We visited the Auckland Museum most of the day. (Again, hopped off and stayed.) There are almost two floors focused on Maori culture, art, history and legends as well as a War Memorial section and an earthquake section. We fully enjoyed our day in this museum.

A large area displayed an ancestral meeting house. In Maori culture these houses are representations of ancestors and held in highest regard. We removed our shoes before entering.

There is a large room focusing on the Pacific islanders as well.

There was a large display of prehistoric creatures and their history as well as a replica of the very large bird, the Moa, now extinct, that lived in New Zealand until the Maori over hunted it. I’ll post better photos if I can.

We attended a Maori cultural performance offered twice daily (for an additional fee) and it was very moving.

The last 1/2 hour was spent in the fascinating and educational volcanic eruption area, highlighting famous eruptions, the positive and negatives, examples of types of eruptions and more. We almost missed the eruption room where a seismic warning became almost real! The floor bumped and shook as the Auckland harbor erupted (on TV) and the pyroclastic flow came at us and “cracked” the TV. (Quite realistic)