Travel Dates: December 2023
Things to do outside Auckland:
Piha – Ideal day excursion to Auckland’s western coast, featuring beautiful black sand beaches and scenic hiking trails.
Piha Beach is the main attraction, with impressive rock formations along the beach. The experience varies significantly during high and low tide, revealing inaccessible parts during low tide. There’s a decent amount of parking in the area, along with a public bathroom here.
Mercer Bay Loop Walk is a must-do hike for its beautiful coastal views. It’s said to take about 1 hr for the loop but we only walked to the lookout point in the south and back, which took ~40 minutes. If you want to do what we did, park on the left side of the driving loop and use the entrance to the hike here (reference the picture below). There will be a shoe/hiking equipment cleaning station at the entrance, and afterwards you’ll start walking downhill. At one point there will be a fork in the road; take the path on the right to follow the sign for Mercer Loop. There will then be a second fork, this time go left to head south for the coastal viewpoints and a Maori carving. If you head north instead, this will be the path to continue on Mercer Loop.
Upper Nihotupu Walk is a relatively quick 40 minute roundtrip hike to see a waterfall. There’s a parking lot here and a shoe/hiking equipment cleaning station at the entrance of the hike. If you need the bathroom, there’s a small shed/outhouse ~10 minutes into the hike. Feel free to skip this if you don’t have time or are not too interested.
One tip for visiting Piha is to make sure you bring enough drinking water and gas for the car because there are no shops or gas stations here.
Rotorua – A must see for those interested in geothermal activity and Maori culture. With a plethora of activities available, consider an overnight stay if time allows. Otherwise, a day trip here may only give you enough time for 1-2 attractions (which is what we did) as Rotorua is a 3 hour drive from Auckland.
Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland is a geothermal park where you can see natural landscapes (i.e. acidic pools, mud pools, geyser, etc.) created from volcanic activity. Tickets are $45 NZD per person. To walk the whole park took about 1.5 hours, but note the last admission is at 3pm. We finished at 3:40pm and attempted to visit Lady Knox Geyser (located in another section of the park), but it was closed by the time we arrived. Although the Thermal Wonderland was interesting, you should research first to see if there’s somewhere else you’d prefer to visit more.
Things to do in Auckland:
Waiheke Island – For wine lovers, a ferry ride to Waiheke Island is a must, given the numerous vineyards here. During our visit, we explored two wineries conveniently located right next to a bus stop.
- Tantalus Estate – reservations are needed for wine tasting or lunch, otherwise you can do walk-ins to the brewery lounge downstairs. We enjoyed the $20 NZD standard wine tasting, but reservations are limited to an hour. For beer enthusiasts, indulge in a $15 NZD beer paddle tasting, allowing you to choose brews based on your preferences.
- Stonyridge Vineyards – while they do accommodate walk-ins due to the estate’s substantial size, their $20 NZD standard wine tasting was subpar.
Traveling to Waiheke and around the island is relatively straightforward. You’ll first need to take a ~40 minute Waiheke Fuller 360 ferry ride that departs from Downtown Ferry Terminal. Tickets are available for purchase in-person at $59 NZD per person for roundtrip, or $55 NZD if bought online. Opting for off-peak hours reduces the cost to $44 NZD. Weekend summer schedules have boats departing approximately every 30 minutes, but be prepared for long lines. To secure a guaranteed seat at a specific time and skip the wait, consider the Reserve ticket at $95 NZD, available for select time slots. Planning ahead and arriving at least 30 minutes before your preferred departure time is advisable due to the popularity during peak summer periods. Feel free to check out their timetable here.
Once you arrive in Waiheke, buses will be on the left of the terminal (use Google Maps to help you find which bus to take and their scheduled times). You’ll need a HOP card for the bus, which can be bought after you disembark. Or to save time and ensure you catch the bus, buy one at the Downtown Ferry Terminal located inside the harbor information hub on the right of the Fuller 360 walk-up queues.
A HOP card costs $5 NZD and then you’ll have to add on top how much money you want on the card. The one way bus ride to the vineyards was $4 NZD per person. You can use one HOP card and tell the bus driver you need to buy extra passenger tickets. They will tap your card and deduct money directly from it. Make sure you tap your card when you exit the bus. If you run out of money, download their app and register your card to top off for more funds.
Mount Eden – A bit outside of downtown Auckland, visit the park to see the dormant volcano with its bowl-like crater, along with panoramic views of the city.
Butterfly Creek – We didn’t want to leave New Zealand without seeing a kiwi, so we stopped by this small zoo, right next to the airport. For $32 NZD, it’s not too expensive and they also have crocs, meerkats, otters, a butterfly garden exhibit, a petting zoo where you can feed goats and llamas, and more. However, I wouldn’t really recommend this unless you don’t have any other choice but still want to see kiwis, or you have kids (this place is great for families).
Places to eat in Auckland:
Masu – Japanese-styled restaurant with delicious chicken skewers, king crab leg, cedar baked king salmon teriyaki, and South Waikato lamb cutlets.
SkyBar – Instead of paying for tickets for the Sky Tower, make a reservation to have drinks at SkyBar instead, which is just a few floors below the observation deck of Sky Tower. I highly recommend their champagne cocktails and desserts, and if you are feeling adventurous, order the secret Hanky Panky drink that changes daily (they won’t tell you what it is until after you drink it).
Lucky 8 – An Asian-themed tapas restaurant where a majority of the dishes are $8.88 NZD. Everything is ordered through your phone and you can pay through mobile or via the front desk counter. This place gets very crowded so booking a reservation is a must, otherwise you can do walk-in in-person or virtually. All the dishes were flavorful, with the glass noodles dish a must-order.
Jungle 8 – Inside Elliot’s Stable (food court area), this Vietnamese themed restaurant is Lucky 8’s sister store so the pricing and ordering concept are the same. The prawn and beef ban xeo (“tacos”) were exceptionally good.
1947 eatery – Indian spot with tasty lamb shank and tandoori chicken.
Duck Island Ice Cream – Their mango passion fruit sorbet is to die for; expect lines to get long in the evening when people stop by after dinner for dessert. They are also conveniently located across the street from Lucky 8.
*In Piha, there are limited food options so we went to Brothers Beer and Joint BBQ. This is the only indoor restaurant with a bathroom, otherwise you will have to use the outdoor public restrooms by the beach. We also liked this restaurant because we could refill our water bottles using their tap water. In terms of food, we ordered the meat platter to share, which consisted of ribs, brisket, chicken wings, pulled pork, and a side of coleslaw and fries–the ribs were the best.
Places to stay in Auckland:
Holiday Inn Express Auckland City Centre – A relatively inexpensive hotel located in the center of downtown Auckland with shops and restaurants nearby, as well as walking distance to the ferry terminal and Sky Tower. There is self-parking at a garage next door for $59 NZD per night(with no in/out privileges) from 2PM – 10AM, after 10AM it’s $10 NZD per 30 minutes.
One exceptional feature of this hotel is the opportunity to secure a room facing Sky Tower, providing unobstructed views of the New Year’s Eve fireworks in the comfort of your room – a particularly advantageous arrangement, especially during inclement weather.
Other things to know when traveling to New Zealand:
When you land in New Zealand from any international flight, you will have to go through bio-security screening via either an airport security dog, x-ray machine, or an agent. Make sure to watch the bio-security video that will be shown on your plane before you land or read the signs in the airport to ensure you dispose or declare any items.
Globe Trotter 