Mai at a revolving restaurant sky high at Auckland Tower

I’ve been to Auckland for work on more than one occasion and everytime I go I get excited. This is because Auckland is one of my favourite cities in the world. It is a very compact city which has a very pleasant feeling. The combination of the beautiful harbour, active volcanoes, friendly locals, unique and individual boutiques, hip bars and gourment restaurants makes Auckland a lovely city to be in.

If you only have a couple of days in Auckland, you can do the following activities to make the most out of this awesome place:

• Head to Viaduct - near Auckland Harbour – there are plenty of grown up bars including the famous Ice Bar (42 Degree New Zealand Vodka Ice Bar). Auckland Harbour is where the America’s Cup is held every year
• Hang out at the casino, have drinks or dinner at the Auckland Tower. You can also enjoy birds eye view of Auckland city at the Sky Tower.
  I managed to have dinner with a friend who happens to be in the same place for business at the revolving restaurant at the Sky Tower. When you have dinner here, you get a free ticket to the viewing platform. For you girls, be careful where you put your handbag. If you put it by the window, expect it to dissapear as the restaurant does revolve (slowly). The next time you try to find your handbag, it’s no longer there and believe me, everyone makes this mistake . I had a really nice seafood dinner of Alaskan Crab with a great sky high evening view of Auckland
• Alternatively, head to Ponsonby Road for a nice Italian meal or modern New Zealand meal and great selection of local wines and beer. My favourite eatiery is SPQR at 150 Ponsonby Rd
• A short taxi ride will take you to Auckland hip suburbs of Mission Beach or Parnel. In Mission Beach, you can dine by the water while in Parnel, make sure you drop by my favourite eatery Iguacu for modern take of New Zealand cuisines.

A church in Parnell

• My favourite suburb in Auckland is Devonport. On weekends they have farmers’ market. In the dawn, you can get a nice view of Takapuna Beach and Auckland City from the hill. This spot due to its beautiful sceneries are very popular with couples and first dates.

Lovely houses at Devonport

A great view from Devonport hill overlooking Takapuna Beach

Another view from Devonport

View of Auckland City from Devonport

At Devonport

Otherwise, you can do the following if you decide to stay on a weekend:

• Catch a ferry to Waiheke island to visit the many vineyards, ride a bike or enjoy the nature that the island has to offer. I managed to crash a colleague’s house party and decided to catch the last ferry back as opposed to sleeping over .
• Have a brunch at many cafes at Ponsonby Road - enjoy bubble and squeak and kumara chips for brekkie . Followed by shopping at the many upcoming New Zealand designers and one of a kind boutique. My favourite boutiques are Sera Lilly and Miss Crabb.
• Go to Mission Beach, it’s only a short drive to get into auckland beach.
• Auckland Zoo – you can spend a whole day here and the zoo’s pretty cool with lots of animals.

Harbour Bridge - Auckland

Auckland City with Sky Tower Perching High

Related posts:

1. Business Trip to Milan, Italy
2. Rialto Tower – Bird Eye View of Melbourne
3. My Trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands
4. Sweden – Stockholm – Stadshuset (Stockholm City Hall)
5. My Trip to Stonehenge, England