Streets of the World

Monday, January 8, 2024: Day 336 – “If You Build It, They Will Climb It, and May Even Jump Off of It.”

written by

Brenda

New Zealand Maritime Museum

The museum had a lot of Pacific Island boats. These early explorers were the first humans to arrive in New Zealand in the 1300’s. The boats were beautifully-carved wooden structures with woven sails. Prior to that time, this country was uninhabited. The colonists came around 300 years later. New Zealand is a very young country.

This is an early life jacket over 100 years ago. I wonder what they will look like in 100 more years.
The America won the first international yacht race in 1851. The trophy now bears the name America’s Cup. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport.

The museum has lots of information on yachting. New Zealand currently holds the America’s Cup. She will defend her 2021 title this year in October.

The trophy isn’t very pretty. This is a replica of the trophy which is affectionately called the Auld Mug.

This is a water-loving nation. One third of all residents have access to a boat. We scheduled a harbor sailing cruise on the Ted Ashby in the afternoon. It looked like we were part of a third-grade field trip because there were so many kids. Did we sign up for the wrong time? Then we realized that this is their summer break!!!

Ted Ashby is a scow and was built in 1993. Scows picked up cargo and were used like the trucks of today.

A scow has a flat bottom with one skipper and two boys. Back in the day there were no roads. They would beach the vessel, load the cargo, and leave at high tide. They even carried livestock.

Rob was part of the crew. He needed gloves!! His job was to keep the sails even.

New Zealand is on the Pacific Ring of Fire. They have 20,000 earthquakes per year. There are many dormant volcanoes. The last one erupted about 500 years ago. They say that they are overdue.

A beautiful view of Auckland.

We saw bungy jumpers that would briefly hit the water. This reminded me of Snuffy the Seal, the symbol of the Shark Week TV show. I wondered if any sharks were teased by the splashing.

Sky Tower

This notable Auckland landmark gives a great panoramic view of the city.

Bungy off the Sky Tower

I purchased some bubble tea and loved the name of this tea stall at the Auckland Night Market.

Auckland Bridge Climb

We are all suited up from our Auckland Bridge Climb … no bungy.

ASB Tennis Classic

The line was long, and we had to wait even longer to get into the tennis venue.
While we were waiting to gain entry, this gull was attacking the drone. I was rooting for the gull.
This event was pretty high end. Rob ordered Wagyu beef sliders. I would call them one-bite expensive sliders.
We started with a match on the grandstand court. It was sunny and hot. There were sunscreen stations everywhere. American Alex Michelsen won the first set 6-0 and then lost the next two to Portuguese player Nuno Borges. It’s never over until it’s over.
Next to Center Court for an entertaining and close match with Marozsan (Hungarian) beating Monfils (French). We knew that we had obstructed view tickets but it didn’t affect our enjoyment of this nail biter.
This was the Monfils Fan Club. I didn’t understand the chicken outfit, but they were very vocal.
Let’s call it a night. We dragged ourselves home. It had been a long day!!

I jumped into bed, flipped on the TV and tuned into the Maori station. They were showing a movie. Next, I heard Sandra Bullock talk about Garden City, KS. The movie was Infamous and was about Truman Capote writing the book In Cold Blood.

How odd to be in New Zealand, watching a Maori TV program about an event that happened near my hometown!

One response to “Monday, January 8, 2024: Day 336 – “If You Build It, They Will Climb It, and May Even Jump Off of It.””

  1. Amy Street Avatar
    Amy Street

    This is quite a full day of adventure!

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