Left is the New Right

On our first morning in Auckland, I went for a walk to find a Westpac bank and to get a newspaper before Molly was up.  We checked out of our hotel about 9:30am, leaving our backpacks, and walked to the far end of the Domain, then back through it to the Auckland Museum.  Maori treasures and cultural exhibition—saw the haka performed.

view from inside a Maori meeting house

Maori astronomy

Maori fabric arts.

The New Year’s Holiday continued here in New Zealand.  Most establishments were closed, with the exception of a few Asian-owned restaurants and convenience stores. .  After we picked up our car--a white Nissan "Sunny," we headed for lunch at what we hoped would be the BlueBird Vegetarian Café.  Like all Cafes here these last few days, it was Café Clozay.  We bought some very ripe and very delicious golden kiwis at an Asian grocer, and (after several attempts to find a highway entrance) got onto hwy 1 and headed north.

It took the two of us working together to get on the initial right track--or left track. The oft repeated mistake was putting on the "turn signal" with our left hand and turning on the windshield wipers.  We have managed to stay in the proper lane so far..(one time, just barely) but the first few moments it took both of us checking for the proper lane.

Our goal for Tuesday was to get to Whangerei, where we found a motor hotel with a kitchenette, an open grocery store, and wifi--with which we could not connect.  We settled in.  Again, there were no open restaurants that we could find on our first pass through town, except Hell's Pizza and a burger joint.   We shopped at New World grocery...but then spied a Fiji-Indian restaurant on the way back to where we were staying.. BK Poko-something something Maori--I have the card somewhere.

The road up was beautiful.