# I'm going to New Zealand! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2008, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-new-zealand/434646 "2008-01-23T08:31:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-new-zealand/434646/1 "2008-01-23T08:31:23Z")
Sadly, I’ll only have one free day there, in Auckland. I enjoy good food, drinking, walking, local culture and snorkeling. Anyone want to suggest a one day Auckland itinerary? Is there any good snorkeling within a public transit ride of the city? I’ll be staying at Princess Street & Waterloo Quadrant, if that helps at all. I won’t be renting a car. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-new-zealand/434646/2 "2008-01-23T09:06:05Z")
[QUOTE=Quint] Sadly, I’ll only have one free day there, in Auckland. I enjoy good food, drinking, walking, local culture and snorkeling. Anyone want to suggest a one day Auckland itinerary? Is there any good snorkeling within a public transit ride of the city? I’ll be staying at Princess Street & Waterloo Quadrant, if that helps at all. I won’t be renting a car. [/QUOTE] …Kia ora!!! I’m sure the Auckland Dopers will be along shortly, I used to live in Auckland but a lot has changed since I was last up there! Are you visiting on business? ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-new-zealand/434646/3 "2008-01-23T13:16:25Z")
[QUOTE=Banquet Bear] …Kia ora!!! I’m sure the Auckland Dopers will be along shortly, I used to live in Auckland but a lot has changed since I was last up there! Are you visiting on business? [/QUOTE] I can’t suggest anywhere to snorkel, but go to _[Kelly Tarltons](http://www.kellytarltons.co.nz/home/)_ for undersea goodness. If you want a quick inner city thrill, you can do a retarded descent off the _Sky Tower_ (no link as the web page seems to be down). You can do a half day yacht charter on the Hauraki Gulf, which is pretty cool, and the Viaduct basin has a pretty good waterfront (or did have last time I was there). Just some ideas from an occasional visitor to Auckland. Si ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-new-zealand/434646/4 "2008-01-23T13:24:03Z")
I have no recommendations. I just want to say that I am insanely jealous. My family’s going to make a trip to NZ some day. We figure about two weeks there, with maybe half a week layover in Hawaii going and coming back. About a week of randomly driving through the country taking lots of pictures, maybe three days of camping. Some day… ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-new-zealand/434646/5 "2008-01-23T18:59:45Z")
Thanks for the replies thusfar. Just a bump here as I leave in 4 hrs and am hoping to check back in just before for any further spots of interest. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-new-zealand/434646/6 "2008-01-23T21:36:18Z")
I’ll second \*\*si\_blakely’s \*\* recommendation. Otherwise just wander around the harbourfront. I’ll be in New Zealand myself for two weeks in February, but I’m not going to Auckland. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-new-zealand/434646/7 "2008-01-25T05:31:22Z")
Conctator, Subway, and anyone else who is heading to NZ anytime soon (and has time to get out of Auckland): 1. On the Coromandel Peninsula (not far from Auckland, to the southeast), **Oputere Beach** , a fifteen-minute drive and five-minute woodsy walk from the mellow beach town of Whangamata, is GORGEOUS, and surprisingly few people, even now (mid-summer). 2. **Wellington** is delightful – a bit like a mini-San Francisco (and the area around it is a bit like a mini-Bay Area), with some Dublin thrown in. In between these North Island points are many delights, from the colored geothermal pools of Rotorua to the wineries of Hawkes Bay. Oh, and if you go to the Marlborough wineries at the north end of South Island, try Lawson’s Dry Hills – it’s one of the few locally-owned vineyards left. The Swansdowne Cottage B+B in nearby Blenheim is terrific. One more thing! Consider the St. James Walkway hike at Lewis Pass, on South Island but not far from the north end of the island. Not too strenuous, but plenty gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-new-zealand/434646/8 "2008-01-27T12:59:21Z")
So what did you end up doing with your day in Auckland **Quint**? ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-new-zealand/434646/9 "2008-01-27T17:30:01Z")
Sorry I missed seeing this thread. For the interests **Quint** named, somewhere out in the Hauraki Gulf, like Great Barrier Island or Kawau, would have been the ticket, I’d say. Like **Cunctator** , I’m interested in how things tuerned out. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-new-zealand/434646/10 "2008-01-27T20:41:49Z")
Me too, I’m sure I remember some of the charter boats offered snorkeling - but there’s enough good restaurants and bars around the waterfront to have kept him busy with the first three interests listed. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-new-zealand/434646/11 "2008-01-27T21:40:29Z")
Absolutely, **maggenpye**. The Viaduct Harbour alone would have kept **Quint** occupied for ages.