ryan754
Jun 2, 03, 1:51 pm
I am going to Auckland and spending about a day or so there. I wanted to go to Christchurch but could not. Any recomendations on what to do and see and stay?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - What to do in AKL
View Full Version : What to do in AKL
number_6
Jun 2, 03, 5:13 pm
Sheraton Auckland is quite nice and as a Plat I was upgraded to Towers (this includes the 6pm-7pm reception with pretty good food such as oysters and 4 different NZ wines). Lots to see in Auckland, much of it depends on the weather. The museum in The Domain is excellent, and a walk around there and in Parnell is recommended. Shopping isn't the bargain it once was now that the US dollar has plummeted.
ryan754
Jun 2, 03, 7:50 pm
2,000 points! Thanks I would never have thought http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif Look forward although a short visit will be interesting. Too bad I stayed at the Sheraton SIN instead of my beloved Conrad cause this has a great cash rate too.
mad_atta
Jun 3, 03, 5:40 am
My suggestions for AKL (taken from my general NZ recommendations (http://www.flyertalk.com/pasttalk/ftpasttalk_forum/Forum7/HTML/000186.html) are:
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
On your marks, get set, go!
OK, you’ve arrived in Auckland. This is New Zealand’s biggest city by far (3x size of Christchurch and Wellington, the next biggest) and not really typical of the rest of the country, but interesting to see as a contrast. Now I don’t want to diss airnzboy’s home town, but… The thing about Auckland, nice city though it is, is that it’s a bit of a wannabe Sydney: it’s got smaller, less impressive versions of the bridge, the north shore, the harbour, the skyline and, arguably the attitude… a bit of a big fish in small pond kind of thing. However, it’s in a lovely location with island-studded harbour, an outdoor-friendly mild climate, it’s got an interesting cosmopolitan Pacific feel, and it’s got about a million great restaurants – so my point is it’s worth having a look around and enjoying the sights of Auckland but don’t waste too much time here as most of the uniquely NZ things are elsewhere.
I’m sure airnzboy could give you much better Auckland recommendations, but here are mine:
- To orient yourself, take a quick ride up the SkyTower – the view’s great if it’s a nice day. I love the way you can stand on a glass panel about 200m above the pavement… not so good if you suffer from vertigo. It’s also worth having a good laugh about the trans-Tasman rivalry that ensured the SkyTower is a crucial 2 or 3 metres taller than the Centre Point tower in Sydney, just so they could say “up you” to the Aussies. (This is, as you may have gathered, the national sport, though usually in a fairly friendly manner.)
- Go to the Auckland museum. Unlike Te Papa in Wellington, this is a conventional museum, and it has fantastic Maori artefacts and other displays. It’s also in a beautiful setting in the Domain.
- Get in some quality café time. New Zealanders are café mad – try out a few and you’ll see why. A good NZ café has excellent coffee (‘flat white’ is my drink of choice – it’s partway between a caffe latte and a café au lait – but I do have a soft spot for the uniquely NZ ‘latte bowl’, an oversized caffe latte in a bowl which doubles as a hand-warmer on cold mornings. It’s the comfort food of coffee), a pile of magazines and/or newspapers for you to browse through, a range of food from weird and wonderful muffins to cakes to proper meals, and the sort of welcome that means you can sit there all day nursing your one cappuccino and no-one will mind. In keeping with it’s big city status, Auckland cafes are a bit more chic and a bit less comfy, but it’s a good place to start.
- With café’s in mind, head across to Devonport on the ferry – this is a lovely village-like suburb on the north shore – although it is a bit cutesy. Head to Manuka woodfired Cucina for great food and lovely service. (One time when I returned to NZ after spending too long in London, I got such a warm welcome when I walked into this café that I thought the waitress must have known me and I started to worry because I couldn’t recognise her. I then realised this was just good old NZ friendliness!)
- You could also head out to Waiheke Island. I’ve never been but always meant to go – apparently it’s good for a relaxed daytrip, and has some excellent vineyards to visit, most with attached restaurants/cafes. Waiheke is one of NZ’s best red grape growing areas - if your wallet can stand it, try Stonyridge Larose, New Zealand’s most coveted red. ( Let me know what it’s like – I haven’t yet dared open my prized bottle of ’93 which I squandered some of my student loan on many years ago…)
- For more wine tasting, head out west towards Kumeu. Although Auckland (apart from Waiheke) isn’t a great grape growing area due to it’s quite moist climate, many of the big wine companies have their head offices in west Auckland around Kumeu and Henderson, and do comprehensive free tastings. Best not to drive for this particular excursion since it’s amazing how fast those little tastes add up. Best major wine company in NZ: Villa Maria, especially their black label ‘reserve’ wines. (You can get some of them in Oddbins – a good excuse for a little pre-trip research, perhaps?)
- Take a wander around the Americas Cup village on the waterfront. Aucklanders are boat-mad and here you’ll see some of the best examples. There are also quite a few excellent restaurants and bars here too.
- For other nightlife, head either to Ponsonby or Parnell, both inner city suburbs. Parnell is more moneyed and manicured (Iguacu on Parnell Rise is a good, and typical, bar/restaurant there) while Ponsonby has a more diverse, grunge-chic, urban/gay crowd (favourite spot: SPQR on Ponsonby Road, don’t miss it – superb food and a great place to sit and drink and people-watch). As far as nightclub recommendations go, I’m afraid I’m no use to you there. Perhaps airnzboy can help?
So much for my brief hints on Auckland… at this rate you’ll never leave, but it’s high time you discovered that, contrary to local opinon, there is life south of the Bombay Hills (the low range of hills south of Auckland which form its border with the Waikato region). With that in mind, head on back to the airport, pull up at the disgracefully shabby and old fashioned domestic terminal (quite a shock after the swanky new International terminal) and sample some of airnzboy’s colleagues’ fine hospitality en route to Christchurch... [snip]</font>
Hope this helps! http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
On your marks, get set, go!
OK, you’ve arrived in Auckland. This is New Zealand’s biggest city by far (3x size of Christchurch and Wellington, the next biggest) and not really typical of the rest of the country, but interesting to see as a contrast. Now I don’t want to diss airnzboy’s home town, but… The thing about Auckland, nice city though it is, is that it’s a bit of a wannabe Sydney: it’s got smaller, less impressive versions of the bridge, the north shore, the harbour, the skyline and, arguably the attitude… a bit of a big fish in small pond kind of thing. However, it’s in a lovely location with island-studded harbour, an outdoor-friendly mild climate, it’s got an interesting cosmopolitan Pacific feel, and it’s got about a million great restaurants – so my point is it’s worth having a look around and enjoying the sights of Auckland but don’t waste too much time here as most of the uniquely NZ things are elsewhere.
I’m sure airnzboy could give you much better Auckland recommendations, but here are mine:
- To orient yourself, take a quick ride up the SkyTower – the view’s great if it’s a nice day. I love the way you can stand on a glass panel about 200m above the pavement… not so good if you suffer from vertigo. It’s also worth having a good laugh about the trans-Tasman rivalry that ensured the SkyTower is a crucial 2 or 3 metres taller than the Centre Point tower in Sydney, just so they could say “up you” to the Aussies. (This is, as you may have gathered, the national sport, though usually in a fairly friendly manner.)
- Go to the Auckland museum. Unlike Te Papa in Wellington, this is a conventional museum, and it has fantastic Maori artefacts and other displays. It’s also in a beautiful setting in the Domain.
- Get in some quality café time. New Zealanders are café mad – try out a few and you’ll see why. A good NZ café has excellent coffee (‘flat white’ is my drink of choice – it’s partway between a caffe latte and a café au lait – but I do have a soft spot for the uniquely NZ ‘latte bowl’, an oversized caffe latte in a bowl which doubles as a hand-warmer on cold mornings. It’s the comfort food of coffee), a pile of magazines and/or newspapers for you to browse through, a range of food from weird and wonderful muffins to cakes to proper meals, and the sort of welcome that means you can sit there all day nursing your one cappuccino and no-one will mind. In keeping with it’s big city status, Auckland cafes are a bit more chic and a bit less comfy, but it’s a good place to start.
- With café’s in mind, head across to Devonport on the ferry – this is a lovely village-like suburb on the north shore – although it is a bit cutesy. Head to Manuka woodfired Cucina for great food and lovely service. (One time when I returned to NZ after spending too long in London, I got such a warm welcome when I walked into this café that I thought the waitress must have known me and I started to worry because I couldn’t recognise her. I then realised this was just good old NZ friendliness!)
- You could also head out to Waiheke Island. I’ve never been but always meant to go – apparently it’s good for a relaxed daytrip, and has some excellent vineyards to visit, most with attached restaurants/cafes. Waiheke is one of NZ’s best red grape growing areas - if your wallet can stand it, try Stonyridge Larose, New Zealand’s most coveted red. ( Let me know what it’s like – I haven’t yet dared open my prized bottle of ’93 which I squandered some of my student loan on many years ago…)
- For more wine tasting, head out west towards Kumeu. Although Auckland (apart from Waiheke) isn’t a great grape growing area due to it’s quite moist climate, many of the big wine companies have their head offices in west Auckland around Kumeu and Henderson, and do comprehensive free tastings. Best not to drive for this particular excursion since it’s amazing how fast those little tastes add up. Best major wine company in NZ: Villa Maria, especially their black label ‘reserve’ wines. (You can get some of them in Oddbins – a good excuse for a little pre-trip research, perhaps?)
- Take a wander around the Americas Cup village on the waterfront. Aucklanders are boat-mad and here you’ll see some of the best examples. There are also quite a few excellent restaurants and bars here too.
- For other nightlife, head either to Ponsonby or Parnell, both inner city suburbs. Parnell is more moneyed and manicured (Iguacu on Parnell Rise is a good, and typical, bar/restaurant there) while Ponsonby has a more diverse, grunge-chic, urban/gay crowd (favourite spot: SPQR on Ponsonby Road, don’t miss it – superb food and a great place to sit and drink and people-watch). As far as nightclub recommendations go, I’m afraid I’m no use to you there. Perhaps airnzboy can help?
So much for my brief hints on Auckland… at this rate you’ll never leave, but it’s high time you discovered that, contrary to local opinon, there is life south of the Bombay Hills (the low range of hills south of Auckland which form its border with the Waikato region). With that in mind, head on back to the airport, pull up at the disgracefully shabby and old fashioned domestic terminal (quite a shock after the swanky new International terminal) and sample some of airnzboy’s colleagues’ fine hospitality en route to Christchurch... [snip]</font>
Hope this helps! http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif