Monday 27th
and yet another bank holiday so Dan had the day off. Yesterdays rain had finally given up and the plan was
to catch a ferry to Tiritiri island to see all the rare birds New Zealand has to offer for our nature-loving
son. However, in true Neen style we were running late and missed the morning
ferry over to the island so plan B… we decided to explore Mission Bay and see what that was all about... a long straight stretch of beach, a busy market and a couple of scenic look out points over the beach.
As it was it turned out to be quite a blowy day
so probably not the best day to be stuck on a ferry over to Tiri Tiri… everything happens for a
reason I say.
In the afternoon we headed over to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. This
was a fab place to visit and we got good dose of the Māori culture on the ground
floor. On entering the museum you are greeted by a large impressive Māori war canoe (waka taus) and
lots of beautifully carved displays. There was also a traditional Māori House
which you were able to walk inside and see all the carvings of the Māori ancestors
– quite eerie but beautiful and fascinating at the same time.
The second level was the “Nature” level which the boys loved – there was lots to see here from dinosaurs, birds and ocean life.
Seeing as volcanoes feature quite heavily in New Zealand, there was a section dedicated to explaining the ins and outs of volcanos including a simulated apartment room, complete with a sofa, TV and a large window looking out towards the sea. We got to safely experience a volcanic eruption with the ground shaking, volcanic ash cloud (looking out the window) and ocean waves rolling towards you and then blackness as the TV went fuzzy and then the lights went out…very well done.
Back in the UK there are always fire drills as schools etc, but here there are TV adverts demonstrating the earthquake drill... i.e. go under a door frame etc. We keep bumping into people who are from or know people in Christchurch, and listening to their shocking stories it does bring it home to you how scary and devastating a real earthquake is when it hits.
There was a very kiddy friendly interactive section which was fantastic, full of computers with lots of interactive buttons, aquariums, stuffed animals and vivariums with live bugs of various kinds. The most fascinating of which was the cockroach tank – where the cockroaches were going forth and multiplying making more cockroach babies. It is true what they say, if you have one then it won’t be long before you’ve got an infestation – we watched as their egg cases dropped in a conveyor belt fashion from their butts, quite disgusting really.
We also squeezed in a little pit stop at Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Park who was the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand and the creator of the welfare state a tidy if rather windy beautiful little spot.
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| Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Park |
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| Auckland War Memorial Museum |
The second level was the “Nature” level which the boys loved – there was lots to see here from dinosaurs, birds and ocean life.
Seeing as volcanoes feature quite heavily in New Zealand, there was a section dedicated to explaining the ins and outs of volcanos including a simulated apartment room, complete with a sofa, TV and a large window looking out towards the sea. We got to safely experience a volcanic eruption with the ground shaking, volcanic ash cloud (looking out the window) and ocean waves rolling towards you and then blackness as the TV went fuzzy and then the lights went out…very well done.
Back in the UK there are always fire drills as schools etc, but here there are TV adverts demonstrating the earthquake drill... i.e. go under a door frame etc. We keep bumping into people who are from or know people in Christchurch, and listening to their shocking stories it does bring it home to you how scary and devastating a real earthquake is when it hits.
There was a very kiddy friendly interactive section which was fantastic, full of computers with lots of interactive buttons, aquariums, stuffed animals and vivariums with live bugs of various kinds. The most fascinating of which was the cockroach tank – where the cockroaches were going forth and multiplying making more cockroach babies. It is true what they say, if you have one then it won’t be long before you’ve got an infestation – we watched as their egg cases dropped in a conveyor belt fashion from their butts, quite disgusting really.
Pub quiz fact:
The Kiwi bird is related to the emu and ostrich, and has the biggest egg to
size of bird ratio – ouch that must hurt!
We only had 3
hours parking and unfortunately we were not able to cover the whole place, and
the 3rd floor which covers world war 1 and 2. Definitely a place
worth another visit as there are so many things to do and see – brilliant for
the boys.
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| Brotherly love |
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