Northern New Zealand! Auckland

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Our last day in New Zealand!  It was raining, so we decided to scrap our plans to walk the Auckland Waterfront Walk to Mission Bay, and instead take a guided tour through the city.  Our guide was Alex Bonham, a PhD student working on why Auckland was such a "playful city," considering how the public "may co-produce, and so transform the city, through play."  Her other 2 degrees are in theater and law.  She was entertaining, knowledgable, and could speak loudly as vehicles drove by... a perfect combination!

Getting oriented to the city.  New friend Carla P is standing in the center, next to our guide, Alex P.

In some ways, a city is a city, right?  Business and government buildings, cafes and bars, streets and parks.  Auckland was no exception, except our guide brought it to life with her stories of prohibition, the suffrage movement, the strife between Maori tribes and Maori and Europeans, and stories of Jean Batten, a very famous Kiwi pilot.

 Logan, UT, had the painted bulls around downtown.  Auckland has the owls.  Gary Saxton, pick the animal and let's get going!







Like I said, it was a short but sweet trip.  We look forward to another opportunity to explore Northern New Zealand.










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