auckland travel guide

Hello!
I thought it was about time I should show off my little city...Auckland, New Zealand.
For some background, Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand and makes up over a quarter of the population!

It's known as the city of sails because central Auckland is right on the water and everywhere you look, there is some kind of water and it's good for me because I love sailing.

If you ever come to to Auckland, there's all the tourist highlights like the Sky Tower, Harbour Bridge. I thought I would share with you a few of the less popular places, or those that you won't find a travel guide.

01 / Herne Bay
Herne Bay is a suburb at the waterside, near the Harbour Bridge. There's lots of little unpopulated beaches that are really fun to walk around. The streets provide a great walking route as well.

02 / Takapuna Beach
Takapuna Beach is a large beach that is 20 minutes north of Central Auckland on the North Shore. It's beautiful and sea water is beautiful there. It looks out to Rangitoto island and the Hauraki Gulf as well. If you aren't visiting in the summer season, it's beautiful for a walk as well.

03 / Ponsonby Central
Ponsonby Central is home to a wide variety of restaurants. There's a pizza place, a couple of little cafes and a ice cream shop - with the best ice cream sandwiches! There is also a burger place called Burger Burger (my personal favourite) and a noodle bar.

04 / Waterfront
Close to the city centre, is the waterfront and viaduct. A few years back they made it a great public area with lots of restaurants but still kept the marine feeling. You can look around at some of the old Americas Cup boats as the NZ Maritime Museum is right on the water.

05 / Rangitoto
Rangitoto is one of Auckland's 52 volcanoes and it's still active. Rangitoto is pretty iconic to Auckland and is symmetrical and looks identical wherever you look at it from. It's pretty cool and you can walk to the top for some pretty breathtaking views.

06 / Waiheke
Waiheke is a small island which is only a 40 minute ferry ride from Downtown Auckland. The island is full of vineyards, beautiful beaches and great scenery. If you do visit Waiheke, please make sure you visit Island Gelato Company. It's the most perfect gelato shop operating from a container in the main village. The gelato is amazing - My flavour recommendations are definitely salted caramel and white chocolate OR honeycomb (or get both!!).

07 / Devonport
Devonport is a historical village with a lovely beach. It located on the north shore is also accessible by ferry. Only a short walk along the waterfront is North Head which is the entry to the Waitemata Harbour and has great views. Devonport also holds our Navy Base and Naval Museum.

06 / Mission Bay 
Mission Bay is also a waterfront suburb (This is like the Auckland Beach guide really!). and is to the east of the main city. There are plenty of bays along this area but Mission Bay is the busiest. There's the beach, park, fountain and restaurants. Also a great plus is Kiwi Yo is right in the main shops!!

I really hope you enjoyed this post. I might do it for a couple of other places that I've been, in the future.

Also if you are ever visiting Auckland, shoot me an email and I'll send you some more recommendations.

- Harri xx