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We have worked out that the New Zealand weather is a bit lazy, the reason been because usually early morning it is grey and dull and possibly raining. This however seems to clear around 10am after it has got itself woken up and had the usual morning brew, which knowing this is a big help in planning our very busy daily schedule. On this occassion we had left Waipu cove for the second time but this time enroute to Auckland city, this was around 2 hours so the sun would be beaming by the time we arrived. Our first stop in Auckland was the 'Auckland Museum', the museum as you can see from the outside shot is quite a big building and dominates the the hill of the domain it is set in. As usual here a large part of it was dedicated to displays of Maouri culture, this was much like the other Maouri displays we had encountered so didnt spend too much time in that bit. Another large part was dedicated to World War II including the holocaust, along with a real surviving spitfire which played a part in the English and New Zealand air force. The Volcano section was particularly interesting as we were in a city covered in distinct volcanos, which then lead on to the sea, earth, and animals of the last few centuries.
Having taken in so much info we decided we needed an out of the ordinary experience day, these are some of our favourite days as they are usually quite bizzare things we do. Now having arrived at the Auckland sky tower the prospect of going to the observation deck in the daylight, followed by a walk around the outer on a walk way did not appeal. Not because it was too high, but because it in no way compared to either a night view of sydney from the tower there, or 14000 feet freefall from a plane. So with this in mind we had a look around the tower and its surrounding city, then set off in search of 'Minus 5c'. This is a bar with an ice lounge which is exactly what it says, a bar/lounge made completely of ice with a constant -5 degree temperature inside!!! including the bar, glasses, walls, seats, tables, complete with several ice sculptures. The sculptures included, mermaid, fish, car, lion, horse, cinderellas slipper, and something ressembling the incredable hulk. Now in order to get in this place due to it been so cold you have to wear some special gear. You are kitted out with a knee length hooded arctic coat, some strange socks and much to Davids dislike boots similar to uug boots! All followed by plastic surgical gloves, then mitten style gloves with a palm grip. After all this you can then go through the two industrial size freezer doors into the bar to be met with the sculptures and an array of colour changing lights which enhance the sculptures beautifully. A free cocktail of the fruit vodka variety is included in the entry price and you can choose from several, so we got a different one each in order to get a double flavour test and they were well worth it!!!! Holding the glasses is an art form in view they are ice, so you leave them on the rubber mats on the table and just use the straws where possible. As it was day time we got a special deal including photos as we could not take our own camera in due to the temperature, so you can check us out freezing our lips to the sculpture. You are only allowed 30 minutes in the bar and most people come and go way before then, but we hung it out as long as possible and messed around taking boots and gloves off for a second or two just to get the real experiance, and yes it was a noticable difference.
Our second day stop was one of the extinct volcanoes which much to our surprise and some disappointment was now covered head to foot in grass, with a road around the outer leading upto the summit. We had good views from the top which covered Auckland and beyond, which really reinforced our decision not to venture up the sky tower.
Following on from the volcano we found a stardome observatory, which holds displays on an evening with the option to view the sky via a large telescope. Unfortunately we had arrived on a day they were not doing a display but were allowed to look around the centre for free, which was pretty good so we got some pics of the planets details for you to read yourself if you are a science boff.
To try and make better use of the day as we were not to scale a volcano outer we set off for the Motat museum, otherwise kown as the Museum of transport and technology. This was a real mixed bag museum which was intersting in some bits and dull in others but did have an amazing original 'Lancaster bomber' which survived 18 bombing missions, a pretty good record. We also saw a seaplane, which must've been for the rich and famous as the way it was set out inside was better than 1st class these days. More space than you could wish for!!
Our trip to Auckland was concluded with a trip over the bridge to view the harbour and boats, then it was on our way to the next stop. So all in all Auckland had some pretty interesting stuff but the best bit by far has to be 'Minus 5'.
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