Back from Auckland
I have always flew out of Auckland by switching to the international airport terminal.
So I spent, 2 nights in AKL, and I used the Overlander which was
I was based in AKL CBD. Correct me but I found that the locals tended to stay at their own areas than to travel into the CBD. I found the supermarkets were far away and without my own vehicle nor a rental vehicle I just made do without it and pay high dollars for items. I knew there was one at Quay St and one at College Hill St, requiring a 15min bus ride. Since I was only there for 2 nights or really 1 night since I arrived into AKL in the evening I only wanted to get snack food to take back on the train back with me.
Being Asian myself I found that there are more in AKL, I have friends of family who have said they thought they were in overseas when they spent some time in AKL. The ethnic of food was better.
I find that Queens Street doesn't have as much corporate workers as Wellington. I presume people work outside the CBD and they have a more share of students, tourists and migrants.
There wasn't a big thing of the Waterfront. They have the bars but it is not a afternoon family place for a run or a stroll. At night it was pretty much a alcohol scenery. I didn't put much focus on it but found it lacked of a real civic centre, Aotea Sq was being worked on, the museum and art gallery and public library tended to be not linked.
Heaps of convenience stores, souvenir stores, and kebab shops but Queens Street doesn't really have a lot of night life. People tended to concentrate around the cheap areas and internet cafes.
The cheapest place I found for a coke was $2 at McDonalds.
Here are my questions about AKL.
For those who are based in the CBD with no private motor vehicles, could you get a groceries for a fair price in the CBD and go back to your apartment and cook it up? Could you get a nice western lunch meal in the CBD - like a salad with lamb for approx $15 or a brunch for the same price like Eggs Benedict with bacon or salmon and toast. Ex. the coffee. Wellington you could get that for $12 at some places.
I saw Pandora Bakery, we in Wellington tend to have tables where you can order a toasted panini and a coffee or a salad lunch with a coffee but in AKL appeared to be takeaways without eat in tables.
I guess the bridge isn't a tourist stage as Sydney despite being the same designers I was told, being based in the CBD wasn't really accessible. I did see the Auckland Museum thou, not the Maritime Museum althou I am not a sea person and the $16 entry fee.
I took a LINK bus around my $1.60stopped at the museum and then walked down Parnell and went into Verne cafe for lunch the one next to Starbucks, the coffee was great but the $16 salad lunch was actually a entree instead with 5 slices of salmon with a sauce over and coriander leaves. Is that a salad? Coming from Wellington we are used to a $16 real salad with salmon as a lunch meal or add $4 with a coffee.
Is there much to do in Auckland?
On the train back home, I did see some grocery places near the train station, like supermarkets, Fruit World, Tai Ping but they are much further away from the CBD. Hence my thought that locals tended to stay in their own areas. The fellas after work hours in the CBD I found were mostly students or tourists. At the Asian eateries were mostly students I think. Good prices and more selection than Wellington thou
I did see the Sky Tower but seen it before, and not into gambling. Did walk up to the the 1st or 2nd floor thou above ground.
Cheers.
Originally Posted by Marnie
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