Auckland War Memorial Museum

This day was more like it!
I normally blog and post in the late afternoon when I come home from the day's adventures, but the first adventure of this day is trying the New Zealand blend from Twinnings.  The description on the package says, "New Zealand Breakfast Tea is a full bodied and satisfying blend with generous, malty flavours.  You will taste a little smokiness reminiscent of the campfires and billies coming the boil, offset by subtle floral notes."  Sound intriguing?  Let's have a sip.  It's good.  I don't detect the smokiness, but I do taste and like the floral notes.  I prefer a more robust cuppa in the morning, however.  Breakfast consists of grainy, seedy bread spread liberally with hummus.
The next thing I did was go to the grocery store mainly to replace the Sauvignon Blanc I spilled all over my kitchen floor, but I also got some of the famed New Zealand butter, and we--or rather I--will be tasting it tomorrow.  I've been to the local Countdown three times, and each time I was waited on my the same gracious and patient young woman.  There were no cash registers open this Saturday morning, so she used the self-checkout for me.
I had a good nights sleep, and so feeling over the jet lag, I determined to give the bus another try.  I found on the map where I could get off and walk to the museum.  This proved easy once I figured out I had to cross the street.  Then I found the entrance to the park called Auckland Domain, and had a beautiful stroll through wooded areas and past ponds to the hill where the museum sits.  The views over the city are impressive, too.
I got my ticket and a museum map and began my exploration. As far as I am concerned the reason to come here is the Pacific Art. Most of it is Maori, and much of it is spectacular.  You will find an extensive collection and exhibit on the ground floor.  One highlight is a Maori Meeting Hall especially constructed for the museum.  One can go in after taking off one's shoes, so I did.  The wood carvings are amazing and so powerful and expressive.  I also marveled at the catamaran--how did people dare to go to sea in such a thing--and a huge war canoe acquired under shady circumstances from a Maori Chief back in the Nineteenth Century.  One interesting thing is that on all the signs and labels the Maori language is used first then English.  The Maori are very proud of their culture and eager to share it.  You can pay extra for a deeper immersion into the culture by some Maori guides on site.
I went to the top floor to look at the wartime exhibits.  I am always afraid I'll start to cry when I get to World War I.   A smaller section details the many wars between the Maori and the British Settlers.  On the walls are the names of the men who died in the wars. I looked for my unusual surname and found one instance spelled the same so we are related.  He died in Vietnam.
The middle floor did not hold much interest for me because I've similar things in Europe, but the spirit of adventure was upon me.  The day was clear and sunny albeit a bit humid, so I decided to walk home.  The roads in the Domain have names but no street signs.  I just kept walking downhill and in the direction of the Sky Tower, Auckland's major landmark.  Sometimes I had to walk up hill, because Auckland goes up and down a lot, but I could always spot the Sky Tower and eventually ended up at Albert Park where I walked yesterday, and now I'm home.