The reason I came to Auckland* was for the Society for Conservation Biology international meetings. If you're a conservation/natural resource management profesional, go to these. But otherwise I won't bore you with the details of that. On to the country itself.
* Sounds more like Oakland when most non-Americans say it. It gets confusing.
I guess New Zealanders are used to tourists cruising around lost, but instead of being annoyed they were patient and willing to explain whatever I needed explained.
Green and pleasant, very nice.
Cool art and architecture.
And the Kiwis seem to have a flair for the tacky. We Americans can relate, although this is a little extreme:
I didn't get around to bungee jumping from the sky city tower. I guess I'm more a lactic acid junkie than an adrenaline junkie. I ate some ice cream while watching someone else jump, and that was good enough for me.
All kinds of really nice plants, not much I recognized but very cool.
Here's a big thing - of course rugby is a huge deal, and kudos to the All Blacks for winning the world rugby championships, but look at this cereal box. Not a rugby player, or a cricket player, or basketball or football or soccer. It's a triathlete.
It's top kiwi triathlete Terenzo Bozzone. On a cereal box. Apparently in his off season, as he's got a bit more padding on his cheeks than usual. But still, pretty cool who they chose as an athlete for a cereal box.
In all, Auckland was a nice mix of Europe, the US, the Pacific, and its own thing. I'd live there for sure, as long as I could afford it.
1 comment:
Karl I love reading about your adventure. It makes me want to travel.
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