Auckland, You're Alright!

Warning - large post full of awesome advice ahead!

We've just returned from six fabulous days in Auckland. It was my first time in the city, and overall I really liked it. I have to admit, I wasn't overly pumped about going to Auckland of all places in New Zealand - I have always harboured (and still do...) desires to explore the South Island. That said, I was pleasantly surprised. It's a big, friendly, beautiful city with lots of hidden surprises.

Travelling with a child in tow is always a unique experience - it stops you from exploring certain parts of a city but opens up others. With that in mind, I've compiled my Top Auckland finds for the little kids AND the big ones!

Auckland For Kids

1. Waiheke Island

Just a 30 minute ferry ride from Auckland (which is enough fun for the kids in and of itself), the beautiful Waiheke Island is a tiny piece of paradise surrounded by beaches. Almost all of these beaches have a playground either on or near the beach. If you're looking for somewhere child friendly to eat, head straight to Solar Eatery & Bar - they have an outdoor play area and lots of toys to amuse the little ones. We were lucky enough to have a sleeping child in the pram at lunch time and decided to head to The Oyster Inn where we took advantage of their weekday $25 three course menu (I know!!) and enjoyed a few drinks in the sunshine - can not recommend this enough! When our child finally awoke they were VERY accommodating and had a number of high chairs on hand. Another couple enjoyed a similar length lunch with their younger toddler and the staff were amazing with him.  If I ever go back to Auckland, I will hire a house on Waiheke for the duration. LOVED it.

2. The Pavilions at Britomart

We stumbled upon this area on our first morning in Auckland, a Saturday. While there are designer boutiques and cafes galore the area has a buzzing kiddy vibe about it - funny little sculptures for kids to play on, a Saturday market and the piece de resistance, a really cool giant water bubbler feature thingy! My particular breed of toddler COULD. NOT. GET. ENOUGH. of the water. Whenever we walked within 50 metres of the Britomart district for the following week, she would scream WATERRRRR! Which was excellent because it was about 14 degrees. Anyway, a fun place to take kids if you're stuck in the city.

3. The Sky Tower

Head up the Southern Hemisphere's tallest building, The Sky Tower. It's pretty cool. And while you may be experiencing vertigo and planted against the innermost walls, your child will most likely be throwing themselves at the glass windows about 1million feet from the ground in pure delight. H loved it here and we hung out in the tower for well over an hour. It's a buzzing tourist destination so is therefore full of children misbehaving, which is always relaxing for a parent whose own child tends to be...well...boistrous. 

4. Auckland Zoo

What a lovely little zoo! Just a 10 minute drive from Auckland Central, this Zoo is actually, in my opinion, even more child friendly than Taronga. It's also much cheaper at $25 NZ for an adult. We were lucky enough to be approached by a lady who had a double pass, which meant that H and I got in for free! Which is another great thing about Auckland - the people. But I digress. This zoo is very flat so great tired for little legs. It also has a FANTASTIC kid zone complete with chicken coops, bunny rabbits, guinea pigs and other household pets as well as a huge enclosed slide, a large dragon sculpture and child sized tables with books to read. My favourite thing about this Zoo (most especially compared with Taronga) was the range of healthy and affordable lunch options. As we were travelling, we had been forced to eat SO MUCH CRAP kids food. Think, nuggets and chips. Here we picked up a lunch box with sandwich, fruit, corn chips and juice for $10 NZ (which is like seven Aussie bucks, for which you would get half a sandwich in Sydney). A must-see with kids.

5. Ponsonby Central

Ponsonby, Ponsonby, where do I begin? If Waiheke Island didn't exist and wasn't so gosh darn BEAUTIFUL, Ponsonby would without doubt be my top Auckland pick. LOVE. IT. For both eats and shopping, nothing else compares.

When it comes to kids, Ponsonby Central is the place to go. It's a buzzing little market place with street food, produce and cafes, and even a pretty groovy radio station by night. It's one of those places where you know kids can run riot in the little laneway and people are going to be okay with it. It's just got a great vibe. We came here a couple of times, most memorably one night for the most AMAZING pizza (I didn't take down the name of the joint, but it is the only pizza place there...) and H had a ball. She made fast friends with 2.5 year old Frankie the Lion, and quickly adopted her tiger persona, so the two roared at each other for a good 20 minutes while onlookers smiled accommodatingly. We drank red wine from tumblers and relaxed. Bliss.

6. Victoria Park and Surrounds

I'm sure there are many fabulous parks in Auckland - in fact, I've read about a few of them here. But if you're confined to the city, like I pretty much was while the hubby was working, Victoria Park is a good option. Just a five minute walk from the city, the playground is probably best for older kids but has swings and sits beside a large sunny oval if energy needs to be burned. It's right beside a yummy French bakery where you can pick up affordable, authentic Pain au Chocolat (mmmmm) and coffee, and head for a walk down to the water to gaze at boats. A nice morning out for all. 

Auckland For Big Kids

We were lucky enough to nab a babysitter on a couple of occasions and discover some of the treats Auckland has for (much) older kids too...

1. The Grill by Sean Connolly

YUM. YUM. YUM. Pick a steak, any steak. Watch it arrive before you, perfectly cooked. Then cry with happiness as an assortment of sauces are placed on your plate. And don't forget the sides - try the garlic mushrooms. You won't regret it. Eat. Drink. Be oh so merry.

2. Corner Bar

Situated on the corner of the old Hotel de Brett, Corner Bar has been described as an "Auckland Icon" and is certainly a great little place to grab a drink and people watch. Grab an Uncle Chico cocktail before moving on for dinner.

3. Quay Street Cafe

We went here for breakfast with H twice, and the only reason I didn't include it in the previous section is that it wasn't overly child friendly. The staff were really nice, but they didn't really have kids options and they had no high chairs, only those ones that clip onto chairs, and even then they only have one, so if there are two toddlers in the one cafe it's game on. Now, all that aside, this may have been the best breakfast food I've EVER eaten. Big call, I know. I've eaten a LOT of breakfast food, let's face it. But this was right up there. I ordered the Chilli Fried Eggs, J ordered the House Smoked Salmon - both crazily good. I'll be honest, the second time I came here I had jam on toast, and even that was mind blowing. How do some cafes do it? This one just does.

4. Imperial Lane

Imperial Lane is kind of a cafe/bar/garage in the newly refurbished Imperial Buildings, on Fort Lane/Queen St. Their main "restaurant" type dining is ROXY, which was closed when we went, but we decided to head into Imperial Lane for an Imperial Amber Ale on tap and a very enticing looking hot dog. J had the Asian Chicken Hot Dog and I had the "Marrakesh" and wow, they were yum. In J's words "I could eat at least two more".

5. Sky Jump

Okay, so I didn't actually do the Sky Jump. I couldn't even watch people doing it, as it made me kind of sick. But I kind of wish I did. It's a 192m jump attached to a cable, so you fall upright which is way less intimidating than bungee. You fall at about 85kph for 11 seconds, which is such a short amount of time there's really no excuse for NOT doing it. Then you can, almost, say you bungee jumped in NZ!

6. The Tin Soldier, Ponsonby

We ducked in here on a rainy Sunday while H was having her midday nap for a beer and a nice lunch. Sitting right on Ponsonby Road, this is kind of a bar/restaurant, but the food is AMAZING. Most of their dishes are to share, so you can choose from smaller tapas style dishes or large mains which are designed to be distributed across a couple of plates. We had two Stoke ales on tap, the Homemade Gnocchi w/butternut, shiitake, soy bean, zuchinni, thyme, truffle & pecorino and the Braised Beef Short Ribs w/red curry, crispy shallot, mint, coriander & puffed rice. The way J described this meal was to say he'd been "Fooded," which upon further explanation turns out to be when food leaves you feeling as if you've just done the deed. Hmmmmm...


All in all, my first trip to NZ was a success. H didn't sleep on either flight, but she was pretty well behaved for a nearly-two-year-old, and made me remember how adaptable and flexible she can be. I got some me time, some couple time, and some family time - what more can you want from any holiday? - and was delighted with some new food and drink experiences as well as some touristy fun.

Auckland - You're Alright!

Z x