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Auckland, approaching from the north.
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Blaise, my NZ host and tour guide. Driving the first day while I got used to the idea of driving on the 'wrong' side of the road.
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India Rose, and Poppy sleeping on the carrier in the back seat.
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The needle in downtown Auckland. It has the best view of the city and surrounding area, as well as a clear floor in some parts to freak people out.
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First day, we went to the Auckland zoo. While for the most part a zoo is a zoo, it was a neat reminder that the world across, we still seek to preserve animals that have had their habitats systematically destroyed.
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I am a big fan of zoos that have random chickens running around. This zoo had a *lot*.
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This guy knew when and where his afternoon meal came from.
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Blaise says this is a "Bird of Paradise" flower. Explains why I mistook it for a bird upon first glance.
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This is a Pukeko, one of the native birds of New Zealand. They are not well liked by the locals. Apparently they are mean spirited birds, and will kill Kiwi for fun.
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This is apparently where broccoli grows from.
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The two otters were outstanding. They played the entire time we watched..
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The Auckland zoo had guinea pigs! At first, it seemed like just a couple, yet the area for them was huge.
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Then I slowly noticed one after the other, burried in the hay. Most were sleeping, and could barely be seen at all.
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This zoo had the best Meerkat exhibit I have seen. Three distinct areas, two outside and one inside. There was a series of tunnels you could squeeze in (as an adult) to see the interior habitat.
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These three young meerkat wrestled and played for 15 minutes.
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