Auckland

North New Zealand

Auckland has a population of 1,413,700, which constitutes 31 percent of the country's population. (Wellington, the capital city is the second most populous urban area with 393,600 residents.)

Waitemātā Harbour

Waitemātā Harbour is the main harbour and is often referred to as Auckland harbour. It is awash with private pleasure boats, both sailing and motor boats. It is said that there is a boat for 1 in 4 people who live in Auckland. In additiion to those in the water, there are sheds stacked high full of boats in storage. The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane box truss motorway bridge over the Waitemata Harbour, joining St Marys Bay in Auckland with Northcote in the former North Shore City. It is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway. The bridge took four years to build and was completed in April 1959. It was originally built with four lanes for traffic. But owing to the rapid expansion of suburbs on the North Shore and increasing traffic levels it was soon necessary to increase capacity – by 1965, the annual use was about 10 million vehicles, three times the original forecast. In 1969, only ten years after opening, two-lane box girder clip-on sections were added to each side, doubling the number of lanes to eight. The sections were manufactured in Japan so they got the nickname of the 'Nippon Clip-ons'. The clip-ons have been plagued by significant issues. In 2007, a bylaw banned vehicles over 4.5 tonnes from the outside lane on each clip-on to reduce stress on the structure - two months later they banned vehicles of 13 tonnes or more. Despite strengthening work being carried out the clip-ons still have a very limited life span, even if heavy traffic is banned from using them. The wonderful fish market, which hosts a variety of fresh seafood retailers, a boutique food market, restaurants, cafes, and the Auckland Seafood School. The fish on display was amazing – such a variety and so big! We drove around the expensive homes areas of Parnell and Remuera, followed by a walk along Mission Bay, a white sandy beach with a vibrant beachfront promenade.

Auckland Museum

The Auckland Museum (Tamaki Paenga Hira ) founded in 1852 was New Zealand’s first museum. (Tāmaki Paenga Hira means Auckland's memorial to fallen chiefs and their gathered taonga) It has fascinating and extensive exhibits about Auckland and the Tamariki.  In the Maori culture section there are many performances during the day by the Maori people.