Auckland Museum and Parnell

We visited the Auckland Museum today and learned about the Maori culture. There were examples of their war canoes and Maori ceremonial buildings as well as many displays featuring their crafts, weapons, tools and carvings. Large Maori wooden carvings showed faces and masks that were meant to intimidate others (often with eyes wide and tongues sticking out). The walls of the ceremonial building were lined with these carvings (almost like totem poles) and the eyes were made of iridescent shells so that they appeared to glow. We saw a Maori performance that highlighted some of the Maori songs and dances they are famous for… including their war dance where all the performers tried to intimidate by making fierce scowls with wide eyes. Evidently, these dances were meant to be contests between rivals and often some rivals would acquiesce to the most intimidating one (a foreshadowing of the battle between them) and often real war was avoided this way. Some of the dancers would use white balls at the end of strings and their gestures would mimic birds, wind and they could also be used as instruments. The War canoe was made of one piece of wood and was over 20 meters long! The view from the museum on top of a hill was breathtaking and we could see Devonport in the distance. Afterwards we went to a very historic and quaint suburb called Parnell where we ate lunch in the basement of a building that opened out unto the street and neighborhood behind it. We played in the park at Devonport late in the day when the tide was very low and saw the sky turn all different shades of purple and pink which was reflected in the water. Sailboats went by and we even saw a tugboat. After the busy pace of Auckland, it is always nice to come home to Devonport and be calmed by the incredible views of water and islands.