Through My Porthole: We arrived in Auckland, New Zealand early in the morning and I didn’t go on deck to see it. Instead, when I was ready for the day I looked Through My Porthole and saw . . . Shed 10, which is right next to where we are berthed. Fortunately we are right in the heart of the city center but the first view was not promising.
Through My Porthole: Shed 10 8105
Ship’s TV info on our location: 8108
Close-up of ship’s location, showing Auckland 8110
After breakfast, Nikki and I set out to see what we could see, find out what we could find out and, eventually, go to the Auckland Museum. As we walked from the TSS gangway to the port gate (about the length of a football field), the first building we saw, on our left – after Shed 10 – was the Ferry Building, which has great architecture
Ferry Building 8113
Looking back, TSS on right’ Shed 10 on left 8114
We went to an information center and found out how to get to the museum which was by bus then went to the bus stop right in front of the Mercure Hotel, about two blocks from the ship. We were confused about the stop at first because it seemed to us that the stop was across the street from where the bus would be. Finally we realized that because they drive on the left here, the bus would indeed stop where the bus stop is! This takes some adjustment, believe me! After we got off the bus, we had to walk a few blocks to get to the museum. The path took us past a wonderful tree and then, alas, up a hill.
Wonderful tree 8115
When we got to the museum we bought tickets, using a 10% off coupon from a tourist booklet, to a Maori cultural show, one of the main things we wanted to go to the museum for. It was very informative as well as entertaining. The narrator explained the significance of the various dances and games. Significant is the way they hold their hands and shake them as they sing and dance. The shaking hands signify the Life Force that is in all living things. It was hard to capture on film the dance movements because of the motion but the best ones are below.
Song by maidens 8121
Dance and song by all 8126
Warrior, moving fast 8127
Stick game (passing sticks very fast between players) 8130
Maidens doing the poi dance (poi are stuffed white balls on strings; balls are about tennis ball size) 8133
Poi dance 8138
Poin dance 8141
Warriors doing the haka (war dance designed to intimidate the enemy) 8145
After the performance was a photo op to bake pictures with the performers. I took one of Nikki with all of them because we got there first but by the time we’d finished, other people were taking pictures with some of the performers so I chose these two warriors to be in my photo.
Buveh and two Maori Warriors 8147
Then we went into the museum to see the displays of modern furnishings made by New Zealanders. One I really liked was the cabinet made of many types of wood and having great carving.
Cabinet 8150
Decorated plate 8154
Handmade harpsichord 8155
Muscial instrument 8157
Next was the permanent exhibit of traditional Maori items.
Traditional storehouse mounted on a single pillar; heavily carved 8158
Interior of a traditional meetinghouse, with woven walls and carved wood panels 8161
Buveh and decorated walls 8164
Carved entry way 8167
Carved prow of traditional Maori canoe 8160
Traditional carved item 8169
Tapa cloth decorated with natural dyes 8171
Another tapa 8172
After viewing the wonderful Maori exhibit and visiting the gift shop, we didn’t have time to see the Asia exhibits or the War Memorial Museum on the top floor. As we exited the building, however, we saw the war memorial monument on the grounds and the wonderful views from the museum’s hilltop location.
War memorial 8173
View 1 8174
Sky Tower, the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere 8176
View of Harbor 8177
Museum 8178
Tree on grounds 8180
Another great view 8182
Upon returning to Quay Street (where the dock is), we went to the Information Center again and I booked a bus trip to Hamilton for the next morning.. Then we returned to TSS for dinner and the rest of the evening.
Day Two: Temple Trip to Hamilton, New Zealand
The next morning, the bus to Hamilton was to leave at 8:00 AM from the Information Center on Quay Street. I had to be there 15 minutes before departure time. I left TSS a bit early and went to an ATM to withdraw cash to take with me then sat on a bench near the information center waiting for the bus. On either side of the center were shops operated by tour agencies that also had buses lining up along the street to take folks on various tours. I waited and waited for a Pavlovich bus to arrive but never saw one. At one point a big black bus pulled up. It was a Nakedbus. I was fervently glad I was not booked to travel to the temple on it! When it was nearly 8:00 and no Pavolvich bus had arrived, I went inside the center to ask if I’d missed it or it would be late. The man said, “It’s that black one.” My heart sank and I replied, “I was told it would be a Pavolvich bus.” “Well,” he said, “the same company runs both lines. This is the right one today.”
I reluctantly went outside and showed my ticket to the driver and boarded the bus. Fortunately the inside was very nice with comfortable seats and I chose one that would not be in the sun since we would be heading south. I sat by the window and took some pictures through it as we went along. The scenery in New Zealand is absolutely spectacular.
View 3
Train, for my train-loving grandson 8199
View through the front window 8212
Farming country with cows 8213
View 2 8229
View with water 8233
River scene 8241
Houses in small town we passed through 8248
Hills 8250
View 3 8252
Volcano hill in background 8258
More volcano hills 8261
Volcano hills 8264
Farming country – the entire country is green 8272
The bus arrived in Hamilton and stopped at the central Transport Center. I asked at the information counter about a local bus that would take me to the temple. The one that came closest was about to leave so I hurried to the departure lane and boarded the bus. Two other people and I boarded it. The route went through town and then out to an area known as Temple View. After driving through many of the streets in that neighborhood, the driver told me he would let me get off at the point nearest the temple. He had to make a left turn and continue his route and the temple was to the right. I got out and walked up a very gentle upgrade for about a block and there was the temple, on a hill on the left side of the street.
The Auckland New Zealand Temple 8280
Temple Sign 8286
Driveway leading to temple; beautiful landscaping 8287
Closer view of temple 8290
Full front view 8296
Front doors and “The House of the Lord Holiness to the Lord” written above 8296
The temple session was wonderful. The temple workers were friendly and helpful and made sure I knew where everything was and how to get where I needed to go. To my delight, there was a small cafeteria in the basement so I was able to eat lunch before attending the 12:30 session. After the session and leaving the temple, I strolled the grounds a bit, taking some photos of the gorgeous countryside, which was totally green. The temple sits atop a hill overlooking the valley, which is used for agricultural purposes. The city center and buildings of Hamilton are barely visible on the horizon, so it has a serene atmosphere free of the frentic activity so often a part of more urban life. A few of the spectacular views are:
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Houses of the Temple View area 8299
Part of the grounds (palm trees), agricultural land and Hamilton on the horizon 8300
A long stretch of pasture land 8301
Landscaping alongside stairs leading to temple 8303
Visitor Center, downslope from the temple; it was closed for construction 8304
Grounds leading to road 8305
Palm-lined road leading from road to temple parking area (temple is on right, not visible here) 8306
Once I left the temple grounds, I walked past houses to the corner, turned left and went one block (very short block) to the bus stop. Across the street and just up is the LDS church. I didn’t walk to it to take the following photos because it was two minutes past the time the bus should have been at the stop. I was hoping it was a bit late rather than that I had just missed it. Fortunately I stayed put because it came along within a minute or two.
Church 8307
Close-up of church 8309
When I got on the bus I asked the bus driver, who was the same one I’d ridden with before, how I could get to the Hamilton Museum. He said I could take the free city circuit bus from the bus terminal and that the stop was across the street from the terminal. So I did that. When I got off the bus, I was intrigued by the street lamps so I took a picture of them then walked around the corner and crossed the street to the museum. It was free but took donations. I put a $2 coin into the donation box and went to see their highly touted Maori exhibit. Unfortunately they did not allow photos so I have nothing to show for the time I spent there. One of the more interesting exhibits was a series of oil painted portraits of elderly Maori women, all of whom had the traditional tattoo on lips and chin. A description of the tools used to make the tattoos was given and it was enough to make me run a mile to escape if anyone ever tried to tattoo me. Chisels, serrated-edged saws and other gruesome sounding implements were used, but that did not deter these women from getting them. One had begged for one at a very young age but had to wait until she was older to receive one. Other exhibits of interest were a long wooden canoe with the traditional Maori carving over its entire surface and a woven mat on its floor. A replica of a traditional Maori meeting house with carved pillars, ceiling beams and walls was very impressive also.
A different exhibit was about the religions practiced in New Zealand. The presentation was creative and informative. There were standing, life-sized cutouts of various New Zealanders, each of whom practiced a different religion. On the back of each cutout were details about the person: name, age, interests, family size-ages-genders, how long had practiced religion, etc. Viewers had the opportunity to guess from a list which of the represented religions each person practiced. Some of the choices were Jewish, Hindu, Pentacostal, Catholic, LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), etc. On a wall at the back were mounted circles, each having the name of a religion on it. By swinging the circle to one side, one could read the name of the person who practiced the religion. I was interested to see that the LDS person was the 18-year-old boy. When I’d seen his cutout, I thought, “He could be LDS; he has short hair and looks clean-cut.”
The next area of the religion exhibit had information about each of the religions, how many practitioners were in New Zealand, basic beliefs, history, and large full-color photos of the families of each person represented by a cutout. I was delighted to see that the information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was absolutely factual (nothing about polygamy, which we do not practice; nothing about the “Mormon Church” – which has never been the church’s name; nothing about not being Christian – we are most definitely Christian; nothing about being a sect – the Church is not a sect; etc.) About did we believe in the Bible, it said, “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far here was a framed “Proclamation to the World” stating our belief in the sanctity of the family, etc.
The final portion of the display was a partial pillar that hung from the ceiling to about five feet above the ground. It invited viewers to hear a religious song from each of the various religions. I pressed the one for the LDS church and heard a recording of one of our standard hymns, “I Know that My Redeemer Lives.” As I walked away from the exhibit (quickly because I needed to get to the bus stop to get to the bus station to catch the bus back to Auckland), I heard the sounds of that lovely hymn and thought how nice it was to end my visit to Hamilton and the temple with that music and those words in my ears, mind and heart.
I only had to wait a couple of minutes for the free city circuit bus and it dropped me off right across the street from the bus terminal. I crossed the street, saw that my bus to Auckland wasn’t there yet so I turned around and took a photo of the music-covered music store across the street by the city circuit bus stop then went inside and asked at the information counter if there were any postcards of Hamilton (they had dozens on display but I didn’t have time to look through them). There was one and only one, so I bought one of it, laughing to myself because the left third of the rather large-sized postcard was of a cow! Then I went outside and strolled up and down a bit and then my bus, a blue and white one, arrived and I boarded for the trip back to Auckland.
Music-covered music store 8317
Hamilton Transit Center 8322
Again as the bus traveled, I took photos through the window. Notice how GREEN everything is. This is not due to selective photography; everything actually is green in this part of New Zealand! I guess I should mention my technique for taking photos through a bus window. To avoid photographing the glare and reflections on glass that can occur when holding the camera up and shooting at a distance from the window, I place the camera’s lense directly against the glass of the window. I can’t see through the camera so I have no idea exactly what I’ll catch, and I just shoot away. What I get is an entire Potpourri: some are horribly blurry, some have only sky or only a car going past or whatever, but the ones that come out well come out (in my opinion) very well. Some of the better photos are:
8324
Some of those Hamilton cows! 8326
Green, green, green 8332
Lovely volcanic mountains 8337
Farms and mountains 8343
Ah! 8347
Waikato River and Mountains 8355
Waikato River and surroundings 8356
Volcanic mountain 8360
Cloudy skies (The Maori word for New Zealand is Aerotora, Land of the Long White Cloud) 8373
Hills and dales (volcanic landscape covered by lovely green grass) 8381
Hillside 8382
Green hill 8389
A bit of brown 8392
8393
8394
What can I say? This scenery is for real! 8403
8404
8409
Rowers on the water; there were several of these scullers on the river 8413
More cows in the green landscape 8417
Lovely rolling volcanic hills 8454
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Low tide 8465
A bend in the river 8467
I arrived back in Auckland in the early evening. The bus stop was about two blocks in a straight line and across the street from the entrance to the dock where TSS was berthed and where my dinner awaited me. It had been a glorious day!
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