Before getting underway, we stayed in Auckland for the first few days to get acclimated to the ship and learn a bit more about standard operating procedures so we knew what to expect. During the day, we also took the time to walk around Auckland and visit the Auckland war museum, which featured a bit of history about Maori culture (the term Maori refers to the people who inhabited New Zealand before colonists arrived). In our Maritime History and Culture class, we spent a lot of time studying their history and culture, so visiting the museum was a “field trip” for this class.

Auckland War Museum Entrance

As expert navigators, waka (Maori canoes) were a major part of their culture since it enabled them to be the first humans to reach and inhabit New Zealand. It is believed that they sailed there from East Polynesia in the late 13th century. These canoes It also allowed them to rely on fish as a good source of food.

Maori sailing canoes in the Auckland War Museum

Some other things that I thought were pretty cool to see in the museum were decorative barkcloth and fish nets. It’s one thing to see photos of them in a textbook, but words cannot describe how cool it was to see everything in person!

Maori barkcloth (left) and fishing nets and traps (right) in the museum

While in Auckland, we also got the opportunity to visit Muriwai, a coastal area where Australasian gannets densely populated the area. While we were there, we talked to an environmentalist who had spent a lot of time studying the birds in the area and learned a lot about the bird populations and behaviors. The lookout point we visited got us pretty close to the gannets and allowed us to observe their behaviors from up close, but also overlooked a large area to show the scale of the population that nested there. There were a lot of gannets…

View of gannetts from lookout point in Muriwai

Afterwards, we visited a black sand beach and had a fun afternoon swimming in the ocean. I didn’t really expect getting the chance to swim this early in the trip, but it was definitely a lot of fun! Before this trip, I’ve never visited a beach with black sand before - the white sand at LA beaches already gets really warm in the sun, but the sand here was considerably hotter.

Black sand beach - great place for an afternoon swim!

During out last full day in Auckland, we visited the Ōrākei Marae (marae is a Maori term for a communal and sacred space that serves religious and social purposes) which was based at Takaparawha (Bastion Point). While we were there we talked to a Maori tribe member about the marae and discussed the modern-day challenges that resulted from a history of colonization by the British. One particular issue we spent a good amount of time talking about was education - up until recently, the history taught in New Zealand schools was the same European-centric history taught elsewhere, with stories of Columbus and the crusades filling their textbooks instead of Maori history and culture.

Pou (Māori land post) at Takaparawha Park

The next day, we departed from Auckland! It was really cool to finally be moving, after all the anticipation from being on the boat for a few days. Off to Russell!

Port stop dates: Feb 14th - 17th, 2020