Feb ?: Breakfast gazing through a big picture window as we cruise by the New Zealand coast.  We try to figure out the current day.  Friday? Saturday?  Hmmmm. 

Fourth day here.  Lovely pastoral countryside.  Over four million people live in New Zealand along with 30 million sheep.  How do they know this?  How to count 30 million sheep without falling asleep?  I suspect it's a made-up number.  That makes me a conspiracy theorist, or a 'mutton-buster'.

The name 'New Zealand' is actually of Dutch origin, dating back to the first European visitors who were Dutch.  Today many of the towns and streets have Maori names.  Others have British-sounding names, such as Wellington and Queensland. The most populous city is Auckland, with over 1 million residents.  It was named 'Auckland' because nobody could think of what else to call it.

New Zealanders are called 'Kiwis'.  Named for the national bird, not the fruit - although they do grow both the green and yellow varieties of the fruit.  The islands were first settled by Polynesians about 1,000 years ago.  They formed their own culture called Maori.  The early Maori people hunted, fished and wrote myths.  A myth is a type of female moth.  They hunted many native species to extinction until food became scarce.  Eventually they had no choice but to eat out more often.

Then Europeans came along in 1600's.  They introduced the rule of law, sidewalk cafes, and forced everyone to drive on the left side of the road.  Today the islands are a blend of Maori, European, and other cultures.  Besides sheep, lots of farming, forestry, plus 16 million beef and dairy cattle.  And of course sailing.  Kiwis are avid sailors.  In Auckland, 1 in 4 residents owns a boat.  Kiwis recently won top prize in the pricey sport of yacht racing - the America's Cup race.

Tomorrow in Wellington, the nation's capital city.
For some great photos, see Brigit's blog at http://anchorsawaygrandworldcruise.blogspot.com/