AUCKLAND ORIENTATION

[OntarioCruiser38]

We will be spending a week pre cruise (April 1, 2020) in Auckland and would appreciate any comments or assistance with regard to:

 

Where to purchase?

- Groceries (Grocery stores)

- Markets vegetable and farmers markets

- Purchase Fresh Seafood

 

- Best places for coffee in the central area?

- Best breakfast place anywhere in Auckland?

 

Things to do?

- Best local experience

- Day trip ideas

- Must see or you didn’t get the full experience

 

Although we will be in the Central Business District we don’t mind travelling further a field.

 

Thank you so very much!

Jonathan and France 

Edited June 24, 2019 by OntarioCruiser38

[OntarioCruiser38]

1 hour ago, Chiliburn said:

Auckland as all NZ and Australia is expensive.

Thank you for the post.  

I will place your suggestions and comments comments within my map program.  That way I can call them up when we arrive and don’t have to remember a year’s worth of research

 

We had the pleasure to visit Sydney in April. 

Agree about the expense however we were able to economize by finding very nice accommodations and because we have some dietary restrictions we do many of our own meals and splurge when we go out.   Grocery shopping is fun wherever we happen to be.  

 

Seafood is our biggest treat as we are basically landlocked at home with limited fresh seafood other than lobster... so we are really looking forward to your suggestions.  

 

We found a great one bedroom at an extremely reasonable rate right at Prince’s Wharf so we are spending the extra days before our cruise next April 2020 to really get to know Auckland and the surrounding area. 

 

Thank you again for your post.  

Jon

Edited June 24, 2019 by OntarioCruiser38

[Chiliburn]

2 minutes ago, OntarioCruiser38 said:

Thank you for the post.   I will map your suggestions and place comments.

We had the pleasant opportunity to visit Sydney in April. 

Agree about the expense however we were able to economize by finding very nice accommodations and because we have some dietary restrictions we do many of our own meals and splurge when we go out.   Some things my wife found were actually cheaper but not many.   

Seafood is our biggest treat as we are basically landlocked with limited fresh seafood other than lobster... so we are really looking forward to your suggestions.  

We found a great one bedroom at an extremely reasonable rate right at Prince’s Wharf so we are spending the extra days to really get to know Auckland and the surrounding area. 

Thank you again for your post.  

Jon

The meal we had at the occidental pub ,a bucket of NZ mussels.cookd in white wine and butter.some hand cut chips and some fish,a jug of their beer,2 glasses wine for about $50.

[OntarioCruiser38]

17 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

The meal we had at the occidental pub ,a bucket of NZ mussels.cookd in white wine and butter.some hand cut chips and some fish,a jug of their beer,2 glasses wine for about $50.

Okay.. that gives us some reference.

Thank you

[OzKiwiJJ]

The apartments on Princes Wharf are great, very well appointed. We stayed there earlier this year.

 

To get to the fish markets walk to the end of Princes Wharf, turn right, and walk over the Viaduct Basin walkway/bridge to the Wynyard Precinct.

 

There are two supermarkets within an easy walk of the apartments:

- Countdown which is about four blocks along the waterfront, going left from Princes Wharf along Quay St. There is a carpark at street level aand the supermarket is above that with the entrance on the side street at the eastern end of the car park. This is a fairly large supermarket.

- New World Metro is a few blocks up Queen St. The supermarket is below street level and is smaller, but still has the basics.

Note: The convenience store on Princes Wharf is fairly useless.

 

I'm not sure about fresh produce markets these days. You might be able to find some info on Google.

 

There are heaps of restaurants near Princes Wharf, and most should be able to handle dietary issues. I recommend Oyster and Chop in tbe Viaduct Basin. Not cheap but excellent food. 

 

The Culpeper on Princes Wharf has really nice coffee.

 

Do a day trip to Waiheke Island. The ferries leave from the Ferry Terminal next to Princes Wharf.

Also take a ferry across to Devonport and explore the village and the WW2 fortifications at North Head.

If you have a rental car there are as number of options:

- you could go north to the Matakana wine region and there is a farmer's market there on Saturdays.

- There are Thermal pools at Waiwera (north) and Parakai (northwest). 

- Drive through the Waitakeres on the Scenic Drive from Titirangi to Swanson. Stop at the Arataki Visitor's Centre on the way. You could also include a side trip to Piha  Beach.

 

[OntarioCruiser38]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The Culpeper on Princes Wharf has really nice coffee.

 

All great ideas.   Thank you so very much for the orientation.  The Culpeper is in the building so that will be great!  

 

The orientation of the supermarkets is extremely helpful.  I expect Countdown is one of the major supermarket chains so I will mark a few more just in case we are close by as we travel. 

 

The idea for the drives are good ones so a car rental for the day or two separate days will come in handy.  The ferry over to Waiheke will definitely be another day trip.  We found a package for the ferry and hop on hop off bus there. 

 

I went through your post and marked everything on our map app with your comments and directions.  This is very helpful.  At the very least it provides choices.

 

Thank you so much.  It is possible to do this by google however when you have the opinions of people  with context it makes it so much easier.

 

We appreciate the help.

Jon & France

[OzKiwiJJ]

The apartment we stayed in was further down the wharf, however I think they are similar. The menu at the Culpeper looked interesting, we were going to go there for lunch on embarkation day but they had a big function on that day.

 

Yes, Countdown is one of the major supermarket chains in NZ. It's the same as Woolworths in Australia. The other is New World. A supermarket designated "Metro" in Australia or NZ usually means it's smaller and has a more limited range of items, but ideal for people to grab something for dinner on their way home from work. 

 

There is a grocery chain around Auckland called Farro Fresh. There is one in Dominion Rd, Mt Eden and one in Manukau Rd, Epsom which are quite close to the city centre by car. They have a great range of fresh produce, deli items, speciality cheeses etc.

[MargoK]

On 6/25/2019 at 12:26 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

 

- There are Thermal pools at Waiwera (north) and Parakai (northwest). 

 

 

 Waiwera has been closed for quite some time.

[Muffinz]

I think I've mentioned this on the actual cruise forum, but a day trip to Devonport would be good

http://www.visitdevonport.co.nz/ it's just a short ferry ride from downtown Auckland

there are some nice cafe's / restaurants in Devonport, a boutique chocolate shop and other shops

 

also Mission bay is a nice place to go https://www.missionbay.co.nz/

not too far from Auckland CBD by bus or taxi - again it has some lovely cafe's / restaurants

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, MargoK said:

 Waiwera has been closed for quite some time.

Has it? That's a shame. 

[Kiwi Kruzer]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Has it? That's a shame. 

It’s not a shame .....it’s disgusting !!!! 

The overseas owner of the lease let it run down and then lost interest in his venture ,so it sits in rack and ruin while the owners try to get possession back .

Tourists are still turning up .... only to be disappointed.

[Chiliburn]

Auckland is a lovely city you wil love it

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

It’s not a shame .....it’s disgusting !!!! 

The overseas owner of the lease let it run down and then lost interest in his venture ,so it sits in rack and ruin while the owners try to get possession back .

Tourists are still turning up .... only to be disappointed.

Disgraceful indeed. I hope it can be resurrected. With the motorway making it much easier to access than it was when I lived in Auckland it should be a moneyspinner. 

[OntarioCruiser38]

Saturday Morning Farmer’s Market Suggestions?

[OntarioCruiser38]

19 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

Auckland is a lovely city you wil love it

Thank you Phillip,

We are looking forward to our stay!  

Jon