Auckland/Sightseeing

Auckland University

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The best part of traveling by car or RVing in New Zealand-- you can eat when you're hungry, rest when you're tired, see what you want to see, and never have to worry about the tour bus pulling out while you're in the bathroom. And by the way, it's not a bathroom in New Zealand. You better check the Kiwi Dictionary on that one.

While you're in Auckland, you'll want to visit the Auckland Museum. In the Auckland Domain, near Parnell, you'll find the Winter Garden and the Museum, which was combined with a war memorial in 1929. The Auckland Museum has guided tours and a Maori Culture Performance most days as well as special events. Through March, you can step inside a life-size interactive video game. Or, visit a photography exhibit. Gil Hanley is showing "Protest Photography: relating to the nuclear free Pacific movement." If you enjoy music, you can listen to piano recitals by international artists. To find out what's happening at the museum while you're in Auckland, try their Events Calendar.

If you're interested in Blues, Pop, Heavy Metal, or anything else that has a melody or makes a noise, the Concert and Gig Guide will help you find it.

While I'm not a fan of organized tours, I like to take a tour of any new city just to get a feel for the city and figure out what's out there that I might want to visit. The Auckland Explorer Bus, a hop on, hop off sightseeing bus tour runs all day and offers free hotel/motel pickup. Leaving the Ferry Building at the end of Queen Street, the Auckland Explorer Bus stops at fourteen Auckland attractions including: Kelly Tarlton's, Parnell Village, Mt Eden, and the Auckland Zoo. If the bus pulls out while you're shopping or in the middle of lunch, there's always another one in 30 minutes.

Plan your New Zealand trip your way. Sometimes the things you remember most are the unexpected surprises or unique people you meet in another country-- something that's hard to do when a tour guide is rounding you up for dinner or you have fifteen minutes to shop before the bus pulls out.

Lyn

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