Auckland Tour

We were up very early this morning and feeling very well rested, a bonus for a full day of touring.

The tour bus picked us up from the hotel and took us downtown where we visited the zoo, seeing meerkat (hilarious), red panda (virtually extinct), kiwi, giraffe, zebra, ostrich, lion, gorilla and cute little penguin. We aren't much for zoo's however this one is about as natural as they get.

Our lunch was at the Skytower (shorter version of the CN tower) where we stayed long enough to have lunch at the revolving restaurant. Beautiful scenery and a fantastic harbour.

The next stop was an Antarctic experience. We rode on a snow cat underground where it is very cold and there are beautiful penguins diving and walking right next to us. When we left the snow cat we were under an enormous acquarium with large stingray, shark and other huge fish. Looking at the stingray and knowing what happened to Steve Irwin, it gave me a shiver remembering Darla and my visit to Grand Cayman years ago where we scuba dived with these enormous creatures. They scooped squid right off our hands. Darla had one on top of her head at one point. We were so naive that we never once believed there was much danger there.

We visited fabulous gardens filled with orchids and other exotic plants native to New Zealand. Great photo's which unfortunately we can't share with you until we can access an internet site that will allow us to upload to our blog.

This truly is a gorgeous place and we hear from other tourists that it will only get better as we travel the islands.

As idyllic as it is, we did learn today that everyone in New Zealand is a contract worker. The employer rules and no one is paid overtime and in many cases, workers do not get benefits. This does not sit well with the natives and they feel extremely ripped off.

One of the highlights of our day was spotting an ad in the newspaper for a merino wool clothing sale at 75% off retail prices. We purchased a few things and were thrilled with the bargains. Day two and we've blown the budget already!!

We pick up the camper van tomorrow morning and no doubt there will be enough excitement to keep our cardiac paddles busy for the next few days, at least until we get used it.

Pray for us....please.......

Kisses to Canada!
Sharon