The trip begins.	There is our plane to LAX.	Downtown Auckland on Queen St. I wonder what the special is today. George would be right at home here. [George translates - "Japanese food and sake set"]	Lunch at an Asian Food Court. No english on these menus either.	Don't look at the menu. Just order six items for $6NZ from the buffet.

	A tour boat is about to load up and go.		The ferry boat schedule.	Cranes at the dock. Out of sight are a huge number of containers.	The Queen Elizabeth 2 is in port.

			Star Marts are everywhere, like 7-11, but this one has a Subway! Hurrah!	Mexican food here too	Italian food available too

	Sue stares at the massive lines holding the QE2 at dock				A crewman was feeding bread to the fish alongside the ship

	The white symbols show that the QE2 has maneuvering propellers in the bow				floating crane

	Don't be stupid and fall in	The end of the safety railing		Quick transportation around the docks	Another view of the cranes and containers

		Far-away view of the harbor bridge	We wanted to do the "Harbor Bridge Walk" but the storm clouds were rolling in over the bridge. This is with Bob's new camera	Same shot with the older camera - notice color difference	Two Zodiacs kept running around, taking water samples? Couldn't figure out what they were doing.

	Sailing ship from Australia	They're offering tours while they're here	3 guys ready their drysuits and wetsuits to hop into the cold harbor water	Hauling in the anchor

			Look in the middle, just right of the orange box. The divers like subway too!	Mural on the sidewalk	Sky Tower in the distance

	Sleek yacht coming into its slip		The mast and spars	The keel	Having a boat is a lot of work

	Lot of boat work happning today		Wish the US had nice public bathrooms like this		An America's Cup boat, now taking tourists

			Even the sidewalks are green and pretty	Odd parking meter	Below the clock is HP's logo, to the right is Microsoft

	Tepid Salt Water Swimming	Speed internet cafe - but high speed or low speed? They don't say...

	Cloudy skies but still should be a good view from the top	base of the Sky Tower looks like VOSTOK rocket booster	i-site means information site - every city has one it seems - free visitor information. Very nice!	waterfall in the lobby of the Sky Tower	Chinese New Year -- it's now the Year of the Dog

	From the top of the Sky Tower observation deck

					you can see the vertical wires for the "Sky Jump"

			"Vertigo" - from above the previous observation deck, climb higher	We ready ourselves	Inside the tower's mast, climb up to the crow's nest

	Bob thinks Sue (who's scared of heights) is insane for wanting to do this	Our guide, Natalie, explains how we will hook onto the safety guideline	Three folks from Bavaria joined us.	Sue is shaking like a leaf but won't give up	With the flash on

	Bob is having fun		At the top "crow's nest"	We are safety-line'd to the tower	Very windy up here and starting to rain, so we head back down

	The climb down was just as scary as the climb up!	the circle is where we climbed to.	Notice the 3 wires on the left side, where the sky jump starts. We started above that, and climbed up to the orange area (orange for Chinese New Year). Wow.	A shot furnished by Vertigo looking straight down from the platform.	Back down and alive from Vertigo, looking at Maori sculptures inside the Sky Tower lobby

			Not going to do the Sky Jump, Vertigo was scary enough!	Intel is everywhere, even at the Sky Tower	Night time now, looking back up at Sky Tower.

	They change the top light colors for various events - now it's orange for Chinese New Year	Cheap accomodations for backpackers abound	We hiked back uphill to our hotel	We stayed in luxiry at the Langham hotel	Looking for dinner on the pier, found Minus 5

	A bar made of ice - the walls, glasses, everything	Vodka drinks are the most popular	They give you coats, boots, hats, etc	Russian restaurant next door	Bathroom at the Langham - after showering the mirror has the fog-free area!

		Restaurant across the street from our hotel	For Dan and KeithS - "Life is too short to drink bad wine" :-)