Eden Garden and beyond

19 September

We started out with breakfast at the hotel restaurant, which today was not as chilly as last night. They offered great things like yogurt topped with passion fruit, kiwi juice, coffe and tea. As I had already dosed myself up with French press coffee in the room I didn’t dare go for anything caffeinated so I went for the kiwi juice. Good choice. The fruit was beautiful so I loaded up on that with a little side of scrambled eggs and sausage. They also had what appeared to be large tater tots. Hmm.

First on the schedule for the day was Professor Hugh Laracy with his tales of ancient to modern times in New Zealand, beginning with the Maori migration in the 10^th century. Very colorful past this tiny country has had. After that we traveled to the Eden Garden, a deceptively small plot of land on a steep hillside. Following paths past densely vegetated areas thick with flowers and ferns of every description, sculpture in Maori style, a mosaic butterfly chair and breathtaking views of the city and harbor from Hillary Heights I found my way down on ly a few minutes late to a lovely catered lunch fixed by the proprietor. Great tea and FRENCH PRESS COFFEE, I might add! Desserts were exquisite.

Next off to the War Memorial Museum, which began with the amazing skylight representing several aspects of New Zealand’s involvement in war.


 The Maori natural history is included with Their relation to the newly found country as well as its wildlife.

 Then the Maori Wars followed by New Zealand’s part in World Wars I and II.







 The culmination of the tour was a sobering review of the ANZAC participation at Gallipoli. The dedication of the soldiers, European and Australian and New Zealanders was unbelievable. The war memorial celebrates the sacrifice of the soldiers, as evidenced by the memorial walls rather than the glory of war.

I believe I speak for all when I say we were moved by the museum experience and were especially so by the contrast between this and other war memorials we may have visited in the past. All things New Zealand, it seems, are done in a unique way.















After that, we were back to the hotel and off to our own explorations. Carol, Barbara and I managed to figure out how to get to the top of the Sky Tower with a little help from the friendly staff there. From there we watched the fireworks celebrating Valerie Adams’ Olympic Gold Medal and snapped some amazing views of the city and harbor. After dinner at Kermedec we walked back to the hotel for a well-earned sleep.