Auckland - the sights, the shops and the bars

Auckland is made up of several different districts. Queen Street is the main drag and the central business district. This is where you're likely end up staying and where most of the tourist attractions are. But if you only see Queen Street, you're missing the point. Take the time to wander around Auckland, the various districts have distinctly different atmospheres.

At the top of Queen Street is Karangahape Road - edgy, dodgy and cool. Ponsonby is offbeat with some very nice shops. Parnell has the very nice shops and people trying to be cool. Newmarket is just about the shops.

Quick Tips:

Take your time, chill out and watch the world go by.

Also if you're here in summer, check the paper. There are lots of good free summer events and concerts.

Best Way To Get Around:

You can walk all around central Auckland. But its easier to take the bus. If you can't be bothered to figure out all the connections just take the Link bus. It circles around Auckland, visiting the various districts.

Possibly the best breakfast in Auckland.

Now I do like the occasional fried breakfast and this place does it superbly. The food is fried just right, no grease, plenty of everything. In fact I reccommend the half breakfast at $7 because I couldn't finish the full Palms special.

Not only is the food good, the actual cafe is remarkable pleasant. The big glass doors overlook the adjoining garden centre. Go there on a sunny morning and you can sit outside amongst all the greenery.

The only bad point about this place is, it is about a 15 drive from Auckland central. But trust me, the breakfast is definately worth it.

The restaurant is half way up the Sky Tower so you get quite spectacular views - and you don't have to pay to get up there.

The food is all decent quality but just outstanding in quantity and choice. Pretty much every type of food is here - roasted meat and vegetables, fish and chips, Chinese, Indian, salad, seafood. Just make sure you leave room for dessert(s).

You can go back for refills as often as you like, or your stomach can bear it. It costs about $20 for one but it is great value for money. My tip - check the back of receipts from Pak n'Save and Foodtown, they often have 2 for the price of 1 offers.

Its a simple 15 minute walk from Queen St or one of the stops on the Link Bus.

The market is under cover so rain or shine its open daily. The stalls are quite a mix, not to mention a maze. There's a great shoe/trainer shop with all the brand names but a good $30 odd cheaper than in town. Various second hand and alternative clothes stands. But if you're looking for bargain presents this a great place to come. There are a few shops obviously aimed at tourists but otherwise an interesting mix of bits and pieces, including an old ambulance outfitted as a piercing stand.

Threre's a food court and also a cash machine, for that essential wooden tiki you just gotta buy.

There are lots of places to go out in Auckland and different places have distinctly different atmospheres.

So starting from the bottom - Viaduct Harbour. Centred around - yep the Viaduct, the place is heaving in summer and still busy in the winter although a lot colder. Lots of new places have sprung up here but the standard ones are Leftfield and Loaded Hog with pretty run of the mill chart dance and pop. Most of the bars have dance floors with mainstream music and usually free entry. A lot of the bars seem to be trying just a bit too hard, but the Coast bar is pretty cool.

Queen Street has various bars and clubs, mostly down the side streets. Try exploring and see what you find. Margharitas has good dance mixes, entry is a few dollars and take id because the bouncer won't let you in without. The Globe is popular but some of the dance remixes are just random, free entry. There's a few pubs if you just want a drink -London Bar (inside is kinda like a golf club), the Playhouse (olde English but they do serve decent pints).

And then you reach Karangahape Road - where most of the serious clubs are including Sinners, Auckland's gay club. Expect to pay $5 - $10 entry at most clubs and dance all night, or at least about 6.00 am. If you need a break, sit down at once of the late night cafes and watch the world go by. K Road is just great for people watching, its also the red light district and where the tranvestite prostitutes hang out. Its pretty safe area though as there's always loads of people about.

Ponsonby is one of the little districts in Auckland, a taxi there from Queen Street costs about $7. Its full of lots of cool bars, not much dancing though. Ponsonby is a little alternative, and pretty damn cool. Grand Central is one of the places to be at the moment, check out SPQK for the waiter in the sparkly hotpants dancing on the table.

If you're into celebrity spotting, and you know your Kiwi celbrities, try barhopping in Parnell. Everywhere is cool, this is Parnell after all, a select area of Auckland. Dress to impress, as long as you don't look as if you're trying too hard. If it starts getting to you try Georges for some randomly cheesy music.

The most obvious sight, in fact you can't miss it, is the Sky Tower. The tallest building in the southern hemisphere as all the tourist guides mention. It costs about $10 to get up to the observation deck (tip check out the free tourist brochures for a discount voucher) and the view is damn impressive. It gives you a good idea of the scale of Auckland and basic orientation.

Once you're done wandering around and daring each other to step on the glass floor panels you have a couple of choices. If you need that adrenaline buzz, climp on up the spike of the Sky Tower, get that extra few hundred metres above the rest and pray its not a windy day. Or you do the Sky Jump for $200. Its actually a controlled descent but for a very long way down. Be warned every so often the ropes stick for a minute or so and you could be left hanging. Literally.

If you fancy something a bit more civilised or at least not so energetic, there's a cafe and revolving restaurant. And Skycity casino where you can get a whole different kind of adrenalin kick. Its free entry to all of these by the way, but take id if you want to go to the casino. Check the paper as well for nightly free entertainment at Skycity.

If you can't be bothered to make it all the way out to Piha or Bethells, it is still possible to get a bit of beach life in the city.

Mission Bay and St Heliers beaches are only a short bus ride away from the centre. The beaches are okay and they're a nice break away from Auckland's streets. There's a few activities on offer. Along the beachfront the same company hires out kayaks or roller blades. And the seafront promonade is just perfect for blading along on a nice day. If you just need to get that all over tan, head further along to Ladies Bay, Auckland's nudist beach.

The towns of Mission Bay and St Heliers themselves are little art crafty places with lots of Italian coffee shops. Worth spending an afternoon there and just chilling out.

NB Kelly Tarleton's Underwater Adventure is on the way and a good place to head for if it starts to rain.

The Auckland War Memorial Musuem to give it its full name, is one of the major sights in Auckland and really worth making the effort to visit.

The builing itself is beautiful and set in the green fields of the Domain. Inside, the musuem has a variety of New Zealand/Pacific cultural displays. The Pacific masks and spirit figures are seriously freaky.

The Maori cultural show costs a bit extra but is worth seeing. They demonstrate traditional songs, dances and fighting and the group sticks around afterwards to explain the Maori exhibits and answer questions. Maori culture is an integral part of New Zealand and the displays help you understand some of its aspects.

The War memorial exhibit on the top floor is moving, demonstrating the involvement of the Kiwi troups in the World Wars. And check out any temporary exhibitions, you never know what they may have. I saw the 'Body Art' exhibition, all about piercing, tattooing, scarfication, corsetry .... interesting, very interesting.

The musuem's cafe does good food and if you visit on a nice day take a wander around the Domain before you leave. There's a sculpture garden, fragrance garden and the Winter Gardens (two giant conservatories) are quite impressive. The Fern garden is pretty dark and shady, a good place to rest on a hot summer's day. And if you time your visit right, catch a free summer concert in the bandstand on Sunday afternoons.

Devonport is a little seaside town directly across the harbour from Auckland. Its a nice place to visit on a sunny day and get away from the city streets for a while.

There are hourly ferries from Quay St for about $10 return and the trip takes about ten minutes for a great view of the harbour. The alternative is a loooong bus ride all the way around. The choice is yours.

Devonport has a nice little range of options. If you're feeling energetic, there's not just one but two volcanic cones to climb - Northhead and Mt Victoria both with random WWII armaments lying around. Don't worry, its just the remnants not actual live artillery there but the young (at heart) will want to play soldier. The views of Auckland from the top are pretty spectacular as well.

If you feel in need of a sit down, wander back to the main street. There are coffee shops galore and little knick knack arty craft shops to pick through. For the culturally minded there's a navy musuem with bored navy officers who can't wait to tell you all about fascinating shipping facts. And if and when it opens again, a hodgepodge of a museum - Jackson's Victoriana is quite fascinating in its random collections of chamber bowls, brassieres and pistols etc. The other alternative if it rains is the cinema up the top of the main street which shows a mix of mainstream and arthouse films.

If the weathers good and you fancy a swim or sunbathe you have the choice of 3 beaches. The main one is right by the town but its worth the walk to Narrowneck and Cheltenham beaches. Both the beaches are far prettier and not so clogged up with tourists. And as a bonus the dairy on the way to Narrowneck beach sells 7 scoop icecreams (3 and a half inches worth!).