Rich is still at the university, working on a talk he is giving tomorrow. I am looking out the window at a blustery day, drinking a cup of tea, and tired from a day out being a tourist in Auckland. Massey University is in a small suburb north of the city, so I took a bus downtown, walked through several parks and a botanic garden, and then spent several wonderful hours in the Auckland Museum: one floor of Maori and Pacific Island culture, one floor of natural history, and one floor of war memorial + a special exhibit on nature photography of New Zealand.
Bearded Tree, Albert Park, Auckland
Maori Carved Faces, Auckland Museum
Then I took a bus to the ferry building and walked along the waterfront, looking at sailboats and beautiful old buildings. It's almost 6 NZ time, but there are still 3 hours of daylight since it's high summer. When Rich gets home, we'll make a simple supper. One of the other scientists, a Russian physicist visiting from the uni in Sydney, showed us a way to walk to the uni along a creek. It's about a 15-min. pleasant walk with several bridges over the creek, so Rich may be waiting for the rain to stop to walk home. It seems to be a bit like Scotland, with rain showers interspersed with sunny intervals, but 30 degrees warmer. No need for a jacket, but I keep taking my raincoat on and off and stuffing it back in my backpack.
We've got a very comfortable extended stay room with a kitchenette and pots and pans. We'll be here for another week and then 10 days on the south island and then 2 more weeks here. We fly on to Bangkok Feb. 22.
I must say I'm enjoying having nothing to do after our very strenuous sorting/packing/cleaning at home + both of us packing up our offices at work.
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