[SarahEDH]

Anybody stayed somewhere good they could recommend? I'm planning a long weekend in/near Auckland & would like to hear of any especially good beach locations. Self-contained facilities are great, don't need Sky TV or other gadgets as I'll be sea kayaking most of the time. Thanks for any tips --

Sarah

[Tia Maria]

This place is right opposite Narrow Neck beach, I've seen lots of people Kayaking there but I don't know if its particularly good or not as the most I do water wise is paddle! :laugh

www.ivanhoesuites.com/index.htm

Its got two self contained flats at the bottom and the owners live upstairs. The outside looks more flash than the inside which is a bit dated, but it is 30seconds walk from the beach.

Narrow Neck is a lovely beach, with a small cafe that sells pies, hot chips and ice cream (there is a dairy about 6 minutes walk away up the hill). It also has a small park, toilets/changing rooms and this boat club:

www.wakatere.org.nz

Its also the beach where a lot of the schools do their water wise course.

I've posted a photo of the beach on about the third page of this thread:

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9190

You're about a 5 minute drive/bus ride from Devonport one way and 10minute drive/bus ride from Takapuna the other way.

Cheers

Tia

[SarahEDH]

Tia, thank you -- just the kind of info I wanted.

Now my only challenge is to focus on work for the rest of the day and save the trip-planning for later . . . occupational hazard here in NZ isn't it :laugh

Sarah

[Tia Maria]

Not wishing to distract you from your work any further but I should add.....

Although its quite a small beach, its quite popular among boating types as it has a car park just across the road where people can pull up in their cars with boats etc in tow.

In other words you could really stay anywhere in Takapuna/Belmont/Devonport and still only be a 5 minute drive away. So you can increase your accommodation search to those areas also if the Ivanhoe doesn't suit.

For more options check out:

www.wotif.com (North Shore section)

www.devonport.co.nz

www.jasons.com/accommodation (North Shore section)

I think the boat club people are a fairly friendly lot also, so it might be worth sending them a quick email asking them about good places on the North Shore for sea kayaking.

Work is just going to have to wait! :laugh

Cheers

Tia

[SarahEDH]

Ahem, work did wait a bit yesterday :) , just long enough to get a few inquiries sent based on your excellent suggestions . . . many thanks, Tia. Can't wait to get up north and onto the water. I hope the weather holds for the next month or so . . .

Sarah

[Tia Maria]

Sarah EDH wrote:

Can't wait to get up north and onto the water. I hope the weather holds for the next month or so . . .

I was going to ask if you had a bad weather plan! I assume you can still kayak if its just raining?

Cheers

Tia

[SarahEDH]

Yes, rain isn't too bad but usually wind comes with it, so I will have a Plan B ready (tide pooling /museums/galleries/shopping). I don't have much experience with rough weather kayaking so I won't push my luck if the skies look threatening. Although light cloud cover can be nice for keeping the temperature down, not that heat should be a problem at this time of year.

I hope to have a sunny day for snorkeling along with kayaking -- may look into Goat's Island for that.

Actually anything will be fun . . . I'm ready for a road trip up north!

[Tia Maria]

If you want to know about things going on on the weekend you are here then try signing up for the email newsletters on here:

www.northshorecity.govt.nz (look under the citylife section its called shorelife email newsletter)

www.aucklandcity.tx.co.nz/go/to/subscribe (Its the Ak@Play one)

I think they are weekly and tell you about all the extra things going on in addition to the normal tourist places. They are free to get and easy to unsubscribe to, I think one is offereing a free draw at the moment.

For instance on the 15th April its the Ocean Swim Series at Takapuna Beach, so it might have been a busy for kayaking! :laugh

Cheers

Tia

[SarahEDH]

Kewl, more Auckland sites to bookmark! (And why am I in Wellington . . . need to think about that one for awhile)

I don't mind swimmers -- they're like moguls on a ski run, or plastic cones on a driving range :laugh I find it helps my paddling skills to have one pop up right in front of the boat, way outside the swim zone . . .

cheers Tia