Crossing the ditch – to Auckland … the Windy City ?!
Well, we are off on our NZ 2025 tour starting in Auckland NZ.
As we have done on a few tours now, we decided to stay at the Rydges International Airport with our flight leaving early the next morning. We had some bubbly to celebrate the start of our tour and a mixture of share plates from the bar menu for dinner.
Up bright and early, we headed to the Qantas Lounge for some breakfast before heading to the gate for our flight. We were slightly delayed – about 20 minutes or so then boarded and were on our way ! Compared to past tours, the 2 hour 20 minute flight was hardly a blip and we were landing in Auckland mid afternoon.
We had seen some reports of wild weather effecting things in Auckland but despite some quite strong wind and rain on arrival our landing was pretty normal. We must have been somewhat lucky as even the following day there were reports of “chaos at the airport” but we certainly had none ! We collected our bags and made our way to the car rental area to collect our Thrifty rental car for this part of the tour – a Kia Sportage. Overall a very streamlined and smooth entry.
We drove the relatively short distance – about 30 minutes drive – into the centre of Auckland where we had booked into the SO/ Auckland hotel – just a couple of blocks back from the port area. The weather was certainly very windy and the rain showers were very constant but after settling into our hotel we ventured out to a great nearby pub – The Brit – on the waterfront, which had been the Northern Steamship building which had been built in 1898 and played an important part in Auckland’s maritime past.
A great space but pretty quiet on a wet and windy Sunday evening but it was “Curry Night” so we enjoyed a very good curry and a few drinks before heading back to the hotel.
Next morning we woke to much clearer skies and not as much wind so we ventured out to walk along the dock area and an area called Viaduct Harbour. We had a relatively early start and although it was a Monday morning and there were people heading to work it didn’t seem at all crowded. Though it is a big container port, many areas along the docks are being restored or rejuvenated. Some of the wharves are the result of land reclamation and work is being done to some to restore parkland at the end of the wharf areas.
Along some of the older parts is the “Red Fence” which was originally the “customs border” . In other areas there are large residential developments but it is all very “low rise” and attractive to the area. It has a dock area and at a couple of points bridges open to allow the taller sea craft access to the various births. One area is the home to “Team New Zealand” and its headquarters for its Americas Cup activities. At the far end of our walk we looked across to Auckland’s “Harbour Bridge” not quite up to Sydney’s icon !
We headed back and after a quick pitstop at the hotel then headed inland and “up the hill” to Central Auckland and Albert Park before stopping off at the Art Gallery. From here we headed back to the hotel to collect the car for some extended touring.
First we drove to Auckland Domain and stopped at the Auckland War Memorial – where we nearly got blown away – and visited the Domain Wintergardens.
Then we drove across the harbour, well, across the bridge over the harbour to visit North Head. In its day a key military position with gun emplacements, it now mainly provides a good spot for views back across the harbour to Auckland City.
Next we drove back into Auckland and to Mt Eden which provides 360 degree views of the city. It is an old extinct volcano with rich Maori history. We nearly got blown away here also however the views were well worth it despite the fairly steep walk up to the top. The boardwalk around the old crater provides many opportunities for views around and across the city and harbour.
Our final destination was Bastion Point – essentially the southern side of the harbour across from North Head. Here there is a quite extravagant memorial to Michael John Savage, the first Labor Prime Minister in NZ, who forged a strong relationship with the Maori people.
We had covered a lot of ground and went back to the hotel. Our hotel was great – centrally located and well priced and probably fairly new by the look and feel. We tried out the (not quite) rooftop bar which had a nice view out into the harbour before trying another pub along from The Brit called “Brew on Quay”. We stumbled on “Trivia Night” and while having a very tasty lamb shank for dinner and a few drinks, tested our trivia knowledge in the background from the serious participants before calling it a night.
We both really liked Auckland and would definitely return. The city itself is not overly “highrise” and many old building have been tastefully incorporated into more highrise re-development. The lower part of the city around the docks is very walkable and seems very fresh and attractive. A great start to our tour !