I arrived in Auckland at 5:00 am, local time. (Wrap your head around this. I'm writing this on Monday, and you're reading it on Sunday. I'm like Dr. Who, minus the scarf.) I breezed through customs and took a shuttle bus into the city. It dropped me off at the downtown docks, and I spent the early morning exploring them.
After a bite to eat, I toured the country's flagship museum. It's a three-level behemoth covering the indigenous Maori culture, the natural environment, and war artifacts. I had a great time, and learned a ton. I'm hardly an expert on any of these topics, but for an interesting and engaging look into the Maori world, rent Whale Rider.
I've spent the rest of the day walking around and trying to get a better understanding of the city. Auckland, like most islands, is particularly environmentally minded. I've seen bicycle assembly stands at the airport and door to door compost pick up trucks. Maybe it's a byproduct of their environmental-mindedness, but there are as many sailboats in New Zealand as there are people (impressive), and 12 times as many sheep (ridiculous).
So this is where all of our 1s got shipped to! But remember, this sign shows New Zealand dollars per liter; it roughly converts to $47/gallon. Actually, I have no idea what it converts to, but I'll bet it's still more expensive than ours.
Alright, time to hop back on to the bus to the airport. Next stop: Fiji. Sam's already there, and over a beer in the Tucson airport, he told me that they were planning on playing golf today.
This is turning out alright.
M
