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Out and About in Auckland - Rachel McCombie, HolidayLettings.co.uk

Out and About in Auckland

First impressions of New Zealand, as the weary-eyed traveller peers eagerly from the tiny aeroplane window during the cloudy descent into Auckland International after a mammoth 26-hour flight, are of a green, hilly country, isolated in millions of square miles of Pacific Ocean and with a pervading feeling of remoteness. With a population of only four million people across both of New Zealand’s two main islands, and sheep outnumbering humans by an estimated ten to one, these initial thoughts are not far off the mark; but remoteness is by no means undesirable, and New Zealand’s sparse population gives it a rather luxurious feeling of space.

Auckland is in the northern half of the North Island, and is New Zealand’s largest city but not, in fact, its capital (this honour having been bestowed upon Wellington, further south). Despite its relative size, Auckland doesn’t feel like a big city, and you will soon find it to be a friendly place, where you can smile at a passerby and they will smile back, where shorts are the clothing of choice even in offices, and where it’s fairly likely that you’ll see someone walking barefoot on the streets.

There’s plenty to do, my highlight being the Sky Tower, the landmark which dominates Auckland’s skyline and which is unkindly referred to by some as “the syringe”. Illuminated in various colours at night, its best feature is Orbit, the restaurant above the viewing deck: it revolves 360 degrees during the course of your meal, so you enjoy incredible views over the entire city while you dine. See how many extinct volcanic cones you can spot!



Up on the Auckland Domain, an area of parkland on an extinct volcano dotted with exotic trees, you’ll find the impressively situated Auckland War Memorial Museum, which houses a fascinating collection of Maori and Pacific Island artefacts and an earthquake simulator, among many other things. Learn about the history of Antarctic exploration and see real penguins at the Kelly Tarlton Antarctic Encounter, a short journey round the bay by a special shuttle bus which picks you up from the Sky Tower. The bus looks like a shark, so you can’t miss it.

Auckland is on the coast and surrounded by numerous islands accessible by ferry, two of which are particularly worth a visit. Waihiki Island is a great place to explore by bike and enjoys a warm microclimate which makes it a popular day trip destination, while Rangitoto Island is an uninhabited dormant volcano which has tremendous views of Auckland and its glorious turquoise sea.

If you have time to venture further afield, you’ll find that as soon as you leave Auckland you’re in stunning countryside and within easy reach of such activities as exploring the set of Hobbiton from Lord of the Rings; dolphin-spotting boat trips in the Bay of Islands; discovering bizarre geothermal landscapes near Rotorua; and of course, all the extreme sports you could possibly wish for. This is New Zealand, after all…

Rachel McCombie

A geographic researcher at Holiday Lettings, Rachel is a keen travel writer and is always planning her next trip abroad. Rachel has worked for holidaylettings.co.uk since 2006 and has established a high level understanding of the holiday home lettings marketplace.

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