Auckland: Water, Water, Everywhere

If you’re RVing through New Zealand in a campervan, renting a car and staying in hotels, or just poking around Auckland, you’ll find water everywhere. Surrounded by water, Auckland, the City of Sails, has much to offer if you like boats, maritime history, or just plain sea life.

Sky Tower

Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Photo by: Beejayge

Near the Ferry Berth on Quay and Hobson Streets, the New Zealand Maritime Museum covers Kiwi maritime history from the Maori migration to modern day cup sailing. You can check out the boats, life-sized exhibits, or collection of models and artifacts on a guided tour or poke around on your own with an Audio Guide. If you'd like to get out on the water, the museum's Ted Ashby sails Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. The SS Puke and Breeze sail most weekends.

Auckland Waterfront

Photo by: Beejaygee

The waterfront itself is a good place to spend an afternoon. Ferries come and go as well as other interesting boats. My first trip to New Zealand in 1985, I wandered the docks and visited with one of the crew of the damaged Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, which was lashed to the dock. The Rainbow Warrior had been ripped by two bombs killing one crew member, Fernando Pereira. The French government had ordered the bombing. The Rainbow Warrior crew have since scattered around the world. Today, the Rainbow Warrior is a living reef off the Cavalli Islands in Northland.

Penguins at Kelly Tarlton's

Photo by: Beejayge

Probably the only place you'll find snow and ice in Auckland is Kelly Tarlton's Under Water World. South of Central Auckland on Tamaki Drive, you can time travel back to visit a life-size replica hut of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the South Pole explorer. Then, visit a penguin colony in an antarctic snow cat. In Underwater World, you can view the sea life while traveling through a clear tunnel on a moving walkway. If you want a closer view of the sharks, you can get nose to nose with one. A professional dive instructor will help you meet the sharks. You'll get a lot wetter than you would on a ride through the tunnel, so bring a towel.

Maybe you don’t want to rub noses with a fish, but you’d still like to get a little sand in your shorts and meet new friends. November to March each year, Auckland’s Stroke & Stride Series invites locals and visitors to enter one or all of eight swim/run events. Swim in Waitemata Harbour Bay then run along Auckland’s waterfront dripping salt water– and maybe win a prize.

Good Morning Auckland

Photo by: Beejayge

You’re never far from water in Auckland, so dig into New Zealand maritime history, take a boat trip, or at least take off your shoes and get your feet wet.
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All photos are by Bryan Goddard who lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Bryan has more than 1,000 photos uploaded on flickr. Click back on his links and you’ll find a slideshow of  his many New Zealand photos. On BeeJayGe, his website, you can find more photos of his New Zealand travels and a link to his blog.

Lyn Harris

RVin NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand




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Auckland/Sky Tower

Auckland Sky Tower

Photo by: Jaimie Walsh

If you're spending time in Auckland, you'll want to see at least a few of the popular attractions. A good place to start is the Sky Tower. Within walking distance of the bus station, at Corner Victoria Street and Federal Street, Sky Tower, the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere, has several restaurants and bars. If you enjoy gambling, Sky Tower casinos are open 24 hours a day. On level 2 of SkyCity alone, you'll find all the popular casino games as well as more than 1,200 machines, or pokies.

Three glass elevators take you to three circular observation levels-- Sky Deck, the Main Observation level, or Sky Lounge. From there, you can see over fifty miles in any direction.

If you came to New Zealand to scare the daylights out of yourself, try the new Sky Walk. Snapped in a safety harness, you can walk the circumference of the tower on a 1.2 meter wide ledge. And, if you make it through that one, try base jumping 630 feet from the tower. It's probably easier on your back than a bunji jump. You don't hang upside down or bounce around.

For a little less excitement, just order a drink in the Sky Lounge, relax, and enjoy the view.

Sky Tower

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Photo by catz2

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Lyn Harris

RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand

www.rvinnz.com