 or 8 months in 1978 when his career was just starting. So we enjoyed chatting with him - and texting with Kelly's husband Mark, a die-hard Steelers fan. Unfortunately, despite mounting an impressive come-back, the Steelers lost the game. Seeing the snow, though, makes us begin to transition in our minds from later spring to early winter.
We finished the evening with salmon, a nice sesame cole slaw salad, and asparagus, with New Zealand (Yealand) Marlborough Sauv Blanc. Another good day! One more to go....
