We started and ended our New Zealand trip in Auckland, mainly for convenience’s sake since we were flying in and out of Auckland Airport from Oahu, Hawaii.
I had big dreams to see as much of the South Island as possible so we didn’t spend a whole lot of time in Auckland, which is on the north end of the North Island. A friend who lived in New Zealand for a year also confirmed that Auckland is like Seattle so I didn’t need to spend a lot of time there.
I agree with her opinion.
It’s like Seattle, but better!
We only spent two nights and a full day at the beginning leg of the trip and then a night and most of the next day before our return home. So, just a bit of touring around the city but I’d like to think we did and saw a lot in that short time.
I liked that Auckland was super walkable. Seattle on the other hand, is not really walkable. I liked that there were so many options for Asian food. I liked that there were spacious and pretty parks within the city.
Maybe this sounds like it could be any big metropolis but I liked Auckland more than I thought I would.
Oh, another added bonus: there were so many places to rest throughout the city! Clean park benches. Large wooden lounge chairs. Bean bag chairs on a grassy lawn. I took advantage of all of these as Bryce and I did a lot of walking throughout the city and at times I just wanted to rest for a hot second or two.
On our last night in Auckland, which was also our last night in New Zealand, we came across a street market below the Sky Tower. It was a big celebration for Chinese New Year with various food vendors, music, and entertainment. I had an authentic looking and tasting jianbing (think Chinese crepe), something I had only ever eaten before in Beijing!
I could get used to a life where I can randomly stumble upon a street market that actually has good food!
Auckland surprised me in a good way.
What city have you been to that liked more than you thought? Or, could even picture yourself moving to?
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