Day #1 Auckland

I'm still bewildered about the day, but I'm going with Day #1 for now. We touched down in Auckland (on the North Island) at about 8:30 AM (NZ time). Our driver, Dave, took us to our hotel. We learned quite a bit about Dave on the ride to the City Life Hotel in downtown Auckland. I promised not to repeat why he moved from England to New Zealand. Let's just say it was a compelling narrative.

our Auckland hotel in 
the center of the CBD

We opted to forego the nap which was calling us like the Sirens in Odysseus. Instead, we ventured out into the most populous city in New Zealand. We wandered, aimlessly at times, through the CBD and along the waterfront. At the hotel, we inquired about the distance to the art museum. We were advised that it was at least a 25 minute walk and all up hill. A tourist sign outside of the hotel indicated that the museum was an 8 minute walk. He was right about it being all up hill. Perhaps, he made an assessment about my abilities or age and added an additional 17 minutes. The museum was impressive.

lots of used book stores
new books are expensive

Checking the water 
maybe a swim later

looking across the harbor to Auckland

Auckland Art Gallery

Auckland Art Gallery

Auckland Art Gallery

Auckland Art Gallery

We ended our day at Oyster and Chop. A recommendation from a former teaching colleague. This establishment has a $2 oyster happy hour from 3 to 6 PM. We did 2 dozen and a snapper and chips. The oyster were super good.

oyster happy hour location

empty oyster shells

first NZ fish and chips

Then back to the hotel, we were in bed by 9:30 PM. A big day to follow this first day - we pick up our car.