Auckland Travel Guide

Auckland Sightseeing Overview

Despite Auckland’s urban sprawl, the major tourist sites are situated around the city center, while those that are further afield can be reached by public transport, the Explorer Bus, which links many of the attractions, public transport, ferries or a hire car.

The ever-expanding city center with its eye-catching skyline is easily explored on foot, starting with the waterfront, which epitomizes the lively feel of the ‘City of Sails’. Here too can be found the tourist information center, Britomart bus and train station, useful transport stops and the Ferry Terminal, Department of Conservation Office, the National Maritime Museum and the America’s Cup Village.

The city’s main street, Queen Street, and the roads and malls that flank it, give a sense of the shopping options, including the two-story Queens Arcade. Queen Street continues past the Town Hall and close by Albert Park, although it is worth remembering that there are many specialized shopping options in the various suburbs that surround the center, which form self-contained village-like satellites.

Albert Park is one of 22 parks in the city and is home to the more ornate half of the Auckland City Art Gallery, the Heritage Gallery (the other half, the New Gallery, is located on the other side of Wellesley Street) and the Bruce Wilkinson Collection, a charming small display of ornate clocks and figures.

Southeast of the center is the huge 81-hectare (202-acre) Auckland Domain, crowned by the city’s main ‘must-see’ site, the Auckland Museum - packed with Maori and Pacific Island artifacts. From the museum, an extra loop on the Explorer Bus circuit takes visitors further out to Mount Eden, Auckland Zoo and the Museum of Transport & Technology (MOTAT).

Venturing further afield requires a car, taxis or more public transport. East of the city are golf courses, the Ellerslie Racecourse, attractions like Howick Historical Village, the Botanic Gardens and the Rainbow’s End adventure theme park. Heading west brings more golf courses, orchards, vineyards and a sense of why the Auckland people love their city so much - inside it is lively and outside simply lovely.

Auckland Tourist Information

Auckland i-Site Visitor Information Center
The Atrium, Sky City
Corner of Victoria and Federal Streets
Tel: (09) 363 7182 or 0800 282 5526.
Website: www.aucklandnz.com
Opening hours: Daily 0800-2000.

New Zealand i-Site Visitor Information Center
137 Quay Street, Princes Wharf
Tel: (09) 307 0612 or 0800 282 5526.
Website: www.aucklandnz.com
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0830-1800, Sat-Sun 0900-1700 (Oct-Mar); daily 0900-1700 (Apr-Sep).

Auckland Sightseeing

The Auckland Superpass includes the Sky Tower, Kelly Tarlton’s, Rainbow’s End and a trip to Rangitoto Island. It is available from the visitor centers, booking offices or any of the participating outlets. For information on transport passes, see Getting Around.

Auckland Sightseeing

The Auckland Superpass includes the Sky Tower, Kelly Tarlton’s, Rainbow’s End and a trip to Rangitoto Island. It is available from the visitor centers, booking offices or any of the participating outlets. For information on transport passes, see Getting Around.

Key Attractions in Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland Domain and Auckland Museum
Created in 1845, Auckland Domain is the city’s oldest, largest and most attractive park, with semi-formal gardens, a sculpture walk, pathways and ponds, a winter garden with cool and tropical houses, and the Fernz Fernery, with over 100 types of fern. The 81-hectare (202-acre) domain is situated on an extinct volcano, known as pukekawa or ‘hill of bitter memories’. Within the domain is the Auckland Museum, the city’s most visited attraction, combining its Greco-Roman style architecture with a contemporary take on the presentation of the displays. The ground floor is devoted to ‘The Pacific people’, the middle to ‘The Place’ and the top to ‘New Zealand at War’, while a small area on the middle floor is given over to the Children’s Discovery Center. The displays include various interactive and audiovisual components. The museum also houses one of New Zealand’s most important collection of Maori and South Pacific artifacts and the Manaia cultural performances of song, heralded by a conch blast that reverberates through the museum at 1100, 1200 and 1330.

Auckland Domain
Tel: (09) 303 1530 (domain) or 309 0443 (museum).
Website: www.aucklandmuseum.com
Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk (domain); daily 1000-1700 (museum).
Free admission although a donation is appreciated (museum); charge for cultural performance.

Auckland Art Gallery
The city’s main art gallery has the country’s largest collections of both native and international art. The Heritage Gallery, which was opened in 1888, contains the bulk of the collection, with the New Gallery (opened across the street in 1995) concentrating on contemporary art, with revolving exhibitions. In the Heritage Gallery, international artists include Breughel and Millais, with Reynolds and Gainsborough providing a link back to colonial days. Some of the most memorable images are those by Gottfried Lindauer and Charles F Goldie, who depict passive portraits of Maori with moko (facial tattoos). Early in 2007 the Heritage Gallery closed for a substantial NZ$96 million refurbishment, which will mean some interesting changes. The massive upgrade, which includes expanding the premises and making them earthquake proof, is due to take three years to complete. During this time, the Auckland Art Gallery will continue to operate through the New Gallery building, which will show both old and new works, as well as host exhibitions, education and public programs.

Heritage Gallery
Corner of Wellesley Street and Kitchener Street

New Gallery
Corner of Wellesley and Lorne Streets

Tel: (09) 307 7700 or 379 1349 (24-hour information line).
Website: www.aucklandartgallery.govt.nz
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1700.
Free admission; charge for special exhibitions.

New Zealand National Maritime Museum
In the heart of the Downtown waterfront, this museum pays homage to the debt an island nation owes to its maritime history. It covers almost a millennium of history - from the arrival of Maori and then European settlers, to the 2000 America’s Cup. Displays also deal with navigation skills, whaling, sealing and other fishing activities, the first freezer ships to export farm produce (sheep and dairy products) to Europe and the invention of the jet boat. Visitors can see historical boats, make their own model boats and take a trip out into Auckland Harbour. The one-hour guided cruises on the Ted Ashby, a replica of one of the traditional, flat-bottomed, ketch-rigged scows that once worked the North Island tidal waterways, sail Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 1200 and 1400.

Eastern Viaduct, corner of Quay Street and Hobson Street
Tel: (09) 373 0800.
Website: www.nzmaritime.org
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800 (Nov-Apr); daily 0900-1700 (Apr-Oct).
Admission charge.

Museum of Transport & Technology (MOTAT)
Commonly known as MOTAT, this is the country’s largest transport collection. It has a working tramway that links its two sections, the main museum and the Sir Keith Park Memorial Site (free). The latter is the collection of aircraft, including vintage aircraft from the two World Wars and a replica of the Richard Pearse plane - the first successful powered aircraft, long before the Wright brothers. The main museum has displays on all other modes of transport, a reproduction Victorian village and the Science Center, with interactive exhibits on technology and communications.

Great North Road, Western Springs
Tel: (09) 815 5800 or 0800 668 286 (information line).
Website: www.motat.org.nz
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1700.
Admission charge.

Howick Historical Village
In 1840, Auckland only had 1,500 inhabitants. This living museum deals with the dramatic and turbulent events of the next 50 years, when the bulk of the settlers arrived from Britain, Ireland and Australia and Maori were forcibly removed from their land. The 33 period buildings have been set in a landscape of reproduction gardens, streets and even a village pond. Staff dress in period costume and on the third Sunday of each month, there are special displays relating to different aspects of this period in the city’s past.

Bells Road, Lloyd Elsmore Park, Pakuranga
Tel: (09) 576 9506.
Website: www.fencible.org.nz
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1700 (last admission 1600).
Admission charge.

Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World
Kelly Tarlton was a local diver who designed this center, which was opened in 1985, so non-divers could experience the underwater world that he found so fascinating. The perspex walk-through tunnels of Underwater World were the first to give visitors the illusion of walking underwater, for close encounters with sharks, rays and other creatures of the deep. The additional Antarctic Encounter includes a reconstruction of the hut in which Captain Scott and his expedition perished, modern-day studies of life on Earth’s frozen continent and a Disney-like ride on the Snow Cat through artificial icebergs and snow drifts.

23 Tamaki Drive, Orakei
Tel: (09) 528 0603 or 0800 805 050.
Website: www.kellytarltons.co.nz
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800 (last entry 1700).
Admission charge.

Auckland Zoo
Almost 1,000 creatures from around the world are housed at this forward-looking zoo, which tries to place the animals in surroundings that closely recreate their natural environment. New Zealand’s native species are represented to the tune of 10%, in particular the hard-to-see national bird, the kiwi, in a nocturnal enclosure, as well as the Tuatara - the most famous national lizard-cum-dinosaur. There is also a large walk-through aviary. The rainforest is such a popular feature that it even has its own website. Here monkeys and apes, parrots, spiders and other rainforest creatures can be seen in their natural habitat. Pridelands is an area that is home to the animals of Africa, including lions, rhinos and giraffes, while Hippo River allows very close-up views of hippopotami. Guided tours are available and there is an informative visitor center.

Motions Road, Western Springs
Tel: (09) 360 3805/19.
Website: www.aucklandzoo.co.nz
Opening hours: Daily 0930-1730 (last entry at 1615).
Admission charge.

Sky Tower
New Zealand’s tallest building stands 328m (1,076ft) high in the center of Auckland, dominating the skyline in the same way as Seattle’s Space Needle. A lift service takes 40 seconds to whizz visitors to the first observation platforms. From here, the views are breathtaking enough but even more so from the very top level, from where visitors can look out over the harbor as well as the city. The tower is one part of the Sky City complex - a casino with cafes, bars and a restaurant. Visitors should note that anyone spending a minimum amount dining here receives a free pass to the very top of the tower. It is possible for visitors to climb even higher, to the crows nest or Sky Deck, a further 50m (164ft) up, as part of the Vertigo experience, which involves wannabe climbers being put through a simulator to make sure they are up for it. Alternatively, there is the world’s longest tower-based jump, where a harness and attached wire allow for a 25-second, 192m (630ft) arrested freefall, eye-popping descent where you reach speeds of 85kph (53mph). Adrenaline junkies can keep their suits on and repeat the experience or cross the road and do an inverted bungy, called Skyscreamer.

Sky City
Corner of Federal and Victoria Streets
Tel: (09) 363 6422 or 0800 759 248.
Website: www.skycity.co.nz
Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 0830-2300; Fri-Sat 0830-2400.
Admission charge.

Vertigo
Tel: (09) 368 1917.

Skyjump
Tel: 0800 759 586.
Website: www.skyjump.co.nz

Further Distractions

Stardome Observatory
This large site is operated by the Auckland Observatory and Planetarium Trust, to give the public an insight into what the heavens are all about. The planetarium and extensions were built in 1996, at a cost of NZ$3 million, making for a high-tech modern attraction. Displays include New Zealand’s first known meteorite, a piece of a meteorite that struck Arizona and model rockets. The planetarium shows 45-minute multimedia features, including what it is like to be an astronaut and the story of a young Polynesian learning the art of navigating by the stars to steer his canoe to New Zealand. Night sky and weather permitting, there is also 30-minutes of telescope gazing, during which visitors might catch a glimpse of Jupiter or Saturn’s rings.

One Tree Hill Domain, off Manukau Road, Royal Oak
Tel: (09) 624 1246.
Website: www.stardome.org.nz
Opening hours: Shows take place Tues-Thurs 2000, Fri-Sat 2000 and 2100; additional afternoon shows on Sat and Sun (times vary).
Admission charge.

Rainbow’s End
New Zealand’s largest theme park has over 20 major rides and attractions, including the country’s only double-corkscrew rollercoaster, dodgems, bumper boats, a pirate ship, an interactive games arcade and rides for small children.

Corner of Great South Road and Wiri Station Road
Tel: (09) 262 2030.
Website: www.rainbowsend.co.nz
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1700.
Admission charge.

Auckland Botanic Gardens
These beautiful gardens were eight years in the making before opening to the public in 1982. They cover 64 hectares (160 acres) and contain more than 10,000 individual plants, along with a lake, a nature trail, a library and an attractive outdoor cafe. Plants are well labelled for the enthusiast and pathways clearly signposted for visitors who only wish to walk in pleasant surroundings. The Auckland Botanic Gardens are also home to the Ellerslie Flower Show.

102 Hill Road, Manurewa
Tel: (09) 267 1457 (visitor center).
Website: www.aucklandbotanicgardens.co.nz
Opening hours: Gardens open daily 0800-2000 (mid Oct-mid Mar), 0800-1800 (mid Mar-mid Oct); visitor center open Mon-Fri 0800-1630, Sat-Sun 0900-1700 (mid Oct-mid Mar), Mon-Fri 0800-1600, Sat-Sun 0900-1600 (mid Mar-mid Oct).
Free admission.

Eden Garden
A few minutes from downtown Auckland lies the green oasis of Eden Garden. The 2.25-hectare (5.5-acre) garden on the volcanic slopes of Mount Eden (the highest point in the area and extremely popular with tour buses) was once a quarry. This was until 1965, when a group of dedicated volunteers began to transform it into what is now a national showcase garden of international status, which has won many awards. It has the largest collection of camellias in the Southern Hemisphere, as well as large numbers of rhododendrons and azaleas. Plants from around the world give year-round color but it is also a good place for visitors to see a large number of native plants too. The landscaped gardens have some statues and a 13.5m (45ft) waterfall.

24 Omana Avenue, Epsom
Tel: (09) 638 8395.
Website: www.edengarden.co.nz
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1630.
Admission charge.

Harbour Bridge Climb & Bungy
The most recent adventure activity in the city involves getting kitted out in overalls and a harness and then walking across the upper girders of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, 65m (213ft) above the harbor, with the traffic rushing along on the road below. The views are spectacular, although this is not for the faint hearted. Equally unappealing to the timid is the bridge bungy run by A J Hackett, father of throwing yourself off things with elastic fastened round your ankles.

Westhaven Reserve, Curran Street, Herne Bay
Tel: (09) 361 2000 or 0800 462 5462.
Website: www.ajhackett.com
Opening hours: Check-in times for climbs or bungy jumps daily at 0900, 1130 and 1430.
Admission charge.