Auckland, NZ - DAY1

Beautiful morning sunrise at Auckland - the largest city in NZ.

We decided to sign up for several tours to start our 3-day stay here. (It's fun to play tourest). The first place visited was the Weta Workshop, where we explored an interactive behind the scenes studio tour of make-believe film sets, giving us a glimpse into all the incredible craftsmanship and artistry that go into film making. Movie making in Auckland is big business, and Weta made many of the special effects for big films like Lord of the Rings, The Hobit, and Dune. ( More to come on this later, but we had a blast.)

We then went up 60 stories at the Skytower to get a beautiful 360-degree view of the city. One of our crazier friends did the SkyTower bungee jump. What an experience to do at 70!!

Took in the "All Blacks" experience to hear and see all about the NZ National Rugby team. Even enjoyed some All Blacks training drills and their famous Haka dance, which is their ritual before each game.

Later in the day, we just enjoyed walking about downtown, and Morris stopped in for a haircut (looking sharp now).Read more