Auckland

Auckland was a logical place to spend a couple of days getting over jet lag….

Our base was a Victorian-era B&B and on-going labor of love for our host John. It was quite comfortable with a nice shabby/genteel vibe….. and a fabulous location.

John was an extraordinarily generous host who bestowed parting gifts, as well as a lift to the car rental office.

But most importantly, we shared a glass of wine and some energetic conversation with John and his friend Rosemary (and his dog Little Tina) about the state of the universe.

Earlier in the day, this tree on the University of Auckland campus caught our attention.

And while admiring its spread and will to survive, we ended up in deep discussion with arborists Lance and Vinny….. also about the state of the universe (and, of course but only briefly, the state of the tree).

The War Memorial Museum in Auckland had a special exhibit….. a series of Lego panoramas set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have died out and Lego mini figures have taken over the remaining relics of our civilization…..

Australian “Lego Masters” created about 12 major Lego displays in the exhibition with mini figures inhabiting bookshelves, a refrigerator, a jukebox, a piano. Here, a newsroom and a cryogenic chamber, both tiny parts of larger dioramas

Clever, but more than a little sobering and eerie as the visitor contemplates a world without real humans, destroyed by our own greed and negligence.

Speaking of whimsy, color and environmental conscience, Hundtervasser was an Austrian architect and artist who moved to New Zealand in the 1970s. He was a passionate defender of the natural world – promoting trees, whales and clean water among other things – and designing incredible buildings all over the world. Here is a model of the museum bearing his name in Whangarei, NZ.

He hated straight lines, evident from this staircase…

He also painted…..

If you will pardon a slight digression, he had strong feelings about poop, and how our modern obsession with flushing it into clean water sources is a really bad idea. If you have time, read his diatribe (from half a century ago).

It makes perfect sense. The composting toilet Henry brings on our camping trips works this way.

In the same vein, Hundtervasser’s creation of most renown in New Zealand are the public toilets he designed for the town of Kawakawa.

And a big shout-out to the New Zealanders… not sure if it’s because of Hundterwasser’s example or if it is just an acknowledgement of the need we all share, but public toilets in New Zealand are plentiful, easy to find and spotless…. And often quite beautiful, such as these we stopped at on our way north from Auckland.

Next report – visiting Northland and the Bay of Islands!