Thursday 22nd February 2007. Auckland, New Zealand.

Last night at dinner there were 3 earthquakes with the largest measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale...these were the largest quakes in Auckland since 1970 and most of us felt nothing!

After breakfast we head out to visit a Pa site. Maungawhau, or Mount Eden is the highest Pa in Auckland with the summit at an altitude of 196m.

You will also find here an obelisk first erected by Stephenson Percy Smith the Chief Geodetic Surveyor on the 17th of August 1872 as the initial station for the triangulation of the Auckland province. It serves today as a memorial to the pioneer surveyors who helped transform the land from wilderness "for their work continueth great beyond their knowing".

Mount Eden was indeed a rocky wilderness in the early days of European settlement and when the land was cleared for farming many caves that had been created by lava flows were found, such as Nga Ana Pekarau (the bat caves) and Rangi's Cave.

For lunch today I head to the postgraduate common-room at the University of Auckland with Wendy and Carina. Strata Postgraduate Commons is a great venue and from here we head over to enjoy Albert Park.

Tonight Wendy, Paul, Corinna and I are off to the Maidment theatre to see The Tutor by Dave Armstrong.
This audacious comedy is where liberal ideals and right-wing consumerism go head-to-head.

Set here in Auckland the story is based around self-made man John Sellars the hard-talking, hard-living solo father on the fast track construction cash cow. His 15 year old son Nathan has everything - freedom, money, attitude and an ego to match. But examinations are looming and enter the scene the Datsun driving lefty teacher Robert Holton out to save the world and Nathan's NCEA grades.

This was a great piece of theatre and dealt very well with all the social issues emanating from 1984 and the Labour governments reforms that brought such rapid social change to New Zealand the fallout of which is still being felt today.

Before our theatre trip we enjoyed a lovely Thai meal at Mai Thai here in the city and afterwards live jazz at the London Bar.

Tonight I say Haere ra to Auckland as tomorrow we are off to explore.