Auckland, New Zealand

raebrown · November 26, 2009

Air New Zealand gave us an offer we couldn't refuse and we'll be in Auckland from Feb 12th to the 24thth, 2010.:ivar This is our 1st trip to NZ so I'm taking any and all advise. We'll probably take a trip over to Waiheke island and perhaps Tiritiri Matangi Island (nature preserve). In Auckland we'll be staying at the CityLife Hotel, downtown on Queen street. We'll most likely rent a car for part of the stay. Want to concentrate on the areas around Auckland and to the North...will do the rest of North Island and South Islands on subsequent, longer, trips.

Gitzo · November 26, 2009

Jealous is the best word. Spent a summer in NZ way back like 1993 and it is an amazing country. Can't wait to see your shots!

Wil Davis · November 26, 2009

Great time of the year to visit! Auckland itself is v. interesting with many things to see, especially of you're into sailing (Auckland is one of the very few cities in the world with two (2) natural harbours)

Try to get out to the Coromandel Peninsula, and there's also the Ninety Mile Beach…

I'm jealous! Don't forget to post pics when you get back!

- Wil

PS: Here's one I took back in 1995 (somewhere on the Coromandel Peninsula):

raebrown · November 27, 2009

Wil Davis wrote:

Great time of the year to visit! Auckland itself is v. interesting with many things to see, especially of you're into sailing (Auckland is one of the very few cities in the world with two (2) natural harbours)

Try to get out to the Coromandel Peninsula, and there's also the Ninety Mile Beach…

I'm jealous! Don't forget to post pics when you get back!

- Wil

PS: Here's one I took back in 1995 (somewhere on the Coromandel Peninsula):

We will definitely get over to the Coromandel Peninsula. I had heard of Hot Water beach and am thinking that New Chums beach is also somewhere we should hike into. We shall explore Auckland and the areas around it first...including the Coromandel. Ninety Mile beach and the northlands will depend on how much time we have left...but we should get to some of it.

We're really excited about this trip. Our favourite previous trip would have been in 2006 when we plunked ourselves down in Perth, Western Australia for a week, rented a car and toured the SW for 10 days, then spent another week in Perth. Many people said that was much too long for Perth...but we could have happily stayed longer. I suspect Auckland will be the same.

And, yes, I'll definitely be posting some pictures on our return. Nothing better than to be working on tropical pictures when it's cold and snowy outside.

sylvia · December 5, 2009

You'll love New Zealand. I was there for a couple of months in 2005, and practically all of 2008. It's a wonderful country. Definitely do Waihike. It's great, and the ferry trip is very cool. We got a taxi at the harbor, and he gave us his cell number, would drop us at sights around the island, and when we were ready to move on, just gave him a call and he'd be there in 5 min to drop us to someplace else. And it was a fair price for the whole day, and a great way to see the island in a short time.

Don't miss Coromandel if you have time. It' great. Waihi Beach is my favorite really....but there is no such thing as a bad beach in NZ. Near Auckland, I think Piha was my favorite. It's about an hour or so drive away, through the rain forest.

Oh, and if you want to travel down island...use the train. It's a blast, and really cheap. You can stop along the way at hostels, they are reasonable, safe and even Kiwi's use them. But it's just a very fun way to travel there. Kinda like going back in time...

Oh, and be prepared! Everything is so stinkin' expensive. Pack carefully, cause you will be shocked at prices if you have to buy something. I about fainted when told the brand of mascara that cost me $5 at Wal-Mart was $75 NZ. Clothing worse. And petrol is crazy expensive. Like $7 a litre!

There are lot of good restaurants in the Auckland area, but when you get out in the more rural towns....well, they leave a lot to be desired. Pack a picnic or just be reconciled to bad food at outrageous prices. But you can find a good cup of tea anywhere! And the coffee is great.

I have tons of shots in my NZ gallery if you want to see some places. I'd be happy to answer any questions I can. I've seen a heck of a lot of the country, north and south island.
http://sojournerphoto.smugmug.com/Travel/New-Zealand-1/7156339_rXxSd/1/459240893_XmoMk

raebrown · December 5, 2009

Hi Sylvia

Great advice! We had the Coromandel Peninsula on our 'must go' list and I've now added Waihi beach. We've also planned to visit Waiheke and I like the arrangement you had with the taxi driver...we'll definitely check that out. Good coffee is my weak spot...thanks!

Weisel · December 13, 2009

I spent 4 months this year working on a cruise ship, and we were in Auckland several times. In fact, that was our starting point for our contract. We went all over NZ, then to Australia, then back to NZ.....several times. I LOVE it. The people are friendly. There's no snakes at all, of any kind in NZ (from what they all told us. BUt I'd bet there's ONE living in a hole SOMEWHERE)

We were all over NZ, and Auckland was probably actually the least photogenic place we were in (for me), but it was a fun place with a lot to do. To be fair, we never got to spend much time at the Auckland port, so we probably missed a LOT. My fave NZ towns are Christ Church and Tauranga. Wellington was also really kewl. I also arranged to shoot a few native NZ models, which was a thrill, and a great addition to my portfolio.

I'm posting one of my fave photos I took from my trip. This was somewhere off the southern coast. (It's like the ONLY photo I took that I don't know exactly WHERE I took it) I think we had just come out of the fjords, around Milford Sound. Anyway--enjoy your trip! It should be a lifetime event for ya.

jogle · December 13, 2009

Welcome to Kiwi land!

Getting around the far north (what we call anything north of Auckland) is best done with a car, It's about 5 hours drive to get up the top, take 2 or 3 days to get up there and drive back in one. Keri Keri is lovely, as is the rest of the bay of islands. Lots of good fishing trips leave from towns in the bay. Come back down the west side, some lovely windy roads through the Kauri forrests. Including the oldest tree in NZ, Tane Mahuta.

The Coromandel is also well worth a look. It's a great time of year to do all the beaches along the east side.

Rotorua is about 3.5 hours drive, with lots of good touristy cultural stuff to do.

Auckland isn't that exciting as far as cities go, so don't feel too much need to stay there for ages.

For future trips, I reccomend at least 2 weeks to do the South Island properly, that's the really spectacular part of NZ.

For sylvia's comments, yes imported goods from USA or Europe are expensive. The NZ dollar is particularly high at the moment, so things will seem even more expensive then normal. Petrol is currently about USD$1.20 a liter or USD$4.50 a gallon (though it's metric only here) most of that is the roading tax.

Everything includes 12.5% sales tax in the price and tipping is generally unheard of, we're just generally friendly without being bribed into it

raebrown · December 14, 2009

Nice shot Weisel! This will be our first and a relatively quick trip to New Zealand. we'll save the rest of the North Island and all of the South Island when we can get over there for an extended stay. Plan on thoroughly enjoying Auckland and exploring some of the country around it.

Our friends are taking a 30+ day cruise around Australia and then New Zealand in May 2011 and I'm a bit envious of that.

raebrown · December 14, 2009

jogle wrote:

Welcome to Kiwi land!

Thanks James. Thanks also for the good tips. We do plan to return for a more extended tour of both islands. This time we'll rent a car for some trips away from Auckland - Coromandel for sure. Metric won't be a problem as we're metric here in Canada. I like the price of our gas better at Cdn $ 0.84/litre, however our current temperature of -30 celsius (-22 degree Fahrenheit) leaves something to be desired.

Hope those green-lipped mussels are as good as I hear they are!:D Can't wait to get there!

Weisel · December 15, 2009

raebrown wrote:

Our friends are taking a 30+ day cruise around Australia and then New Zealand in May 2011 and I'm a bit envious of that.

Once they visit Sydney, if they do, they will not return home! Beware! Sydney is maybe the easiest city on earth to fall in love with. It's beautiful, friendly, fun, clean, photogenic, and just plain amazing. Sydney Harbor is heaven for me. Circular Quay rocks!

As for NZ, I hope you have a blast there. Again, very friendly, and much of it quite photogenic. As our Kiwi friend stated, you really must visit the south side sometime, eventually. Just think: Lord of the Rings scenery.

raebrown · December 16, 2009

They will be visiting Sydney. The cruise is 2 back to backs both originating and ending in Sydney. I believe they are planning to spend extra time at the end, or beginning, of the cruise.

For us, Sydney and the South Island of New Zealand will be seperate trips.

raebrown · March 17, 2010

Update
Our first trip to New Zealand was amazing!!! I'll post some pictures in Journeys shortly. Thanks to everyone who contributed suggestions, we really appreciated the ideas. We didn't do or see all that we had intended to, on the other hand, we saw a whole lot more places we hadn't thought of or didn't know about.

This trip turned out to be much more than just a sightseeing holiday...as good as those can be. After posting the initial inquiry, I received an email from a fellow SmugMugger and Dgrin member offering to show us a bit of the Auckland area through the eyes of a local. Wow...we didn't know what we were getting into! Our 'local guide' picked us up at our hotel, discovered our interests, and gave us 3 full days of personalized touring in his Honda van. We were also invited to their home for a BBQ with several of their friends and family. We not only had a unique look at the Auckland area, we also met some new friends.

I'd like to extend a public thank you to fellow Smugmug member Marty Beets and to his wife Leona and the girls. Marty is in the process of redesigning his site at http://beetscentral.smugmug.com/
Marty, you went above and beyond in making two first time visitors feel very welcome in your part of the world.

michswiss · March 23, 2010

Rae, I'm really glad your trip was a success. Kiwi-land is my third home and I'm in Auckland as often as I can manage. When I'm there it's to commune with family, so I don't tend to explore or share the city photographically. But I do really like the place. It's an ideal place to raise a young family.

As far as Sydney is concerned, all surface -- no substance. Melbourne is more fun. (Just don't tell anyone else.)

raebrown · March 24, 2010

michswiss wrote:

Rae, I'm really glad your trip was a success. Kiwi-land is my third home and I'm in Auckland as often as I can manage. When I'm there it's to commune with family, so I don't tend to explore or share the city photographically. But I do really like the place. It's an ideal place to raise a young family.

As far as Sydney is concerned, all surface -- no substance. Melbourne is more fun. (Just don't tell anyone else.)

Thanks Jennifer...your secret is safe with me. We were very impressed with the vibrancy of Auckland's CBD. And those alleys with the stores, restaurants and pubs...gotta love it.

Auckland, New Zealand

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