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Auckland
North Island
The City of Sails
Entry point for most
international flights Auckland is a wonderful city and
definitely worth a few days visit.
Pictured is the Sky Tower with the harbor in the
foreground
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Auckland is called
the “city of sails” and for good reason.
The harbor is full of privately owned sail boats
and on a pretty day it is a beautiful
sight. The main docks where all the ferries leave are
right at the bottom of Queen Street and the downtown area is in easy
walking distance from any of the piers. A lot of the downtown
area is walking up hill so it can be strenuous to
walk the downtown area.
Downtown
Auckland
Downtown Auckland is a busy city with lots of shops and quite a
few tourist shops where you can buy high quality souvenirs. The Galleria shopping center has very nice
quality merchandise. Anyone can tell
you how to get there. The Stamford Hotel is a lovely hotel just a
little further up the street from the Galleria. This is a classy
hotel and a lovely place to have afternoon tea. Of course
the downtown
skyline is dominated by the “Sky Tower”. This is also a hotel and a
casino. The view from the revolving observation platform or the
revolving restaurant is truly stunning. There is one spot on the
observation level that is clear acrylic where you can see straight down to the ground. It is an odd
feeling standing on the area. The restaurant is expensive as you
would expect and the food is good. The tower lights up to all
colors at night and is really beautiful. I would highly
recommend a visit to the sky tower, particularly on a clear day.
Ferry Boats
The ferry boats leave from the pier for many outer islands.
Devonport is just 10 minutes across the harbor. From Devonport there is an
incredible view of downtown Auckland. The small town of Devonport is
delightful. The beach is nice and the town has a few small cafes and
shops. A lot of bed and breakfasts
establishments are situated here. It is not
really a “tourist” town as this is the township for the area of
Devonport with the shops that the locals use. In the actual
Devonport wharf terminal building there are a few restaurants. The
one on the top floor has good food and the ladies restroom is worth
a visit. There is a window here that has an
incredible vantage point of downtown
Auckland, it is absolutely a “bathroom” with a view. In Devonport
you can drive up on Mount Victoria for an incredible view of the
opening to the Waitemata Harbor. Waiheke
Island is also a popular place to take the ferry. This is about
an 30 minute ferry ride and is a delightful island that is home to
many people who live a simpler life on this lovely little island. It
is a thriving arts and crafts center with many galleries on the
island. The island has a bus that meets the ferry and also rent cars
and taxis are available. At the top of the hill close to where the
ferry docks is a vineyard. There is a wonderful restaurant here and
a great spot for a leisurely lunch with the vineyards, great scenery
and wonderful food and wine.
From the docks and
facing downtown you can go to the South or left to the Mission Bay
area or to the right or North over the harbor bridge to the area
called the North Shore.
Heading South -
Mission Bay
This area is delightful. The road follows the harbor and winds
around as you see some of the nicest homes and areas built up on the
hillside. There is a wonderful view of Devonport from here. One of
the key attractions on this road is “Kelly Tarleton’s” aquarium.
This was one of the first aquariums that was built where the people
are on a moving walkway and the fish swim all around you. They
expanded this to include an area featuring penguins and the
Antarctica. These are typical tourist attractions. However stopping
to have tea in the Kelly Tarleton's tea rooms is a nice idea. The
restaurant is built right on the water, the view is great and they
have a wonderful selection of sandwiches, salads and cakes. A
perfect spot on a pretty day to sit and take in the sights of the
harbor. There is a look out point at Mount Eden and a memorial
that has an amazing view of the harbor. The flowers are also lovely
here and this is well worth a visit.
The North Shore.
This is a nice place to visit also. This is a series of small
communities each built on a bay with its own beach with a small
township with stores and restaurants. Although the big supermarkets
now are every where you will still see the “grocer shop” and the
“butcher shop” and the “fruit shop” where each food group is sold
separately. Although New Zealand is very modern some of the remnants
of a simpler way of life are still evident. The most famous area is Takapuna that is now featuring some high rise condominiums in the
main town area. This town is quite large. The Takapuna beach is lovely.
Other areas are Milford, Browns Bay, Murphy's Bay, it is just one
little town and bay
after another. You can walk almost all the beach front that connects
all these little bays together. A good place to start is Takapuna
and go you North from there or start at Milford and walk South. The
beaches here are clean and safe with little undertow. The local
housewife can walk out of her home into town, go shopping and then
sit on the beach and eat an ice cream before heading home. The
homes are built in close proximity to the little townships as they
are around every corner. As the area expands there are houses built
further away on the hillsides and these little towns can be very
busy. Milford just developed a big shopping mall. Although these
are nice things for the locals it is kind of sad to see the small
township feel being changed by all the new big superstores and
malls. From all the North Shore bays you get a great view of
Rangitoto Island.
Rangitoto
Island
There is a ferry to the island and you can walk to the top if
you like. It is 1 ¼ mile hike, about one hour each way. There is
also a tractor pull available. At the top you get a 360 degree view
of Auckland.
Orewa
Further North and a beautiful drive from Auckland is Orewa. This
is a retirement community and holiday town. Orewa has a really
gorgeous large beach that has all types of attractions on the
foreshore. Children’s play areas, yacht clubs and restaurants. This
is a favorite spot for many people from Auckland to go for the day.
On the way up to Orewa there are many fruit stalls where local
farmers sell their produce directly to the public. On the drive you
see the lush green countryside and thousands and thousands of
sheep.
Wineries
There are numerous
wineries around Auckland with many wine tours and tasting. Nobilo
is one that has a is one that has a great wine tasting room with many displays and a
beautiful garden area for a picnic. A wine country tour finishing
with lunch at the “Hunting Lodge” a
delightful restaurant in the countryside surrounded by vineyards is a lovely way to spend the day.
Other
attractions
Auckland is a great city with many things to do. The Americas
cup villagcas
cup village where the Americas cup was held is a great spot and
right next to the dock and wharfs. One Tree Hill is a great look
out point with one lone tree at the top. Taking the sailboat trip
on the harbor is also a great experience. Day trips to surrounding
to surrounding
areas – the choices are numerous. The Care numerous. The Coromandel Peninsula and the
wonderful
Puka Park Lodge
set in the trees is a nice choice. It is
the jump off point for many other destinations and also a wonderful
place to spend a few days. |
