[Lara Croft]

Me again...

We will have half a day, and an evening in Auckland. Where would you say is a Must-See for the 2 of us, and little-un (aged 8)? And somewhere nice (but not too pricey) for the 3 of us to eat?

Thanks folks,
Jane

[Moorf]

What about the museum? Really enjoyed it there.

[LesleyS]

I think the Sky Tower is a 'must see' - and if you go around lunchtime you can have a very reasonably priced buffet - with views!!

[JandM]

Yes, the museum is great. We liked Crystal Mountain, which isn't far if you've got a car available? Fabulous views from the various volcanoes, e.g. Mount Victoria in Devonport. For eating, what about one of the food halls? - the Ponsonby one is good, as is Queen Street. They are SO reasonable, and each of you can have food from a different kitchen if that's what you like.

[Familyofmonkeys]

If you don't want to spend too much time travelling how about starting at the Auckland Museum in the Auckland Domain. The maori section is good for an hour or so (my kids love the oogley boogley faces on the carvings), they perform the haka several times a day and there is a very nice cafe in the mezzanine for a snack/cuppa. The I would get the circular bus that stops from the back of the museum to the CBD waterfront. Get a ferry acoss to Devonport (cheap, fun for kids and very frequent) and enjoy view while your 8 year old enjoys the playground or an ice cream. Get ferry back and go up Sky tower. You can get tickets so you could go up twice...once in daylight and once at night so you get to see the view and then see the city all lit up at night. Or you could even have dinner there (might work out better value than just paying to go up tower and if you time it right you could watch the sunset). There are a ton of really good reasonably cheap eateries around Queen St aswell. Depending on what day of the week you go, there is late night shopping until 9pm (thursday and friday) if you wanted to get some souveneirs/postcards etc and generally have a wander around so your child doesn't get too bored.

[Jo Jo]

Excellent post, FoM - my sister is coming to stay soon and I'm going to follow all of your suggestions, I think!

[benandclare]

Sky tower and Museum is our vote :nice1

[kanatakiwi]

Kids love Kelly Tarltons Undersea Adventure on Tamaki Drive (sharks and fish swim over your head in a glass circular aquarium) there is a free shuttle bus there from downtown (phone to find out where or when) Its not cheap but then neither is the sky tower..we took 2 adults and 2 kids and that was $40. I also vote for the museum.

enjoy your day

[KerryS]

The museum is great - you can take the Link bus ($1.60 no matter how many stops you travel), and it has a commentary which tells you where to get off.

There are usually vouchers for discounts on the Sky Tower admission in the tourist leaflets, so it's worth picking them up and checking them.

There are loads of good places to eat around the city too - I love Raw Power on Vulcan Lane for lunch, vegetarian, but the most amazing selection of salads and the best tofu burger I've ever had!

[Derv]

The penguins at Kelly Tarleton's are very cute and they do seem to like having people visiting them. When we went there, the penguins stood up straight and watched the visitors with great interest!! But it is expensive so look out for vouchers at Info Centres, hotels, car rental places etc.

[jubjub]

There were quite a few good suggestions on this thread...

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=13634&highlight=auckland

Museum and the domain are a nice place to wander round. Kellys is cool (literally in the penguin bit!), not sure if it would be worth your while though, unless you maybe had a wander round Mission Bay (just a couple of km further along) at the same time, there are loads of cafes along there to eat at too.

There are plenty of places to eat in the CBD, and you could actually combine a Sky Tower visit with a meal up there and spend a bit more time absorbing the view.

[shakyle2906]

Excellent post, FoM - my sister is coming to stay soon and I'm going to follow all of your suggestions, I think!



Me too!
My sister comes over in April and we hope to go up to Auckland, via Rotorua and Taupo and make a few days of it!

Sharon
x

[Lara Croft]

Wow - loads of suggestions.. thanks everyone! Looks like the Sky tower gets the vote!

I'll let you know what we eventually do (still 2 weeks away, I like to plan in advance...)

Jane

[JandM]

Oh, yes, how could I forget Kelly Tarlton's? Wonderful... So is the zoo, out in the other direction (lots about conservation, and NZ's own wildlife), and the museum about mechanical/electronic things (next to the park that's next to the zoo, but I forget its name for the moment) - has fabulous interactive things for children (any age!) to do.

[jubjub]

and the museum about mechanical/electronic things (next to the park that's next to the zoo, but I forget its name for the moment) - has fabulous interactive things for children (any age!) to do.


You mean MOTAT, yup it is quite cool, even my two year old likes bits of it!

[JandM]

MOTAT - that's it!

[mgbridges]

Defo agree about going up the Skytower (www.skycityauckland.co.nz) and its way more cost effective to go for the buffet lunch in The Observatory restaurant (open for lunch Fri - Sun) then just to get tickets to go up and look.

The lunch is $40 for what is effectively a 5 course meal and the food is FAB, plus you can go to the observation deck 30mins prior to your lunch booking, you get 2 hours for lunch (plenty of time) and can go back to the observation deck afterwards for as long as you want. You also get a great view of anyone mad enough to do the Sky Walk or Sky Jump. Oh and your 8yr old will only cost $3 per year so only $24 for lunch. Given that its $25 for an adult just to go up and look IMHO lunch is a pretty good deal.

They also serve dinner everyday (2 sittings at 5.30pm & 7.30pm) which is slightly more expensive at $59 or $4 per yr for kids but as I've never had dinner I can't comment on whether it justifys the extra cost.

Also agree about Auckland Museum at The Domain - its great, not so huge you can get lost but plenty to keep everyone interested and its not expensive to get in (just a donation).

Kelly Tarlton's is a favourite with our son but its a bit out of the way and given that you only have 1/2 a day maybe best to save for another time in Auckland.

Enjoy your trip,
Anneliese

[Tia Maria]

Yes, as mgbridges points out a lot of Auckland's sites are quite spread out. With a fair bit of travelling time needed between the main ones like the Zoo (& MOTAT, about 5 minutes down the road from the Zoo), Aquarium (Kelly Tarltons), Sky Tower and the Museum.

I think FOM has set out a great itininery with a nice mix of things to do while minimising your travelling time.

Another way to look at this would be to look at the suggestions and choose your 2 'must sees', then people could advise a route and possible eating places.

Places

www.aucklandmuseum.com

www.skycityauckland.co.nz

www.kellytarltons.co.nz

www.aucklandzoo.co.nz

www.motat.org.nz

www.devonport.co.nz

Shopping

www.victoria-park-market.co.nz/index.cfm

www.queenstreet.co.nz/queenstreet/home/default.asp

Eating Out

www.dineout.co.nz/

www.viewauckland.co.nz/find_restaurant2.asp?Area=Auckland+Central

www.viaduct.co.nz

www.viewauckland.co.nz/your_local_vulcan_lane.asp

Transport

www.fullers.co.nz

www.stagecoach.co.nz/citycircuit/

Tourist Information

www.aucklandnz.com/VisitorInformation/ContactUs/ISite/

Cheers

Tia