Auckland - THE city of sails

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KIO ORA ( HELLO in Māori )

As you get out of the airport you will know why it is called the city of sails. Unbelievable but one out of every 4 has got a boat in this city. Landing in Auckland at 12:05am wasn't very appealing, but if you do so (like us), don’t forget to book hotel transfer shuttle van - I recommend http://www.supershuttle.co.nz (NZ$37 for 2 of us - hotel drop off). We checked in a budget hotel in the heart of the city called CITY Central Auckland. As the name suggests it is centrally located but the room was very basic and small.

DAY 1 : WAIHEKE ISLAND

We took a Fuller's cruise (www.fullers.co.nz/ ) to Waiheke island (NZ$55 for 2 ) at 10am. It takes around 35mins to get there. We had booked for an organized bus tour of the island. Fullers runs 3 such tours every day (check the timings before you book the cruise) - it’s a great way to see the island. A must for anyone visiting Auckland. So close to city, yet so different. The island has only 8000 residents and around 32 vineyards. The
bus drives along the coast line and enters the "city" of Waiheke. 7 policemen in the island and that explains how peaceful Waiheke is. Every driver passing by waves and are so friendly. We reached Auckland at 1:30pm.

DAY 1 : Auckland Museum - DOMAIN

We decided to take leisure walk to Auckland Museum (approx 30 mins from ferry building). Quite a walk - keep city map handy unless you intentionally want to get lost and see the city( like us). It’s lush green all around at the DOMAIN. The museum is THE resource centre of Māori culture . Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand, Māori came to New Zealand from eastern Polynesia, probably in several waves, most likely between AD 1280 TO 1300. They spread throughout the country and developed a distinct culture. Europeans came to New Zealand in increasing numbers from the late 18th century. After 1840, Māori lost much of their land and went into a cultural and numerical decline, but their population began to increase again from the late 19th century, and a cultural revival began in the 1960s. You can see beautiful display of Māori traditional house, dresses, ornaments, hand crafted weapons, canoe to name a few. Allow at least an hour and a half to see the museum.

DAY 1 : PARNELL ROAD

PARNELL ROAD is in the eastern side of Auckland’s central business district - a short walk from the DOMAIN. This area is amongst one of the oldest and well off suburbs of Auckland. We saw old churches, art galleries, sidewalk cafe & cruising cars parked outside the city's most expensive restaurants. More conservative designer fashion stores sit alongside beautiful home wares and unique hand craft shops. Prices seemed to be generally high but so were the quality. To sum it up - It was quite a window shopping for us.

DAY 1 : SKY CITY TOWER/CASINO - Auckland

Auckland is hilly - If you don’t believe me take a walk to SKY CITY TOWER ( which is in the heart of the city) from PARNELL . Alternatively you can choose the city bus(www.maxx.co.nz) for an easy ride. SKY TOWER gives you a 360 degree view of the city and nearby islands. We were there for the sunset & it was amazing. Tick it - future visitors to Auckland - it should be in your TO DO list.

DAY 2 : BAY OF ISLANDS - Cruise to Cape Brett ‘ Hole in the Rock’.

We booked an escorted tour to BAY OF ISLANDS - Cruise to ‘ Hole in the Rock’ (http://www.newmanscoach.co.nz - NZ$209/person). It was really an early start - got picked up from hotel at 7:00am (bus driver had to wait 10 mins for us --- shhhhhh shouldn’t have said that)

AUCKLAND - > PAIHIA ( 4 hours ) ->The Waitangi Treaty Grounds (1 & 1/2 hour) -> Hole in the rock cruise (3 & 1/2 hours) -> AUCKLAND.

On our way to PAIHIA ( Gateway to the Beautiful Bay of Islands ), our tour guide/driver took us to the famous 600 years old Karri Tree , It's huge no kidding. There are a very few left these days and govt has put a ban on cutting karri trees. Much to the delight of our fellow German travelers , our bus stopped at " GATEWAY NORTH GERMAN CAFE & MOTEL" for morning tea break . We reached PAIHIA at 11:30 am and was dropped off for an hour and half tour of "The Waitangi Treaty Grounds" . This
site is strategically located overlooking the Bay of Islands: New Zealand's pre-eminent historic site. It is a place of belonging and enjoyment that is central to the life of the nation and special to all New Zealanders. It was here on February 6th, 1840, that the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed between Maori and the British Crown. The Treaty Grounds are part of the 506 hectare (1000 acre) Waitangi National Trust estate, which was gifted to the nation by Lord and Lady Bledisloe in 1932. In the Deed of Gift, Lord Bledisloe stipulated that the estate was never to be a burden on the tax payer, and as such it is not government funded. The estate is administered by the Waitangi National Trust Board, whose members represent various sections of New Zealand people. Features of the Treaty Grounds include:

*The Treaty House - built for the first British Resident, James Busby and his family. It is one of New Zealand's oldest and most visited historic homes
*Te Whare Runanga - fully carved Maori Meeting House, which is representative of all Iwi (regional tribes) in New Zealand
*Ngatokimatawhaorua - one of the world's largest Maori ceremonial war canoes
*The imposing Naval flagstaff
- which marks the place where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed
*Extensive park-like grounds with abundant native bird life, heritage gardens, trees, and mangrove boardwalk
*Stunning sea views of the Bay of Islands

After a brief guided tour of the place ( and few 100 pics haha) we returned for our cruise to "HOLE IN THE ROCK". Weather changed abruptly - It got cloudy and started to drizzle but we had the time of our life passing through the famous Cape Brett "Hole in the Rock" at Motukokako Island and on to view the majestic Grand Cathedral Cave. The crew shared local history and ecology and we saw variety of marine wildlife’s including Dolphins but if you are lucky you can expect to see whales, Seals, & Penguins too. One thing that you cant afford to forget is to bring your camera, to capture the marvelous scenery .
We returned to PAIHIA at 4:30pm and back to AUCKLAND at 8:15 pm.

DAY 3 : KELLY TARLTON'S Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World

Kelly Tarlton’s (http://www.kellytarltons.co.nz) is just 10 minutes’ drive or six kilometers (3.7 miles) from downtown Auckland . We took 9' clock bus to Kelly Tarlton’s
from SKY CITY Atrium . It costs NZ$29.5 person.

The aquarium's features are listed below, the two main features are the Antarctic Encounter and the Underwater World:

Antarctic Encounter - This is the first feature found after entry. Visitors can view the aquarium's penguins through glass in their temperature controlled habitat. Visitors then pass through a recreation of the hut used by Captain Robert Falcon Scott during his South Pole expedition in 1912. After this visitors take a ride on an Antarctic Snowcat, a type of vehicle, through the penguin enclosure. The aquarium has a colony of king penguins and gentoo penguins, the ride also has other features relating to Antarctica and its exploration.
Shark tank, which is part of the Underwater World area of the aquarium. Stingray Bay - Is a 350,000 litre open topped acrylic tank. This tank contains two species of stingray and other smaller fish species including; kingfish, blue mao mao and "Phoebe" a 250 kilogram short tailed stingray with a two metre wingspan. This area of the aquarium has a refreshment kiosk.

NIWA Interactive Room - This room is located adjacent to Stingray Bay and aims to educate children about the marine
world and Antarctica while entertaining them.

Underwater World - The original part of the aquarium. This 110 metre acrylic tunnel is separated into two tanks which can hold up to 2000 animals. The first tank is filled mainly with shark species, while the second tank has mainly schooling fish such as blue mao mao.
Sea Creatures - This area contains smaller aquariums usually filled with single species. Here you can find; two tropical marine tanks, red bellied piranha, an octopus, sea horses, moray eels, crayfish plus stonefish and pufferfish in the Poisonous and Venomous fish tank. Adjacent to this area is the gift shop which also contains the exit. We bought souvenirs on our way out.

Coming to the verdict - i thing KELLY TARLTON'S Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World is good but way way too expensive . I might happen to think so because we had seen similar (if not better) before. (Penguins in Philip island - Melbourne and Aquarium with sharks in Sydney Aquarium).


DAY 3 : DEVONPORT

We took 12' clock ferry to DEVONPORT. The trip only takes ten minutes from Downtown Auckland . Its just across the harbour and the marine village of Devonport is one of the city’s oldest suburbs. With its picture postcard Victorian villas, pretty beaches and stylish shops, Devonport is fumous for its heritage and spectacular views. We decided to walk to MOUNT VICTORIA SUMMIT and along the way we saw diverse range of boutiques, bars, cafe's and restaurants . Its a steep hill but our efforts were well rewarded . 360 degree view of North Shore city, the gulf and Auckland City can be seen as well as remnants of the Kawerau tribe fortifications. We also saw painted mushrooms and the musical bunker on the hill top. We could only stay at DEVONPORT for an hour and half (Wish we could stay there bit longer) - our return flight was at 4:00 pm. We headed straight to our hotel to collect the baggage and caught AIR BUS(http://www.airbus.co.nz - costs NZ$14 per person) to AUCKLAND international airport . We bought souvenir T shirt (with silver fern on it), paula shell bangles,key chain,bracelet & pendent before grabbing a bite and boarding Pacific Blue flight DJ189 to Brisbane.

It was definately a short trip but we squeezed in quite a bit in that short period of time. "AUCKLAND" - we love you & SOUTH ISLAND here we come.

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Photos

Ferry Building - Auckland
Heritage listed building

Auckland DOMAIN
DOMAIN Entry