It was a mid-trip laundry and schoolwork day, with a visit to Auckland's Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in the afternoon. It was inexpensive and well worth it, with a hangar filled with aircraft on one site, an electric trolley ride to the second site, and lots of little exhibits at the second site. I learned about Jean Batten, a famous New Zealand aviator, who made several record-breaking flights, including the first solo flight from Britain to New Zealand. Apparently she funded a lot of her flying career through getting money from men who wanted to marry her. Interesting move!
There was a room with a miniature train display built in 1980 of some of the New Zealand railway line. Sheep used to (maybe still do?) ride in special smaller containers stacked two high to fit more of them on the train cars. Trains had such a short heyday as the main mode of transportation in and between cities. I wonder what the next century will bring in terms of transit -- will we give up on the one-person-per-car method of travel that is so popular?...
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| this cute kiwi was on one of the planes in the hangar |
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| first car to get crushed under 2012 law targeted at stopping street racing |
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