Feb 3 & 4. Auckland, NZ

On Saturday, we visited the Auckland War Memorial Museum, home to the world’s largest collection of Maori and Polynesian artifacts, including an 82-foot-long Maori canoe carved from a single tree.

Dinner with Catherine & Tom at the Chef's Table was "Japan Cuisine from an Island Nation." I ate mussles for the first time! All was delicious!

On Sunday, Julie & I spent the day walking beautiful Auckland, including Albert Park. We walked two legs of the New Zealand Coast to Coast Walkway (6 miles). Julie had wanted to "jump" off the Auckland Sky Tower, but couldn't get it scheduled in time before our ship departed. I was quite happy about this!

When we got close to our ship, I wanted to stop at Starbucks. There was a good-sized demonstration going on in the large court yard outside Starbucks by Palestinian supporters. After joining them for a moment of silence, I went in and ordered my drink. Julie, who had waited for me outside, sent me a text, "Don't come out yet...stay inside." A few minutes later, she texted, "You can come out now. " She explained to me that the group started chanting that Starbucks was responsible for the genicide of thousands of Palestinians and pointed to people who were coming inside the store. This was a peaceful protest, but it made me uncomfortable. I would not have bought my coffee here had I known of their message 😥

Auckland is beautiful! Dinner tonight with Larry & Kurt. Tonight, we sail to Tauranga (Rotorua).

Pat's Observations:
Our tour guides' great accent: "Out wist you have some pist, they git into the buddings near the maaket."
Kiwi's = New Zealanders
160 ethnic groups
53 to 54 volcanos...most aren't active
University of Auckland...beautifulRead more