Getting to know Auckland

Saturday was a day filled with activity! The group and I took a trip to the Auckland War Memorial Museum and Kelly Tarlton's underwater world aquarium. The museum had three different levels: Maori culture, NZ natural history, and WWI and WWII (how the war affected the Kiwis). It was interesting to see old century artifacts and to see how the Maori lived before the Pakeha (white men) came. I especially loved the two world war galleries/exhibits. As a child I always learned about the wars and how they affected my country, but I never really thought about how it personally affected other countries. It was so amazingly interesting to see how the New Zealanders were affected by the wars through their eyes; such a different perspective! This little country, that doesn't have a large population to begin with, lost a little more than 25% of their male population to the second world war. Incredible. We also got to go to a Maori presentation in the museum's theater. There performers introduced us to the Maori traditional songs and dances. I love museums. I could have spent more time in there than we were given. I just love taking my time wandering around and taking in all that there is to take in.

We all took pictures with the really attractive Maori performer...
I'm not that good at widening my eyes like the girls do.

This stingray was massive!

Going through the aquarium.