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Off to a running start today! After a refreshing 12 hour sleep we made use of the neighbouring restaurants at the base of the hotel to get some breakfast which was a really good way to set us up for the day. I think we're both discovering that the food is one of the highlights of New Zealand!
First stop of the day was the Maritime Museum, which has exhibits detailing New Zealand's maritime history, from canoes used by Maori to the America's Cup winning yacht from 1995. As New Zealand has a large European immigrant population, there was a fascinating exhibit about the journeys these people made, from the 3 month long journey made in the 1800s through to the Diesel engine ships of the 1950's that took a month.
From there we headed into the city, walking along Queen St, which seems to be one of the main arteries through the city and where all the big stores are. We head up into the city and across to the Auckland Museum and War Memorial which was very good, with a floor dedicated to New Zealand's participation in warfare though the years. Dad would enjoy it, especially the bits about Cassino!
After the museum we headed off in search of lunch which took us to Parnell, Mum's kind of place! Lots of pretty houses, boutiques and cafes to look at. Along with Ponsonby this is one of the chic neighbourhoods of Auckland and we could certainly see why!
We slowly ambled our way back into the CBD and into the Sky Tower, one of the iconic sights of Auckland. We took the glass floored lift to the top and got to watch the crazy fools doing a cable jump off the top. I don't normally dislike heights but this made me positively giddy! Otherwise we really enjoyed this view out over the city and could retrace our steps from the day, we couldn't believe quite how much ground we covered!
Now we're back in the hotel, planning where to go for dinner! Hopefully the jet lag won't do us in too early! Tomorrow we pick up the car and head south to Rotorua with a little detour to Hobbiton!
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