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Auckland Vacations and Luxury Travel Packages

City of Sails and Islands

Auckland, Ferry Building, 12 noon. There's no nicer place in Auckland than the Harbourside Restaurant at this time of day. Auckland New Zealand travel arrangements, Auckland yacht charters, Auckland scuba diving adventures, romantic New Zealand honeymoons, exotic weddings, discount travel packages

Auckland New Zealand travel arrangements, Auckland yacht charters, Auckland scuba diving adventures, romantic New Zealand honeymoons, exotic weddings, discount travel packages

Whether you have just arrived in New Zealand as a tourist after the 23hour Air New Zealand flight from far-off Europe - 19,400 kilometers to be exact or whether you are a businessman from one of the high-rise office blocks around the corner wanting to relax a little in the pleasant midday sunshine, perhaps with a fresh salad or cool glass of champagne, Ferry Building is the perfect place to go.

Ferry Building, built in 1912 and today a main thoroughfare for thousands of commuters who live on Auckland's north bank, is the lunch-time meeting place. Here you can pass the time of day observing and getting to know the New Zealanders, or Kiwis as they prefer to call themselves. You will mostly come across townies in Harbourside, people from the urban areas who like to distinguish themselves from the folk, otherwise known as cnckies. The citizens of Auckland consider everything beyond the Bombay
Hills region on the southern outskirts of the city as "country." In addition, the people of Auckland regard themselves as representatives of a superior class. They also see Auckland as the true capital of New Zealand. They just turn up their noses at Wellington. A typical north south conflict, just as in many other countries.

Auckland is also the "city of sails." This popular saying is certainly verified by a gaze at the magnificent Waitemata Harbour on a sunny summer weekend. According to statistics, every 15th person in New Zealand is a boat-owner, yet one in every five Kiwis in Auckland owns a boat. A view across the harbor also reveals that Auckland is the "city of islands" as well. Saying that New Zealand consists only of North and South Island, will engender strong disapproval from the people living on Stewart Island, who see their homeland as the "third island." Some Aucklander will also reply that a regular ferry service connects as many as 52 islands with the city, all within easy reach. This is precisely what makes Auckland such a charming place to live: its location on a narrow isthmus with a width of a mere nine kilometers, separating the waters of the Pacific from the Tasman Sea, and its natural surroundings make Auckland unique.

Since the majority of tourists visiting New Zealand want to experience nature rather than hectic city life, they are welladvised to begin their tour of Auckland with a trip to Hauraki Maritime Park. Most ferries leave from Queen's Wharf and it is located directly at the Ferry Building.

The Ferry Building on Quay Street is as good a place as any to start a tour of downtown Auckland. From this point the city is easily accessible on foot. However, if you want to include the outskirts of the city in your tour, you are advised to take a bus or car. After all, Auckland covers an area of more than 100,000 hectares, making it about the same size as Paris.

Over 600 years ago, a large number of Maori tribes settled on this narrow strip of land. The members of the Ngati Whatua tribe are regarded as Auckland's first inhabitants, the Tangata Whenua. Bloody battles between the various tribes were still common as late as the mid-18th century. The battles usually took place at strongholds, mostly built on volcanoes.

The city first made a name for itself when Captain William Hobson felt it necessary to transfer the capital from the small northerly town of Russell to Auckland in September of 1840. Under the strong influence of the New Zealand Company, Auckland was forced to give up its status as capital city in the year 1865 and pass it on to Wellington.

During this century, Auckland has made the headlines on a number of occasions due to its harbor. Harbour Bridge, over 1000 meters in length, was opened on May 30, 1959. Even today, the bridge is one of New Zealand's most outstanding engineering feats and has long since become Auckland's most famous landmark. Ten years later, the road leading north had to be converted into an eightlane freeway, with Japanese help. Since then, the bridge has had the nickname of Nippon clip-on. The harbor was also in the headlines on July 10, 1985. Not only did the bombing of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior shatter the Princess Wharf, it shook New Zealand's relationship to France as well.

There was tremendous joy and cheering from the hundreds of thousands of spectators who gathered at the harbor to welcome the skipper of the Sreinlager 2, Peter Blake, in January 1990 when he anchored at the same spot as the Rainbow Warrior had done years earlier. The Steinlager 2 was the first yacht to reach Auckland's harbor during the grueling Whitbread Round the World Regatta, and it went on to win the race.

Climbing a Volcano

As beautiful as the city of Auckland may seem around the harbor district, it's not until you climb one of the 60 volcanoes that you realize just how large it is. In the old days, they served the Maori as strongholds, who built their pas here. Nowadays, the Aucklander use the volcanoes as nature parks or jogging paths. Tourists can go "volcano-hopping", with different views from each hill.

The very best panorama of Auckland is from the top of Mount Eden. At a height of 196 m, Mount Eden's volcanic crater remains intact as sheep graze on its grassy slopes. A little farther south, the volcano known as One Tree Hill is of historical significance. The Maori call it Maungakiekie, and a 183-m obelisk perches on its peak. The Maori erected a pa for 4000 people here at the end of the 17th century. John Logan Campbell, a Scotsman and one of New Zealand's first white residents, settled here in 1839. In 1901, ten years before his death, he bequeathed the region to the city of Auckland. Its name was later changed to Cornwall Park, in honor of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall's state visit.

The obelisk standing on the peak of the volcano commemorates Sir John Logan Campbell who, because of his strong sense of loyalty towards the city of Auckland and his great respect for the Maori people, won himself the title "Father of Auckland". The stone pine at the top was planted in place of a totara tree that once stood at the tip of the volcano and was considered sacred by the Maori, but unfortunately some of the first white settlers chopped it down, a thoughtless and coarse gesture.

Acacia Lodge stands at the foot of One Tree Hill and is certainly worth visiting. Constructed in the year 1839, it is the oldest building in Auckland. It was moved here from the city in 1920. Acadia Lodge bears witness to the fact that while Campbell came to New Zealand as a medical practioner, he changed his profession to become a successful businessman and politician, thus earning both wealth and fame.

One Tree Hill is especially worth visiting in the evening. Other "climbable" volcanoes with splendid views are Mount Albert (up Mount Albert Road), Mount Wellington in the south, Mount Hobson and Mount St John, both situated in the district of Remuera, as well as Mount Victoria in Devonport.