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Thursday, 20 November, Auckland, NZ We started off with a nice buffet breakfast in the hotel before heading off on our Gray Line tour of Auckland. Gail, however, decided to take a last minute trip to the ladies room before getting on the bus, and in her hurrying down the marble floored hall tripped and fell flat on her front. Although we didn't go to the doctor, it seems pretty clear that she cracked a rib. The bus took us to the top of Mount Eden for a panoramic view of the city. Mt. Eden is one of the extinct volcanoes that the city is built on. Next we went to the museum to learn about the history of the country, Maori culture, and an exhibit that we didn't take time with: a traveling exhibit of Sue, the T Rex that we saw at the Field Museum in Chicago. Next we went to Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter where we saw a replica of Scott's cabin from 1912, a lot of "little penguins", and some fish. The cabin replica looked exactly like the photographs that I've seen in the books about Scott. Having read most everything about Scott's final expedition, the cabin replica was amazingly moving, realizing how they lived for many months at a time before heading to the pole. Next was a 90 minute harbor cruise, and with beautiful weather it really showed off the city. Finally we went to the Sky Tower to see what it was like at the top. Naturally, the views were fantastic. In addition, we were able to stand on a glass floor and look straight down at the city below. There was another glass floor in the elevator, where looking down the shaft made me think of Die Hard and other movies where all sorts of chasing bad guys is going on in an elevator shaft. Then back to the hotel for room service and preparation for boarding the ship on Friday. |
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