Day in Auckland and Maritime Museum

February 12, we went into downtown Auckland for the night. Mike went off to a Turner's auction hoping for a car. No luck that night: the cars he had his eye on were a bit junkier than the pictures implied. Auckland is really the used-car capital of the world: lots and lots of Japanese cars are shipped here (right-hand drive, Japanese rules against older cars on the road, reasonable shipping distances, all make New Zealand a great outlet for these cars), so there will be other opportunities.


After two and half weeks on Waiheke, Auckland feels like the big city, and a hotel room on the 24th floor of the Crowne Plaza the height of luxury. Alexander doesn't look too impressed with the view!



On the 13th, we went to the New Zealand Maritime Museum, which is a real treat. There is a mix of Maori, colonial, and modern ships, nicely laid out on the Harborfront. There are also a number of working ships, including the SS Puke (pictured), a tiny steam ship, which we really want to take a sail on.





Otherwise, we just did some touring about the town. "Tepid Baths" seems very New Zealand.