3rd and final day in Auckland

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Hello again. I have more time than I thought to do this 😊 We actually stayed another day in Auckland as planned, unlike what I said at the end of my last message. I think I was really tired and didn't really know what I was talking about.

I can't specifically answer each of your questions unforunately, but I can get a general sense as to what you guys want to know. So sorry mom, but you can write all of your questions down and I will answer them when I come home, or you can call me.

Also, for those that do not know, Paul is keeping a blog as well and you can check it out at www.mytb.org/pmertens

From your questions though it shounds like you want to know what the people are like here. I have been keeping a journal as well, so you can get more detailed information of my travels from that when I get home, but generally speaking, the Kiwi's are the nicest people I have ever met! It may be because the majority of people we have talked to so far are serving us food or reception type jobs where they are all about customer service. But it seems that even the few people we have talked to in passing as we hike or walk on the streets have had a generally positive demenor. (If that's not spelled correctly i'm sure someone will point that out😊 The people here are very outdoors oriented and it seems to really show in how happy they are.

So what did we do today? I can't speak for Paul, but I was rudely awakened this morning by the noise going on directly outside the hostel. For some reason the road construction crews decided that they needed to block the main intersection right outside the window, and proceed to tear up the asphalt. I can hear heavy machines driving back and forth right now! Luckily I have earplugs, I thank Aunt Cheryl for that tip.

Anyway, we went to the Auckland museum which reminded me a lot of the Natural History Museum in Chicago, because there were exhibits on the tribal coultures of the past on one floor, an exhibit on volcanism, darwin, dinosaurs, birds, and insects, on another floor, and the top floor was a war memorial, with weapons used from the historic wars. We didn't actually go into the Darwin exhibit because it cost more money than we wanted to spend, but coincidentaly enough, I had already seen the exhibit at the Natural History Museum just about a month ago when I was in Chicago, and apparently it had just been moved here to the Auckland museum. Weird.

We then checked out a very large cathedral, to get us ready for the hundreds of them that we will see in Italy, and continued on up to Mount Eden. I attached some photos and you can see that it is one of the highest points in the area. And there is a huge crater in the middle. Much like the one we saw on Rangitoto yesterday.

We are back at the hostel now, again exhausted from another long day of walking, but I think my legs are starting to get used to it. Or they are just numb.

Thanks for all of the messages, they are really nice. They remind me that there are people who I care about somewhere on Earth. Even though none of you are here, the messages make it feel like you are close. Keep them coming. And by the way, when you do write messages you can write them in the blog entry that I post if you want. I noticed no one has done that yet.

Daniel

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Photos

Maori Ceremonial house
A house where the Maori held ceremonies and worshiped their gods.

Carving at the Auckland Museum
A Maori carving of some sort. The Maori are like the Native American's to North America. They are the indigenous people of New Zealand

Top of Mt. Eden
This is from the top of the highest mountain in Auckland. You can see the crater and downtown Auckland in the background.

Comments

[Lisa]

Daniel! ; P''''
Hello!!! it looks like you are having lots of fun!!!! I like the pics you post...I bet you have like 100 more lol can't wait to see them when you get back (you're good at doin that kind of stuff) Anywho hope you are well :) oh and....................*POKE* Ha!!!! take that!!!! lol Have a good day!!!!! *Kisses* ~lisa