After our 10 days in Fiji, New Zealand was the 19th country on our trip around the world. For the next 11 days we want to explore New Zealand from Auckland in the north to Queenstown in the south with the rental car on our own and we are looking forward to the many scenic highlights.
Table of contents
Our flight from Fiji to New Zealand
Just in time at 1.30 p.m. we took off from the airport in Nadi (Fiji) with Air New Zealand and landed in Auckland in New Zealand about 3 hours later after a very quiet flight.
Even if they are of course mega important, you usually get bored with the safety instructions before a flight. But those of Air New Zealand are really nicely made. For example, there is Safety in Hollywood, Safety in Paradise, Safety Old School Style or for some time in the “Lord of the Rings Hobbit Style”:
Our Hotel in Auckland
At the airport we bought two tickets for the Skybus Express, which drove 5 minutes later towards the city centre. From the stop it was another 10 minutes walk to our hotel VR Auckland City , where we had booked an apartment for two nights.
The location is great, everything is within walking distance. The apartment had a separate bedroom, which could be closed with a sliding door. The kitchen was fully equipped with dishes, microwave, two hotplates, kettle, toaster and dishwasher. Washing machine incl dryer is also available. Everything was clean and you felt comfortable. Breakfast is placed in the fridge the night before 8 pm and consists of toast or muffins, fruit, juice, yoghurt and a cereal bar or cookie. The Wi-Fi worked very well. The room was very quiet, although we had a room facing the street.
Things to know about Auckland
Auckland is the most densely populated and large city in New Zealand, with just over 1.4 million inhabitants, with about a third of New Zealand’s population. The city is located between two bays and is surrounded by 53 inactive volcanoes. Numerous islands close to the coast invite you to day trips with beautiful beaches and varied landscapes. Auckland is often referred to as the “City of Sails” because there are countless marinas on the coastal areas. In addition, the city is ranked in the top 10 in the ranking of cities with the highest quality of life in the world. Among the most famous sights are the 328-metre-high Sky Tower, which is also the tallest building in the southern hemisphere, Viaduct Harbour, Wynyard Quarter, Ferry Building, Town Hall, Auckland War Memorial Museum, Museum of Transport and Technology, Mount Eden Prisons, One Tree Hill, Zoo and Aquarium Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter & Underwater World.
Downtown Auckland
The sights in the city center
The next day Auckland awaited us with blue skies and bright sunshine and we set out to explore the city on foot. We walked over Aotea Square to The Town Hall. Queen Street, located at City Hall, is the main shopping street and leads directly down to the harbour, which now houses a large cruise ship.
The Viaduct Harbour
Viaduct Harbour is part of the city centre that has been completely rebuilt for the Americas Cup. An industrial district has become a nightout with restaurants and pubs. Here you can also see the several sailboats that gave Auckland the nickname “City of Sails”. In Viaduct Harbour we took a lot of time in the great weather.
The Sky Tower
From our hotel balcony we have already seen the most famous landmark of the city: the Sky Tower, which at 328 meters is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. In the evening we walked past the illuminated Sky Tower into the city centre to buy something.
Starbucks Global Icon City Mug of Auckland
We are collecting the Starbucks Mugs from the cities and islands we visit on our travels. Unfortunately, not every city that has a Starbucks store with an own mug. But if the city has an own mug we like to collect them as a souvenir. We only collect city mugs from the "Global Icon Series", which was released in 2008. You can see our complete collection here: Starbucks - Our collection of Mugs from the Global Icon SeriesAuckland has several Starbucks stores and also its own cup 🙂
Starbucks Global Icon City Mug of Auckland
All travelogues from New Zealand
For 11 days we explored New Zealand from north to south by rental car on our own. We started our trip on the North Island in the city of Auckland, we experienced the tremendous underground forces in Wai-O-Tapu and Orakei Korako, we explored the capital Wellington, drove across the New Zealand Alps, did a glacier hike on the Fox Glacier, before we finished with a trip through the UNESCO World Heritage Site Milford Sound. New Zealand is a really beautiful country that we enjoyed incredibly.
» North Island: Auckland – Tourist Attractions, Things to Do & Photo spots (New Zealand)» North Island: Waitomo – The Waitomo Glowworm Caves (New Zealand)
» North Island: Rotorua & The geothermal area Wai-O-Tapu (New Zealand)
» North Island: Orakei Korako – The geothermal region in Taupo (New Zealand)
» North Island: The Tongariro Alpine Crossing & the city of Wellington (New Zealand)
» North Island / South Island: Picton – The ferry from the North Island to the South Island (New Zealand)
» South Island: Abel Tasman National Park – Hiking & Boat tour (New Zealand)
» South Island: Pancake Rocks & the Sea Lions at Cape Foulwind (New Zealand)
» South Island: The Franz Josef Glacier in Westland National Park (New Zealand)
» South Island: Fox Glacier – Heli-Hike, Glacier Walk & Ice Climbing (New Zealand)
» South Island: New Zealand Alps – From Franz-Josef to Milford Sound (New Zealand)
» South Island: Milford Sound – A boat trip through the fjord (New Zealand)
» South Island: Road to Milford Sound & the town of Queenstown (New Zealand)