A display kiwi bird,

 A Mouri dance

Facial tattoos left side represents his mother's heritage, the right side of his face his father's.

Wednesday, June 23rd, Auckland, NZ.  Arrived about 8pm, felt grubby, showered, washed clothes, ate at Denny's, to bed.  Thursday the 24th, city tour, the ferry ride in Auckland harbor, then follow up trip to Devonport, a small town, suburb of Auckland, across the harbor, which has strict laws against external building remodeling, so everything is Victorian, houses, stores hotels...  very quaint, interesting.  On the Friday the 25th I was up at 5am, ate, bus at 6:15, on road south.  Got to Hobbiton, home of the movie Hobbits.  Spent four hours, including lunch.  One description that made a lot of sense was the differing sizes of the Hobbit hole-homes.  They ranged from two or three feet high, some taller, and a few were seven feet tall.  That's so when the actors were supposed to be small, they performed in front of a taller Hobbit hole, and when an actor was supposed to be tall he acted in front of a smaller Hobbit hole.  A few of the Hobbit holes were identical, but came in various sizes, so a tall actor stood and did his acting bit, in front of a small Hobbit hole, but when he went to enter, the cameras shifted as he turned to go inside, but not just the actor but the location changed to a larger hole, so he could enter.  None of the internal shots inside a Hobbit home were shot in Hobbiton, they were shot on a regular movie stage, where each Hobbit home's internal rooms were designed and built.  All in all enjoyed it very much.  Got lots of pics, most on camera, but a good choice of shots on this tablet to share with you.  The NZ weather changes more than Iowas, in five minutes from a downpour to bright sunshine,  this variability is due to the proximity of the ocean winds and weather.  So we were all wet by the time lunch was served from the intermittent rain.  Later we went to a glow worm cave and underground river.  In the boats under ground in the caves, we floated down the river entranced by the caves ceiling of glow worms, magically we were in a cave with a star speckled cave top.

Saturday, the 26th, and less than a month before my vacation is over, I'm home July 25, about noon when I land in Des Moines.

 Arrived at Rotortua,  NZ about 8pm Friday the 25th, next morning at 6:45 am i was on a city tour, saw a sheep show, sheering....  a volcanic boiling mud pools, mini guizers, at least while we were there... then a nature preserve, the highlight was to try to see the national bird of NZ, the kiwi.  It is being saved from extinction, it is a nocturnal bird, so lives in the daytime in dark enclosures with windows so hopefully we could see them.  But like seeing Mars in Uluru, where I couldn't see the red color, here I couldn't see the kiwis here either, too dark.  Later on at another stop, they had kiwi's too, and I did see one scurrying around, but not clearly at all, a very fast moving blob.  Last night went to a Mouri village, saw a show of their dances and, bits on their culture, climaxed with a dinner cooked under ground.  Was good.  The Moori are naturally humorous, at least all the ones I met!  Great way to live life, laughing all the time.