Food
by Kate-Me
It's funny, most of my best childhood memories of Auckland and New Zealand revolve around food!
As a child I absolutely loved Pinky Bars (strawberry marshmellow bar covered in caramel and then chocolate), plus marshmallow Easter Eggs with yellow marshmallow yoke (Australian marshmallow Easter Eggs can't compete), Buzz bars (vanilla marshmallow, caramel chocolate covered bars) and pink marshmallow bars in the shape of fish.
Also the L & P (Lemon and Paeroa mineral water) is really excellent (and Australia sometimes imports that, which is great for me) When I'm not in Auckland I miss all these things still....whenever my mother goes 'home' on trips there, not only does she have to bring me back duty free Kahlua, but also Pinky Bars, Easter Eggs...all those things I still miss.
I don't care about any Australian chocolate the way I do these New Zealand items....and Swiss of course, but that's easy enough to get here.
Western Park, Ponsonby.
by kiwi
Western Park, Te Rimu Tahi, in the suburb of Ponsonby and near Freemans Bay, is one of Auckland's oldest parks. Opened, officially to the public, on 17 Nov 1879.
It is a great place to sit in the sun and eat or read, but just to appreciate some grass and trees in the middle of the city.
Ponsonby
by keeweechic
I went to school for several years around this area - one of the older inner city suburbs. It was just an old area back then.. one of the first suburbs of Auckland.
Today it is a trendy and expensive area of lovely restored villa houses, unusual fashions, health shops and a fabulous cafe and restaurant scene. There are also a good range of house ware and furniture stores as well.
Ponsonby is on the opposite side of the city to Parnell. Start one end of Ponsonby Road and just go to the end - there will be something there for you.
SuperShuttle New Zealand
by ATXtraveler
If you are spending most of your time in Auckland's CBD, or are thinking about heading out to the middle of the North Island, I would definitely recommend taking the supershuttle from the airport to your Auckland hotel, and then renting your car from one of the CBD rental facilities.
The Supershuttle will run you about 20 NZD, and then 5 NZD per additional person in your group, which makes for a very inexpensive journey to the airport.
Our driver was also not the smartest tool in the shed, and he almost forgot to take our money when we arrived at the airport. They do pick up from most hotels in the CBD, as well as making house calls. Make sure you place a call at least 2 hours before your flight.
A beer by Princes Wharf
by SWFC_Fan about The Loaded Hog
The Loaded Hog is a large pub/restaurant located on the waterfront at Prince's Wharf in downtown Auckland.
It offers a big outdoor seating area (facing the wharf), a cavernous interior and an upstairs seating area with a balcony overlooking the wharf.
It is a nice setting in which to enjoy a pub lunch, or just a beer, while watching the world go by and admiring the luxury yachts in the wharf.
The prices are fairly steep and the pub seems to attract a lot of suited and booted professionals during the day, especially at lunchtime and at the end of the working day.
There is an extensive food menu which includes standard pub fare such as salads, sandwiches, soups, steaks and seafood meals.
For me, the main attraction of this pub was its selection of draught beers. Choose from Draught Hog Beer, Draught Hog Lager, Draught Hog Wheat Beer, Draught Hog Dark Ale and Guinness. There is also a selection of imported bottled beers. The various "Draught Hog" beers cost 6 NZD a pint. I visited the Loaded Hog on a couple of afternoons during my visits to Auckland in March and May 2006. On both occasions, I opted for:
Draught Hog Beer - Cost: 6 NZD
This is the closest thing that I could find to British bitter during my stay in New Zealand.
A nice place for a pub lunch or a few beers overlooking the wharf!
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Mt Victoria in the background
Swing bridge, be carefull Shirley!!!
Prince Street Merchants House
Detail of the Maori Meeting House.
