Auckland Activities Info

Coast-to-Coast Walkway - the walkway includes visits to many of the parks and domains listed below.

America’s Cup Sailing Experience

The Parks and Hills
Albert Park in Princes St is overlooked by the tower of Auckland University and contains some historic stuff and big trees. It's a good lunch spot for office workers and students - with quite a few good sights if you know what we mean. Open 24hrs.

Auckland Domain - A very pleasant expanse of hilly parkland and sports fields on top of which is Auckland's war memorial and the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Nice views out over the harbour too. Open 24hrs.

Cornwall Park off Greenlane Rd offers 120 hectares of city farmland studded with plantations of kauri, rimu, nikau palms and pohutukawa. It contains Auckland's oldest building, Acacia Cottage. Open 24hrs.

Websites

The Ultimate America's Cup Experience

Coast-to-Coast Walkway

Art Galleries and Museums
Auckland City Art Gallery on the corner of Kitchener St and Wellesley St is a good place to visit if you like that sort of thing (it's close to Albert Park). This is New Zealand's oldest gallery and contains the country's best collection of contemporary NZ art. Also displayed are Dutch, German and Italian prints of the 16th and 17th centuries, French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist prints along with contemporary American and European prints. Many local New Zealand artists are also represented. Open daily 10am-4:30pm (guided tours at 2pm).

Auckland

A full day and night exploring and enjoying the beauty and excitement of New Zealand's largest city.

Out on the Harbour
Rangitoto Island is one of 47 islands that make up the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. The pohutukawa forest and native plant covered volcanic cone dominates every harbour view from Auckland. There are several walks and a 4 wheel drive guided tour is available. Ferry time from downtown is 45 minutes with 2 or 3 sailings a day (approx $NZ18 adult).

Motuihe Island has been a smallpox quarantine station (1873), a children's health camp and during WW1 a prisoner of war camp and later a Naval Base. Today it is for recreation with walks, swimming, fishing, camping etc.. Ferry times a bit erratic so need to check that at the Ferry Terminal (approx $NZ18 adult).

Kawau Island is known for its mansion house flanked by magnificent Brazilian Palms and surrounded by exotic gardens. It is now a museum and open to the public. Historic walking tracks (old copper mines, Maori Pa). Restricted ferry operation from downtown January thru April only (approx $NZ40), or the daily mail run departs 10:30am every day from Sandspit Wharf (near Warkworth), 1 hour drive north of Auckland.

Waiheke Island is a popular holiday island for bach (small house) owners and day trippers, with an increasing number of residents. High speed ferry's carry business people and city workers daily to Auckland with services running from early morning well into the night. It is an island of unique art, stylish cafes and restaurants, beautiful beaches, scenic, wine and historic tours and bush walks, mountain biking, kayaking, fishing, sailing, diving and more. 8-10 high speed ferry sailings a day (approx $NZ23 adult).

Great Barrier Island is the furthermost island in the Gulf from Auckland and is home to unspoiled white sandy beaches, native bush land and several unique plant and bird species. Electricity is generated and road are unsealed. For diving, fishing, surfing, bush walking and camping Great Barrier is unique and many lodges and home stays now operate. There is a daily ferry service with options (approx $NZ110 adult) and flights by some small airlines.

Beaches
City Beaches are dotted along the Auckland City eastern coastline and are safe for swimming. They are sort of "harbour" beaches with no pounding surf or sharks (well, you never know....) and are affected by tidal conditions.

Whangaparaoa Peninsula on the east coast 37km north of Auckland provides many sheltered coves and bays scattered with retirement and holiday homes. Gets a bit crowded in summer (good for "site seeing") and the beaches are safe with good boating as well.

Piha is the most popular beach on the rugged west coast side of Auckland, 40km from downtown. Pounding surf with pounding surfers, black sand, rock climbing, sheltered lagoon and interesting walks, a blowhole and more to enjoy. The swimming can be dangerous so make sure you stick to the designated areas.

Muriwai is an idyllic seaside settlement and typical west coast surf beach. Tracks lead to a gannet colony, one of the worlds three known mainland nesting sites.

Many more beaches stretch north and south on both the east and west coasts. Please remember that the east coast beaches are rather tame and tranquil, but the west coast beaches are mostly rugged and dangerous.

One Tree Hill is a 183m high volcanic cone with one tree on top of it. Used to be a Maori Pa (stockade, fortified place). Excellent views over the twin harbours (East and West Coast), the city, suburbia, Cornwell Park and on good days you can see far out into the Gulf to Great Barrier and Little Barrier Islands, Waiheke Island, Rangitoto Island and the Coromandel Peninsula (this is when it's best to be up in the morning!). Open 24hrs.

Mount Eden is another 196m high volcanic cone that used to be a Maori Pa (stockade, fortified place). Probably even more excellent views than One Tree Hill, including the downtown area and Harbour Bridge. Also rather stunning at night (if you can get a car park). Open 24hrs.

Mount Victoria is another good place to go, especially if you want a different perspective of the city. Catch the ferry from downtown across the harbour to Devonport (10-15 minutes), turn RIGHT (you will run into Navy guys at the Navy Base if you turn left!) and walk around to North Head, then up. It's a pleasant walk around what used to be a military post (Fort Cautley) and is now a historic reserve. Great views of the Hauraki Gulf and Auckland City. Open 24hrs.

Auckland Museum in Auckland Domain provides a comprehensive collection of early New Zealand, Maori and South Pacific artifacts and cultural stuff. Well worth a visit if you are into dusty things, bones and old bits and pieces. Excellent Maori exhibits. Open 10am-5pm daily.

Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in Western Springs contains lots of old things, some that still

even work. Early printing, photography and calculating machines, computers, a tramway your can ride on, railway, vintage cars and carriages, preserved colonial buildings, war machinery, guns and an interesting display of New Zealand aviation pioneer Richard Pearse (who was probably the FIRST to actually fly - in 1902, 1 year before the Wright Brothers). Other aircraft include a Lancaster bomber and Solent Mark IV flying boat amongst other vintage aircraft. Open 9am-5pm weekdays, and from 10am weekends.

The Navy Museum at Devonport contains heaps of Navy stuff going back to when New Zealand was new. It is called HMNZS Philomel and there are excellent cafe's close by (take the Devonport Ferry from downtown). Open 10am-4:30pm.