A cultural experience AND some token irony.

Yesterday I went to the wonderful Auckland Museum, which is in the aforementioned Auckland Domain, which is lovely.  It was very windy, very rainy and very cold.  This aspect was not quite so lovely.

The Auckland Museum is amazing.  No, really, it is.  There's absolutely tonnes and tonnes of artefacts from various Pacific Island cultures and, of course, plenty of Maori history there.  Some of the carvings are absolutely stunning.  I'd have taken so many photos but I'm a fool who forgot my camera so I have no evidence.  But trust me, it was awesome.

They also have a couple of fighter planes from World War II as well as lots and lots of New Zealand's social history during that same period.  It's really interesting; I didn't realise quite how involved NZ were in World War II but apparently a lot, which I sort of feel is unfair but in any case there were lots of men who went and fought and died.  In fact, there's a corridor that acts as a sort of war memorial and the walls on both sides are covered with a ridiculously long list of men who'd lost their lives in battle, made more ridiculous by the fact that the list was only of Aucklanders rather than New Zealanders.

Ooh, I also loved this room which was a smaller mock up of what Auckland would have looked like in 1866.  It's really funny, with a house and a saddler and an inn and another hotel and a dress shop, etc.  And also very cute, obviously.

I've just realised I could go on for pages and pages and pages and pages about it because it's actually really cool but I'm going to stop because I think I've said my highlights.  Just to add that there are lots of natural science exhibits about wildlife and, of course, volcanoes.  Which actually reminds me that the museum does have one really, really stupid thing and that's this fake news report about what would happen if one of the Auckland volcanoes suddenly erupts but to be honest I entirely didn't see the point of it and it was sensationalism for sensationalism's sake.  So yeah, that was bad.

OK, so, yes, the irony.  In my opinion, the irony is very brilliant but I am a simple soul.  I do so wish I'd taken a photo of it.  Right, so there's a room with lots of different furniture in it that is designed by either New Zealanders or (in the main) Brits who moved to NZ in the mid 19th century or so.  Anyway, the room is awesome and there is some amazing furniture and also some clothes and other pieces like crockery, etc.  There is also what can only be described as one of the ugliest rugs in the world.  It is HORRIBLE.  It's a rug of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on their wedding day.  In many ways I think this is bad enough but it's also in really bright, bright, colours and it's just basically minging.  So, directly above this ugly excuse for a rug (or maybe it's a wall tapestry or something), there is a sign.  And this sign says, 'Sophisticated Style'.

I thought that was brilliant.  Actually, truth be told, I still sort of think it's brilliant.  I have also completely messed up my body clock with the staying up until ridiculous o'clock in the morning; the last four nights have been 3, 7, 3.30 and 4am.  The 7am was getting back at five and then, unfathomably, deciding to go on the internet and then getting to talking because it was decent o'clock in Britain for a change.  Last night there were about seven of us just chilling out with some beers and this Canadian guy had his guitar so he was playing that.  I really need to get into better routine, though.  Which I will.  I'm quite tired right now and I'm supposed to be organising going to Bay of Islands today so that will probably mean an early morning so definitely an early night for me.

I also ate properly yesterday for the first time since, I think, I left.  Yay.

Hm, this was going to be quite a short and quick update.  Sorry about that.