Two more days in Auckland, November 12, 13

 November 12

Christmas is coming!

     It is a bit strange every day to write in this blog knowing the dates that we write are not the dates back home. So, today is Veterans' Day back home, but it's already the 12th here, having crossed the International Date Line.

     We started the day with a nice long chat with Nick - good to hear his voice.

   

Beautiful carvings

Polynesian 'tide/current' chart
Made with sticks, cowry shells and meant
to be memorized. Amazing.

 It was supposed to be a rainy day, so we planned to go to the nearby Maritime Museum. We stopped there to inquire and found out that the tickets would be good for two days, so we decided to explore part of it today.

Lamb special - yum

    We walked to Cooke's Restaurant on Queen Street that Mark found had a well-recommended lunch special. It was quite a posh restaurant which was quite empty. We split a cauliflower soup (yum) and each had the special which was roast lamb, potatoes and salad. The special cost $21 dollars. Because of a favorable exchange rate, that translates to just under $12 each. It is a meal that would easily cost $40 on Nantucket. 

    We walked back to the museum and explored the first floor focusing mostly on the amaziing ways that the early Polynesian sailors navigated the vast Pacific. They did not use the stars; they read the currents and wind. The navigators made representational "maps" and then memorized them. It was astounding.

    We also explored the sections devoted to the early European navigators like James Cook - also very interesting. Cook was an excellent cartographer who managed to made a fairly accurate map of New Zealand. In fact, the currents he recorded are still in use today.

    We strolled up Queen Street and looked for light, long-sleeved shirts for Mark who is tired of the one that he brought with him. We bought two at H&M.

    We ate dinner at home from provisions bought at Woolworth's - called Woolys here - a nice big salad.

November 13

     Today we went to the first floor of our apartment building and had some homemade scones and coffee before spending the rest of the morning at the Maritime Museum. 

View from "our" balcony

     They had some very interesting exhibits about the waves of immigrants who have come here from all over the world over the centuries. New Zealand actively recruited immigration to settle the land. Of course, the Maori suffered from much of this - being forced to give up land, being attacked by the military and by subsequent discrimination and cultural loss. 

    It seems to us that New Zealand is trying to make up for that now and recognize the Maori culture. As people who identify as Maori make up 41% of the population, they have more influence as indigenous people than many other indigenous peoples of the world. On New Zealand television, one of the major commentators is a woman with a distinctive tattoo in the place where a man's beard would be.

This crossed the ocean- ancient design

    The museum highlighted the difficult trips that immigrants took in order to get to New Zealand and highlight many of the interesting stories. There was a mock room to show the kind of bunks people had in the mid 1800s.

   Many exhibits were devoted to ship building - both traditional Maori up to the sleek yachts of the American's Cup.

    In fact, there was a lot about the America's Cup which began in the U.S. in 1851. There was a 12-meter yacht on display in the museum. The first time the America's Cup left the U.S. was in 1983 when Australia took the Cup. The first time New Zealand competed and won was in 1987. They also won it in 1995, 2017, and 2021.  

     Like the pride in the All Blacks Rugby team, there is a great deal of national pride toward New Zealand's participation in the America's Cup in which only two teams race, so it's hard just to get to it. 

     After being there for several hours we walked to Federal Delicatessen which is in the style of a New York Deli. It did not disappoint. We sat under an awning as rain, and possible hail,  was predicted. We both had salads to start. Barbara added a pumpkin soup. Mark had a pastrami plate. All was good.

     We walked back home, dodging raindrops, but stopped into a store selling nephrite jade which is from the South Island of New Zealand. Barbara bought a pair of earrings for under $30 U.S. and Mark bought some pieces which he hopes to make into jewelry.

     We spent the afternoon and evening sitting our our wonderful patio under a blanket - watching the boats and the clouds, catching up with emails, the blog and photos.

      Dinner - eating some things out of the fridge as we leave tomorrow and don't want to carry much with us. 

     Added the next day: Before we fell asleep last night, the bridge had a light show which was pretty amazing.