I arrived in Auckland just under a week ago on Sunday Afternoon. The trip over to New Zealand is work related, and as such, I have been quite busy. With the need to work quite some hours through the week it was nice to have the afternoon to explore.
Getting Into Auckland
Without much time to look into what there was to see or do in the CBD itself, I set the GPS for SkyCity Casino. The drive from where I had been working took around 30 minutes and being a Saturday afternoon was rather painless.
Before parking, I did drive around a little of the city to see what was here, before parking at Skycity Casino. Without any other knowledge the price seemed ok, and with spending a little money on lunch was made a bit cheaper. The location is excellent as well with just a short walk down to the main street.
Skycity Sky Tower
One of the main attractions I wanted to visit was attached to the Skycity Casino. The Auckland Sky Tower is an observation deck that sits at 186m above the ground. Additionally, you can go a little higher to the SkyDeck at 220m above the ground, which of course I opted for.
For the adventurous, there are the options to walk around the top of the observation deck. While if you like to get the heart racing you also have options somewhat like bungee jumping. If you are looking for something to eat there are two restaurants and a cafe in Sky Tower as well.
The View
There is an uninterrupted view in all directions from the observation deck. Which is exactly what I was hoping for. My only disappointment is the blue tint to the glass which does give a weird hue to the photos. I will intermix the photos of the view with the next couple of points. As each of them relates to other things, I did this afternoon.
Mount Eden
From Sky Tower, you can see Mount Eden, which is relatively close to the city. It is a small mountain around 196m tall and is the tallest of the volcanic mounds in Auckland. It is fairly easy to reach by car and a short walk, so that is just what I did next.
From the peak of Mount Eden, you get a great view of Auckland and across the harbour to the North Shore. You can also see that Sky Tower is one of the most prominent features on the skyline from here. But the next destination for me would be to drive around to the North Shore.
Auckland North Shore
Another prominent feature you can see from the Sky Tower is the Auckland Harbour Bridge. You can reach the North Shore via another road. However, it is three times the distance and takes close to an hour. Where it took me around 15 minutes to get to the small town of Devenport. The main street here is quite nice lined with many small stores and restaurants. However, it was closer to 7 pm on a Saturday evening, and most everything was closed.
I still headed down to the waterfront to take a look at the city from a different perspective. I also timed the visit here quite well with the Sun Princess cruise ship departing.
Off To the Countryside
It might have been a rather brief visit to the city of Auckland. It would have been nice to see a little more, but it is hard to complain when you are being paid to be here for work. I do have a whole day off from work tomorrow though and will be heading out to see some of the countryside. So will be looking to get a post out for you to share that adventure tomorrow.
