Day Three in Auckland

Today was another full day in Auckland.  We started out in the Devonport suburb, about 15 minutes away.

The North Head Historic Reserve has been listed as a Category I historic place since 2001.  The military used it for defence until 1950.

The area contained three gun batteries and an extensive tunnel system linking underground store rooms and observation posts.

View of Rangitoto from North Head

It's a nice place for a short, easy hike and there's a nice view of Rangitoto Island.





Next up was the Torpedo Bay Navy Museum.  It opened in 2010 and is the official museum of the Royal New Zealand Navy.

The museum chronicles New Zealand's naval history from the 1845 Flagstaff War.

The museum is very well done and quite educational.  I, for one, never knew that New Zealand had participated in the Vietnam War.




After lunch we drove about an hour to the Muriwai Gannet Colony.







Each year, from August to March, about 1200 pairs of gannets nest here.







From the car park, there's a short walking track to a viewing platform over the colony.   There's also nice views of the beach.





It's great that Czechland is right in the centre of Europe but if only it had a beach.





This evening we had a special treat.  Natalie pulled some strings (no pun intended) and got us tickets to see the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

The NZSO was founded in 1946 and is based in Wellington.  Tonight's programme was Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor and Elgar's Symphony No. 1 in A-flat major.  The performance was wonderful.


They played at Auckland Town Hall which has a separate concert chamber.