Is it Auckland really that boring?

It felt so recomforting to be back into a city. After 3 weeks disconnected, no internet, no phone, in the Cook Islands, it felt great to be back to a more real life. We rented a beautiful house in Ponsonby. I loved this area. It was definitely my favourite in Auckland. The house was perfectly located in front of a big park, and walking distance to all the cafes, shops, restaurants and salons. It was close to everything we needed. Well connected to the major driveway and not far from the airport.

There I pampered my self. I went to the hair salon, had my hair, manicure and pedicure done, Edouard had some massages and a haircut too. We went to nice restaurantes for dinner every night, (were we could chose from different stuff apart from fish and chicken), we paid normal, not astronomic prices at the supermarket, and I had a Netflix overdose. We also singed up for a week of yoga, in a cool studio in Ponsonby and did mainly Bikram, which we loved (but tough !)

These are our top 5 activities with children in Auckland

1) Takapuna in the North Shore

The day we arrived we took the car and drove around (Auckland is known for having a really bad public transport system and we did catch some traffic at the peak hours). We had a good idea of the city size by driving around. There are plenty of harbour and beaches in Auckland.

We took the children to this amazing playground in Takapuna, with a beautiful view of the white sand and sea behind. We had lunch in one of the many restaurants in the bay. This Japanese was so good 😊

2) Mount Eden

We climbed the Mount Eden walk up the hill.

The cone of this long-dormant volcano (last eruption is thought to have been around 28,000 years ago), is the hightest natural point in the Auckland region.

The mountaintop platform remains one of Auckland’s most popular tourist sites for its beautiful views of the city and surrounding area.

3) Butterfly Creek

Only 30 min out of the city we visited this super cool place for children, Butterfly Creek.

They have farm animals, and the children can hold them and interact with them, a big tank with real alligators, a Kiwi Forest (the only place in NZ where were were finally able to see a real Kiwi !!!), a beautiful bird aviary, a tropical butterfly house AND, a dinosaur kingdom, with huge dinosaurs moving and roaring.

4) Auckland War Memorial Museum

It was amazing, super recommended with children.

I would recommend this museum as a first stop to gain an insight into New Zealand and their people.

It exibits over 2,000 Māori treasures, including rare carvings and the last great Māori war canoe carved from a giant Totara tree.

The Museum's war memorial exhibition, tells the story of New Zealand at war,

Our favourite part was the Weird & Wonderful Discovery Centre, where children can handle objects (like real bones), explore and play with different digital interactives and microscopes, and learn about the million different bugs on display.

That same day in the afternoon we had a last evening out without kids at the Harbour Bay in Auckland Central. It is a super modern, lively part of the city. We walked around the hundred different pubs, shows and restaurants. We ended up having dinner in a super cool asian tapas restaurant.

Most people had told us not to stay too long in Auckland, because it was boring and with not much to offer.

We had a super time. We liked it a lot. Thanks Auckland !