LittleSandyBeach

On our first full day in Auckland we of course had to go check out the tallest structure in the whole country, the Sky Tower. It was completed in 1997 and is the second tallest freestanding structure in the southern hemisphere at 328m.

Afterwards we headed down to Waitematā Harbour. This is where lots of ferries depart from to the various islands dotted around. We walked for around 5km as the sun was out and not a cloud in the sky!

About half way into our walk we got to see Auckland Harbour Bridge. It was built in 1959 and widened in 1969 to make it an 8 lane motorway. It’s the longest bridge on the North Island at over 1km long.

We then came across Silo Marina which is home to 14 of the over 300 classic sailing boats that make up the New Zealand Heritage fleet. They were all in spotless condition and had plaques explaining the history of each boat.

Just opposite was the biggest sailing yacht we have ever seen. After some research we found out it is called Sea Eagle and was built in 2020 by Royal Huisman in the Netherlands for a Taiwanese Billionaire. It’s the largest aluminium sailing super yacht in the world!

Just a short walk away we went around Auckland Fish Market. It was established in 1924 and has various seafood stalls where you can order fresh fish and have it cooked to order.

We strolled around and looked at all that was on offer and couldn’t resist getting some of the cooked prawns as they were the biggest prawns we’ve ever seen!

The next day we started off by going to Parnell Farmer’s Market which was about 30 minutes away from our hotel. There was a wide selection of fruit, veg, bakery items and homemade condiments on offer. It had a lovely atmosphere.

Just nearby we went to get some breakfast at the Westfield Shopping Centre. After eating we went up to the rooftop garden which was absolutely lovely and had lots of nice restaurants which we will definitely check out when we’re back in Auckland in a few weeks.

On our way to our next stop we heard some loud birds making some very strange noises and then we spotted them! They were Tūī birds which are endemic to New Zealand and are known for their melodic sounds including clicks, whistles and even the ability to copy human speech!

We then made it to the Auckland War Memorial Museum which despite its name had lots more inside including the history on Auckland, Māori culture and Volcanoes.

Our personal favourite was in the volcano area where there was an earthquake simulation room where we experienced the feeling of an earthquake with the strength of around 5 on the Richter scale.

The third floor was dedicated to all the wars that New Zealand have been involved in including both World Wars. There was a Spitfire that was donated to the museum to honour the Battle of Britain and the RNZAF (Royal New Zealand Air Force) personnel who flew spitfires during WWII.

Just down the road we went into the Domain Wintergardens. It’s made up of two grand greenhouses with one being heated that showcases lush tropical flora and the other featuring temperate plants that change with the seasons.

Just down the hill from the greenhouses we came across a duck pond. We spotted a huge New Zealand Longfin Eel swimming around, luckily the ducks didn’t seem bothered!

This morning we checked out of our hotel and had a short but hilly walk to pick up our rental car to start our road trip of the North Island! We were surprised to see heated leather seats and how spotlessly clean the car is for a fantastic price!

We had a 3 hour drive down to our countryside cabin for the evening just outside the town of Otorohanga with a detour through the city of Hamilton. What we noticed most on the drive down was the sheer amount of cows! They’re everywhere!

Our cabin is lovely for the evening and in the morning we have a long drive down to another countryside cabin about an hour outside of Wellington. We will have 3 nights there to explore the surrounding countryside and the capital city of New Zealand! Let the road trip begin!