What to do in New Zealand

We will be flying into Auckland, New Zealand for a 3 day visit after our cruise to Sidney. We are 4 adults looking to see some sites without getting a rental car. Any suggestions on things we can do and see and a good hotel.

For one of the days, a trip to one of the Gulf Islands.

Either: Tiritiri Matangi, or Rangitoto, or Waiheke.

What is it you want to do......outdoors, sports, culture, shopping? Do you want to stay in Auckland, or take day trips to see other places? What time of year are you going?

If you're willing to take a tour and leave town, I'd recommend a trip to Waitomo to see the glow worm caves. I took the Spellbound trip, and it was terrific, but there are many (some are active, some more relaxing).

We will be there in October of next year. Want to do some site seeing but not just riding a bus want to actually explore. Seeing as we will only be there for 3 days we want to see the best of what is there. Don't really want to spend hours getting to a location.

We will be there in October of next year. Want to do some site seeing but not just riding a bus want to actually explore. Seeing as we will only be there for 3 days we want to see the best of what is there. Don't really want to spend hours getting to a location.

Springtime is wonderful! I did a 10 day road trip in October 2014 after disembarking in Auckland. I personally didn't really like Auckland, but I really didn't investigate it either. Just some cities give me a negative vibe - you know? - and I decided there was too much of the island to see so I set off down the road. So, no experience for you about seeing things within an hour or less of Auckland (or in Auckland), but there are ferries to the nearby islands.

Tiritiri island is a pest-free bird sanctuary that is easily accessible by ferry from downtown Auckland. Have a look here: http://www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz; it a good way to spend a day.

I personally didn't really like Auckland... Just some cities give me a negative vibe - you know?

We felt the same way about Auckland when we were there for a day before our flight back home after spending 2 weeks self-touring the islands. We felt that Auckland was just a big city without the charm and attraction of the rest of New Zealand.

I suggest you get outside of Auckland for your 3 days. My suggestions would be a day in Waitomo and 2 days in Rotorua. This would most easily be accomplished by self-driving, but maybe you can find an organized tour.

What is it you want to do......outdoors, sports, culture, shopping? Do you want to stay in Auckland, or take day trips to see other places? What time of year are you going?

 

If you're willing to take a tour and leave town, I'd recommend a trip to Waitomo to see the glow worm caves. I took the Spellbound trip, and it was terrific, but there are many (some are active, some more relaxing).

We also took the Spellbound tour, but were staying at a great b&b in Waitomo, so don't know if it can be taken as a daytrip from Auckland. It was excellent with only 16 people visiting the two very different caves. Norm was our guide and he pointed out that the 600 year old Moa bones in one of the caves had been discovered by Angus, our b&b host. The b&b had its own glow worm cave on site.

Springtime is wonderful! I did a 10 day road trip in October 2014 after disembarking in Auckland. I personally didn't really like Auckland, but I really didn't investigate it either. Just some cities give me a negative vibe - you know? - and I decided there was too much of the island to see so I set off down the road. So, no experience for you about seeing things within an hour or less of Auckland (or in Auckland), but there are ferries to the nearby islands.

We had 2 nights in Auckland and spent our full day there on a Waiheke Island visit, taking the Vineyard HoHo bus. Friends highly recommend the museum in Auckland, especially for the Maori performance, but we passed on a visit there since we'd been to Mitai out of Rotorua.

I suggest a good guide book- Lonely Planet is a smart choice especially since they've changed focus from catering to the backpack/hostel traveler and now embrace finding a variety of accommodations from hotels to b&bs.

Tiritiri Matangi is beautiful and unspoilt but to really do it justice you have to be prepared to do a lot of walking.

Waiheke is also lovely, more urban, lots of great vineyards, gorgeous beaches. Easy to get around by bus.

Devonport is a short ferry ride away, and is a pretty area. If you can handle the walk to North Head the old fortifications are interesting to explore.

We went to Devonport (eh). Was also raining that day, maybe that was our issue.

Waiheke was gorgeous, and loved Peacock Sky winery. I would recommend going there.

We also did a food tour in Auckland that was great too.

We were in Auckland in February for 2 days. We did the free walking tour (in the rain), which we thought was very good. You can Google this and get information about the time they meet and where (it's on the same pier as the ship). We also went to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Only one floor is dedicated to a WWI memorial. The rest is amazing. Lots of cultural stuff about the Maori. We found very worthwhile. We got there easily by bus. We stayed at the Hilton by the dock and found some very good restaurants nearby.

Thanks,

Arlene

We also found Auckland less than interesting-- but did have the best meal of our month long NZ trip at The Grill by Sean Connolly. We went to Waiheke the first day for a great wine tour with Ananda Wine tours. We liked the island so much we took the ferry back the next day to do some scenic hiking along the cliffs and then walked about 20 minutes to Mudbrick Winery for a tasting and light lunch overlooking the vineyards and the water.

Waiheke is also lovely, more urban, lots of great vineyards, gorgeous beaches. Easy to get around by bus.

YES, Waiheke can be super wonderful. Below are a few of my sample visuals from being there, plus lots more for in and around Auckland can be seen/reviewed on my live/blog connected below. Happy to answer any added question by posting your info needs/comments on that live/blog.

We had two days after our cruise ended for Auckland and were very pleased by its varied charms, options, dining, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 139,871 views for this posting.

Here one of the many great views on Waiheke Island. Lots of varied hills and great water views, including this picture showing the twisting and turning roads on this island. Some paved. Many not. This shows one of those "unsealed" roads that requires slow speeds, much care, etc.. Unsealed is clever term to describe just a basic dirt road. Plus, the fun of driving on the "wrong side".:

At the Man O' War Winery on Waiheke Island near Auckland, their main building was overlooking the beach as a part of its scenic location. This picture shows friends Ed and Karen from Central Ohio enjoying a tasting plate with a variety of good food items, plus, of course, their wine that is produced on this scenic island. Great way to do a "lunch break" and soak up the style, character and beauty for this artsy island. Their website: http://www.manowarvineyards.co.nz.:

Here is a picture from Waiheke Island's two kilometer stretch of white sand on Onetangi Beach. This is my wife walking and enjoying its fresh air, nice sand, great breezes, etc., to enjoy this nice setting before our return to Auckland.:

From having our final breakfast on the back of our ship, here is the view of Auckland's historic Ferry Building, plus some other key downtown buildings. This docking area is super handy for having quick and easy access to the city. But, this port area can be very, very congested, especially with lots of luggage after such a long, 14-day cruise.:

Auckland’s Art Gallery is a mix of the new structure and an older, more traditional building. Here is one of the most loved paintings in its collection. They have older, two-story gallery that has most of its collection focused on historic NZ, the Maori connections, etc. Some of these items date back to the 1700's. Our guide in the tour noted that most of the paintings involving Maori history were fictional for how the actual events were depicted. Looked good, but not accurate, nor close. This museum had a great collection of portraits of Maori tribe leaders. We were not permitted to take any pictures in that area.:

In one of Auckland's many grand parks, they have this large War Memorial Museum building. It has lots of historic info from the NZ contributions to world warfare efforts. Its website is: http://www.aucklandmuseum.com.:

We will be flying into Auckland, New Zealand for a 3 day visit after our cruise to Sidney. We are 4 adults looking to see some sites without getting a rental car. Any suggestions on things we can do and see and a good hotel.

I did the HOHO bus in Auckland and it worked very well for me getting around.

http://www.explorerbus.co.nz