SLIDER

7 Awesome Things to fill in the gaps in your Auckland Itinerary

Wednesday 27 June 2018

Life in Auckland is pretty similar to life in England. I mean it’s easy to just go about my day and forget that I am actually on the other side of the world. I got into a bit of a get up, go to work sort of routine but I’ve been trying my hardest to make some effort to go and do things because actually, I am on the other side of the world and it's an awesome opportunity! Obviously I have to fit this stuff in around work but whether that’s days out at the weekend or wandering around the city during my lunch break I'm making it happen. So here are a few things I've been squeezing around work and some ideas for anyone who has a few hours spare during a visit to Auckland!

Snow Planet
Just a half hour drive from the CBD, (Central Business District) Snow planet is an indoor ski centre and even though I was expectedly terrible, it's definitely a fun way to spend a few hours – we jumped in the car and hit up one of their night sessions after work. I've never been skiing before; indoor or outdoor but it’s fine, they were pretty prepared for my skillset with a little beginners slope and staff everywhere to help direct you. I did spend a lot of time falling on my butt but that’s all part of the fun right?

Beaches
I didn't realise just how many beaches there were to explore in Auckland but there are loads, especially ‘out west’ which is convenient because that’s where we live but it's really not that far from the city either. For the first few weeks after I arrived, every weekend we would get on the bike and go and visit a different one. There’s Muarai and Takapuna but Brown's Bay was my favourite. There was a live event on over the weekend and food stalls all along the front, so we grabbed some lunch (we were halfway through Narcos at the time so made a beeline for the Colombian stand) followed by an ice cream and spent the afternoon listening to the band play in the sunshine. 

Queen Street
This is where I spend most of my time because a. it’s outside my office and b.it reminds me most of home. I like to think of Queen Street as Aucklands answer to Oxford Street apart from that there are alot less people. Still, like when I was at home, I often spend my lunch hours wandering around the shops. There aren’t as many clothes stores here but what NZ lacks in clothes it definitely makes up for with food - Queen Street is full of places to eat! You’ll also find the IMAX cinema and the Sky Tower just a street behind.

Eat Dessert
Admittedly I do have a bit of an ice cream problem but Auckland is the best place for me because it's full of luxury dessert bars! Amongst them all, as you already know, my favourite has to be GIAPO and his imaginative and delicious creations – still the most incredible ice cream in the world if you ask me - I never know what to expect when I head there. These guys are totally geniuses. Whereever I go I try to eat as local as possible, i am fascinated by Maori culture and giapo's maori fry bread ice cream is one of my favourite "new foods" that I’ve discovered whilst travelling and i totally love it! That's why this place will always be one of my top things to do in New Zealand

The Viaduct
This is a wonderful part of the city that I have only just discovered is there. It’s the harbour area, lined with bars and restaurants which honestly, is such a great place to spend an evening. Like I said, its all new to me, I met up with Emily, who I found in the Brits in Auckland Facebook group and on our hunt for happy hour cocktails, we stumbled across The Culpeper. We sat down outside and made our way through the a few espresso martinis whilst the sunset on the water and was back again the week after looking for our next stop - we've been to an Irish pub and a tiki bar there since! Facebook has been crazy useful for stuff like this since I've been travelling!

Sky City Casino
I had kinda come to terms with whilst Auckland is huge and very spread out, everything back home is much bigger and faster paced. But last week, I discovered one thing in this city that that doesn’t apply and that would be the Casino at SkyCITY. With over 2,100 machines and 150 tables, its pretty huge and being open 24/7, it was absolutely buzzing when we went on Saturday night. With bars and restaurants all through it, you can spend hours and hours at this place; and we did!

Go to a gig
Newly discovered by me, Auckland in fact isn't the capital of New Zealand, Wellington is. But saying that, Auckland is actually bigger so you can bet if an act is coming all the way to New Zealand, they'll be playing somewhere in Auckland. I made a last minute decision to join the boys when they went to see Machine Gun Kelly last month and had a blast! Kiwis are pretty into their live events and the atmosphere was amazing! Meet MGKs newest fan!
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