From the ferry crossing to Wellington, we visited the excellent Te Papa Museum. This museum contains extensive exhibits of Maori culture and history. In the few hours we were there one could only hit the highlights of Te Paps’s six floors.
On our way to the coastal city of Napier we visited a National Wildlife Rescue place. They had several aviary enclosures in the forested walk as well as an environmentally controlled building with the national bird, the Kiwi. The Kiwi is a nocturnal bird so they have to fool them via lighting reversal so visitors can see them. We learned that possum fur is commonly mixed with wool in sweaters. This was confusing at first because this could not be the north american opossum. We learned it is a different animal completely!
From Napier we drove to Rotorua via Taupo. Enroute we stopped at Craters of the Moon which is an area not unlike Yellowstone with steam vents and mud pots. At Rotorua we went to an evening Maori village Hangi where we engaged in some Maori educational activities, including Russ learning to do the Haka, and dinner.
Driving northward through Auckland we stopped at a farm where they had sheep dog demonstrations and sheep shearing. Barb also tried her hand at feeding the animals there.
There are a few videos among the photos, give them time to download to your computer.
