During our recent trip to Auckland, New Zealand, we had a few days to ourselves and we decided to get lost in and around the capital.
Day 1
With our hotel being only a block away from the Skycity, our first stop after we’ve checked in was to the 328 meters tall Auckland Skytower, the tallest man-made tower in New Zealand. Upon our arrival, we could hear people screaming from above. It was actually from those who did the Skyjump off the platform from the tower, some 198 meters above. Or if you’re a bit less adventurous, you might want to do a Skywalk on the same platform instead. We, though, chose to do some sightseeing instead.
Downtown Auckland is rather compact (not small), just as I had expected. Somehow, walking along the streets, apart of this touristy feeling, Auckland is pretty chill! People are walking at a comfortable pace, unlike many other major cities around the world. I kinda like it here.
We had our first dinner in Auckland at The Occidental, as reviewed earlier at Urbanhideaway. You can find one of the best mussels and beer there.
Day 2
While in Auckland, you might want to visit Devenport, a small town by the hill, across the Auckland Harbor. You can either drive there or get on the ferry and enjoy the sea breeze. We took the Fullers Passenger Ferry from the ferry terminal on Quay Street, which is right at the bottom of Queen Street, and the ride took only 15 minutes.
On the Devonport main street, Victoria Rd., you can find many cafes, restaurants and boutiques. If you love chocolate, you will want to visit the Devonport Chocolates boutique as well. To enjoy the true Kiwi afternoon, we decided to buy our lunch and have them in the park, enjoying the Auckland Harbor view. However, be prepared to be accompanied by the huge number of seagulls at the park.
After lunch, we walked along Victoria Rd. towards Mt.Victoria. While there was a paved road to the top, we decided to take the road less traveled, meandering around the mountain for a little adventure of our own. And not to disappoint, we found the beautiful view, along the way too.
On top of Mt.Victoria, you get the 360 view of Devonport, as well as the Auckland Sky Tower across the harbor.
Day 3
We began our final day in Auckland quite early as we wanted to visit Rotorua, a 3 hour drive from Auckland to the south. You will pass countless sheep and green trees along the way to Rotorua, something that we were initially excited to see.
While many would head over to the hot spring in Rotorua, our first stop when we arrived at Rotorua was at the Skyline Luge, where they said that “once is never enough!” And rightly so.
Initially we were thinking of getting only a ticket that permits 1 ride on the luge, but after some persuasion from the sales guy, we decided to get a 3 ride ticket each. We really enjoyed it! With different difficulty levels to choose from, we began from beginner and end up on the advance, and more exciting course. So If you have a chance, try this in Rotorua!
After our luge ride, it was time to get freshen up and relax in the famous hot spring in Rotorua. We chose to do this privately at the Polynesian Spa. Once we were done, we head over to the Rotorua Lake to observe the locals, and enjoy the sunset in Rotorua before heading back to Auckland for our last day in New Zealand.
Day 4
Our final day began a bit late, after we only got back to Auckland around midnight. We took off to another popular destination, for both locals and tourists alike, the Piha Beach, which is just 30 minutes from downtown Auckland.
One of the distinct feature at Piha Beach, apart from the big waves, is the Lion Rock that stood elegantly on the beachfront. You can actually walk up the Lion Rock to enjoy some 180 view of the small town below, and it’s not really for the faint-hearted.
So that’s for a brief tour of Auckland and around. While there were so many things that we planned to do initially, each places just took us longer than we expected as we were really enjoying the experience. If you’re not in a hurry, I think you’ll enjoy them as much as we do.
Our photo slideshow below chronicle our journey. We hope you enjoy them.
