My first trip to the beautiful country of New Zealand was in June of 2016 for a work assignment. After flying for over 14 hours from LAX (Los Angeles), I had a 24-hour layover in Auckland. Now I could have stayed at a hotel close to the airport but opted for one in the city centre which would allow me to explore a little easily and miss this view from my hotel room.
Now let me tell you a little secret – I had no idea what I was going to do! I knew nothing about Auckland except it was in New Zealand — it was the time to be adventurous. Therefore, I left my hotel and headed in the direction of the SkyTower.
Once I arrived, I found out that it didn’t open until 9 am. I then started walking toward the marina.
The next time I am in Auckland, I am staying at the Hilton. The view is phenomenal.
Queens Wharf, Port of Auckland
“Queens Wharf lies at the bottom of Queen Street in Auckland’s central city and offers a unique vantage point overlooking the sparkling Waitemata Harbour. Home to two of Auckland’s signature buildings, Shed 10 and The Cloud, Queens Wharf has been transformed from a private working wharf to a public waterfront space for all to enjoy.”
The Queens Wharf is the heart of Auckland. In the background, you can glimpse the Sky Tower
This picture was taking inside “The Cloud”.
So who wants to play chess? I thought this was so cool when I saw it.
Once I was done exploring the marina, it was time for the Hop On Hop Off Bus Adventure.
Hop On Hop Off Bus Adventure
I have a secret. I love exploring a new city on the Hop On Hop Off (HOHO)bus. Most of the time I don’t hop off lol.
While on the Hop On Hop Off bus, I snapped this picture on my smartphone. It has this moody eerie kind of feel but it caught my attention
Another view of the Waitemata Harbour
Tidbit: Auckland is known as the “City of Sails”
While on my Auckland HOHO bus and I was able to capture the city centre from the bay
St Patrick’s Cathedral
The Catherdral was founded in 1841 and the architectural type is Gothic Revival style. Per their website, the church “Some three thousand people attend Mass here each Sunday. During the week thousands more come to pray, light a candle or enjoy a moment’s peace”
Auckland War Memorial Museum
“Auckland War Memorial Museum is New Zealand’s first Museum. The Museum tells the story of New Zealand, its place in the Pacific and its people. It has pre-eminent Māori and Pacific collections, significant natural history resources and major social and military history collections, as well as decorative arts and pictorial collections.”
Here I am minding my own business on the HOHO Bus and I spy the Sky Tower with a hint of fall leaves
Eden Park
Eden Park is Auckland’s iconic stadium hosting international and national sporting events.
Aerial view of the city of Auckland from the Sky Tower
At the end of the HOHO, I took a little walk 😉 Read all about it – Sky Tower, Fear Not!
Well my 24 hours in Auckland was quick but I had one of the best exerpience. The HOHO buses are the best way to get an overview of city. Keep traveling and exploring. See you soon!
Looks like 24 hours well spent! I would never go near that tall building though, you are pretty brave to do that!
I would love to be able to travel here someday, you seem to have a really fun time here
What a great use of 24 hours! It looks like a beautiful place to have a layover 🙂
OMG that walk on the outside of the tower looks sooo scary! It looks like you spend a great few hours in a city you weren’t expecting to visit!
What a gorgeous place! I am glad you made the best out of your time in there. 🙂
Looks like an awesome layover in an amazing city! I think it’s really fun to visit someplace new, without any real idea of what to expect, visit, or see. It affords us the opportunity to roam around with childlike wonderment. I love that moody picture you snapped from the bus. It really is special!
Wow, you did quite a lot in 24 hours. I would have probably slept most of the time after such a long flight. The Marina looks nice and yes, a HoHo bus is a good idea when you have so little time for a relatively big city.
Your HOHO tour ended up fun. And Auckland is a beautiful city. Too bad I never got a chance to visit NZ when I was still in Jakarta, Indonesia. Maybe one day when we go that direction again. Australia and New Zealand in one swing.
All this in 24 hrs! Wow what a good use of layover time! I surely want to do this 🙂
Literally I would like to spend more then 24 hours of my life…..its a awesome place 🙂