Auckland New Zealand

We have been in Auckland, NZ for just over a week. The first few days we spent in the city for Mr Notjustnat's conference. It was nice to be back to the city I once lived in and the place where both our children were born. Being in the city means we can just take a short walk to visit art galleries and other city attractions. Things have changed since we lived here many years ago. It's never the same when you are only here as a visitor. I have been enjoying taking photographs of interesting landscapes, buildings, nature and sometimes people. I posted lots of photos on FB and Instagram and here are some to share with you. Enjoy...

We have been lucky with the weather since we arrived. NZ has very bright blue sky most of time when it's not raining. I do miss that.

It only rained once since we have been here. I hope it keeps, but again we love the rain too. The Sky Tower is a feature of of Auckland city and I managed to get day and night photos of it.

The silver fern is the symbol of NZ and it is used in many of the national sports games. I was lucky to take this snapshot of it in Auckland Museum.

This is a traditional Maori design. I remembered it from when we lived here. I think it was printed on fabric at one point. I found this in Auckland Museum and I still love it!

At the museum there was this Maori warrior entertaining visitors. I was surprised he posed for me to photograph. His tongue must be tired poking it all day long!

A full size wall carving at AUT (Auckland University of Technology). All the stitching you see on the left and right of the carving are done in basket weaving technique. A lovely piece of art!

A painting in the Auckland City Art Gallery. I enjoyed the art work, and the architecture of the gallery interior.

Another wall carving with a Maori traditional design. It was done in all the doorways of the art gallery. Very beautiful!

Auckland is a city by the water. I think it has the most beautiful harbour in the world. Unfortunately, I was driving most of time when we crossed from the North to the City side of the harbour so no photos from there.

I found this old sewing box display in the old part of Auckland museum and thought you would love it too.

A sculpture outside the Auckland City Art Gallery. I love the weaving structure of this piece.

Here is a family photo on Ken's 90th birthday. It was quite hard to get everyone organized for a group photo. Thanks to Rob who used to be a  professional photographer to get us lined up. We finally got a good enough shot to share with you.

We are leaving the city for Tauranga and Rotorua for the next few days. I hope to visit the Maori cultural centre there and also a lovely new gallery in Taupo as well.

Today is our son Mark's birthday. Happy Birthday Mark. He and his family are on cycling tour again this time in Hokkaido. You can follow them on their blog  here

Until next time

Nat