OK, so it's no where close to being spring here in Auckland, but I thought the idea of doing a post on 5 fun things to do in Auckland City would be primo. I wanted to focus on free places, so sorry, but no big touristy places like the Auckland Zoo or Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World (although these are great!).
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If you don't know, Auckland City is an awesome place. We've got around 1.4 million people which is the biggest city in New Zealand. We have a moderate climate, a cool banana sky tower and boast top ten places in the EIU's Global Liveability report, Mercer's quality of living survey and Monocle's most liveable cities index. Now that's some credibility right there!
The Auckland Domain and Winter gardens is a logical start. It is a stunning park on the outskirts of the Auckland CBD set on 75 hectares. There are some fun things to do here - huge sports fields, Winter gardens, lovely picnic areas surrounded by huge, beautiful trees. The jam packed Auckland Museum is also here and well worth a visit.
Here are some more photos of our most recent visit.
The Auckland Botanical Gardens is a park that is close to home for me and I've been there a million times...and I keep on going back time after time. It's a great place for a walk, by yourself or with the dog (huge off leash area), a super fun kids garden and an incredible assortment of flora and fauna.
You can read about our adventures at the Auckland Botanical Gardens here.
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| Exploring the children's garden at the Auckland Botanical Gardens |
There were so many beachy locations I wanted to include, but after much deliberation I finally settled on Long Bay. What I like about Long Bay in particular is that there is ample grassy area and ample beachy area alike - good for those of us who do not like toooooo much sand in their undies when they go home! The grassy area has some picnic tables and BBQ areas as well as sun shades and flat areas shaded by towering trees with giant roots (good for my photography brain!).
I've heard also that the Restaurant is pretty awesome - would love some reviews!
I get to go at least once a year as my dad's side of the family have our family picnic there every February. Awesome place to
Wynyard Quarter is set on 37 hectares of land and has 3km of water frontage. It was envisaged and created mainly for the Rugby world cup visitors - but lucky us! Aucklanders have got to keep and enjoy it for many moons to come! There are green spaces, an amazing playground, the water front, fishing spots, cafes and restaurants as well as tonnes of places to just sit down, chill out and enjoy the area. There are always things going on there too - two that I can think of, that I've attended or enjoyed in the last little while are the Busker's Festival and the huge Christmas Advent Calendar.
What I like about Omana Beach and Reserve is the variety. You can be on sand and then a quick walk and your petting the sheep up on the grassy area. I love the animals too, they're so friendly and kids love them - well my kid does anyway, pointing at the piggies and oinking, patting the sheep and shrieking with delight. It has a great park and an incredible view at the top of the hill.
Sneaky 6th - Western Springs regional park is a lovely setting. Lots of spots for picnics and wildlife to see - ducks, swans, pukeko, fish, eels, geese. Also host to many cool events throughout the year including this year's Teddy Bear's Picnic.
If you've still got a hankering for more Aucklandy goodness you can check out the culminating post that I did about our Big Backyard here. It repeats some that I talk about in this post but has some other gems!
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