Underwater to the top of town.

Our first stop this morning was Sea Life - Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium, with Jen being volunteered to drive across the city by yours truly. I shall take it on notice that I really should be ready to navigate when doing so next time. Once past an overly-enthusiastic staff member (hell-bent on taking just the right family photo to sell to us upon our departure), we entered a vertigo-inducing tunnel for some reason.

The first exhibit contained oodles of penguins (I'm not confident that's the collective term), with majestic King Penguins generally hanging about looking haughty, and really cheeky Gentoo Penguins strutting about with their wings jutting out in a "come at me bro" manner.

Note the Gentoo Penguin in the foreground
about to start something.

From here, we progressed to a replica of Scott's Hut, but not before a snow-mobile beckoned for a photo op, and Hamish (and the rest of the kids) felt inclined to test how long they could keep their arms in an ice-bath (a little known past-time for Antarctic explorers I guess).

"I've made a terrible mistake"

A little further on, there was an exhibit that would incorporate fish that you coloured in, into a virtual aquarium. The kids took to this with actual enthusiasm (the big kids too).

For a pair of lobsters, they were pretty crabby with each other...

 Jen makes a friend.

We ran the gauntlet of half a dozen staff members proffering the mandatory family photos at the exit before leaping back into the car. Lily undertook navigational duties, and as a result - we reached Achilles Point Lookout in short order. The area appears to be very affluent, with view-seeking mansions and jogging zealots in equal measure. We caused an older gentleman driving a very expensive looking Audi some palpitations as a result of parking our very dusty (thanks to previously-mentioned short-cuts) car next to his. He eventually recovered, and we ran amok at the lookout.

The energetic denizens of Achilles Point worked up our appetites, and so we descended upon Mission Bay - with its foreshore and lines of cafes. We spotted a Diner just screaming sensible eating decisions, and thought it might suit for lunch.

From memory, I don't recall salad on the menu.

The older Martin children helpfully teaching Josh some physics.

A clearly appreciative Josh.

One would think Hamish hadn't just devoured an Amazing Aloha Burger.

These people could really benefit from a meal at the Bald Eagle Diner.

Waddling back to our car, we ignored the inclement weather and drove across town to what we thought was One Tree Hill (hello U2 fans). It was actually of Cornwall Park - a lovely place, but not exactly where we thought we were going. 

Cornwall Park - Bono's lesser known song.

Some firm words to Google Maps later, we finally found the entrance to volcanic peak known as Maungakiekie - One Tree Hill. The sky took on a sepia tone due to some of the smoke of the east-coast bush fires making their way across the Tasman.

More joggers / walkers were in evidence - with our pace largely set by our still-digesting stomachs.

The memorial Obelisk at the top of  Maungakiekie.

A bit of history: Waaaay back when - there was originally either a Totara or a Pohutukawa (native trees) on the top of the volcanic peak (giving the peak its name), which was later cut down by a paheka settler in 1852. The local township replaced it with a couple of radiata pines (an introduced species) in 1870. One got cut down for firewood, with the remaining tree being taken to (1994 and in 2000) with a chain saw (said chain saw is apparently in the National Museum - Te Papa). More recently (2016) there was a ceremonial planting of a number of totara and pohutukawa trees on the site of the original tree.

Totara and Pohutukawa trees (and one Josh)

Tomorrow will see the local shopping centre beset by at least a couple of Martins, with a potential trip to the Zoo in the afternoon on the cards (depending on patience and credit card limits).