Early morning and we are on the road. First stop was this beautiful park; cool clear air, frost on the grass. This park was named after Michael Joseph Savage, an Australian-born New Zealand statesman who served as the 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand. The park is located on the northern edge of Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland is located on an isthmus in the northern part of the North Island and is accessible from both the East and West coasts and is called 'The City of Sails'. A few facts about New Zealand. New Zealand lies about 1,000 miles Southeast of Australia- and has an area slightly over 103, 000 sq miles, larger the the United Kingdom and is sparsely populated with a population slightly over 4.5 million, of which 3.5 million live on the North Island. The South Island is larger than the North Island. The climate is temperate, with winter temperatures often below freezing in the Southern part of the South Island. Auckland is the largest city with about 1.5 million inhabitants and Wellington is the countries capital. Both are located on the North Island. The country has a stunning and diverse natural beauty, jagged mountains, rolling pastures, steep fjords, pristine trout-filled lakes, raging rivers, scenic beaches, and active volcanic zones. The Islands straddle the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates which are the cause throughout the country for volcanic activities. New Zealand has been called "God's own country' and the 'Paradise of the Pacific'. New Zealand was the last significant land mass on earth to be settled by humans. East Polynesians, now known as Maoris, reached New Zealand about 1,000 CE in a series of oceanic canoe voyages and began settlement. Their population grew rapidly and led to the extinction of many unique species of flightless birds, including the herbivorous Moa, some of which reached a height of 3.5 m and a weight of 230 kg. The Maoris hunted the Moa for food and used the bones for tools and weapons. It is estimated that the Moa became extinct several centuries before the first Europeans arrived. Many birds became flightless because there were no natural predators, there were only three land based mammals in New Zealand before the arrival of humans, and all three are bats. Marine mammals include the sperm, humpback and killer whale. Today there are no longer any pure-blooded Maoris, but much of the population is part Maori, and English and Maori are the official languages.There is a real effort to maintain the Maori culture throughout the country. This picture was taken on 7 June 2017, Sig..