Auckland waterfront on Waitemata Harbor

My First Impressions of Auckland, New Zealand

The first time I ventured into Auckland city to explore (nearly quivering with excitement at having finally made it to NZ) I was not very favorably impressed. In fact, one could say I was rather underwhelmed. Even greatly disappointed.

I had certainly been expecting much greater things of New Zealand’s largest city. But soon after my first city visit, I read in their free visitors’ magazine, Arrival, that many first-time visitors to downtown Auckland are similarly disappointed. It wasn’t just me, it was a phenomenon.

Naturally I had previously read my NZ guidebook. It paints a beautiful picture of Auckland. It describes (accurately, by the way) how Auckland is situated between two large bays. The city center lies squarely along the eastern Waitemata Harbor, which is filled with nearby islands clearly visible from downtown. Auckland’s western suburbs lie along sprawling Manukau Harbor.

I further read that the city’s marinas hold the highest concentration of boats in the world, giving Auckland its name ‘City of Sails’. In addition, the metropolitan area boasts 48 volcanic peaks.

Creates quite an enticing image, doesn’t it?

Quite sadly, the city doesn’t live up to that anticipated visual beauty. So I sat down to figure out what’s gone wrong…

impressions of Auckland include the Marina

Marina at Auckland CBD – surrounded by boxy buildings

First of all, downtown Auckland is seriously lacking in attractive buildings. Instead, the CBD is full of square, boxy non-nondescript buildings with no character or visual interest. The whole town looks like it was built in the 1960s and never updated.

Making things even worse, it’s completely devoid of trees or greenery. CBD amounts to just roads lined by boxy steel and stone buildings. It’s also quite small, more like an outdated little town than New Zealand’s largest city.

Walking around the CBD that first day I felt like patting Auckland on the head saying, “Aw, poor cute little Auckland. You’re trying.”

But Auckland’s biggest problem lies along it’s Waitemata Harbor front. What could be an absolutely stunning city harbor has been ruined. The entire shoreline has been completely boxed in by more ugly, soulless buildings, including many warehouses. Long, long walkways full of them. A whole marina surrounded by them.

cargo wharf at Auckland’s main shoreline

Half the city waterfront is taken up by Auckland’s massive cargo wharves, complete with hundreds of steel containers, huge wharf cranes and large parking lots full of cars. The other end of the waterfront, adjacent to the harbor bridge, is filled with industrial silos.

Potentially astounding views from downtown Auckland of the harbor, nearby islands and boats coming to & fro have been almost entirely blocked out by warehouses, boxy buildings, cargo wharves and industry. It’s all just ugly. Instead of gorgeous.

Thinking of other cities with stunning harbors that I’ve visited recently, I can only shake my head at Auckland’s poor harbor-front planning and building choices.

Sydney CBD as seen from Harbor Bridge

Neighboring Sydney, for instance, has a gorgeous harbor which they’ve wisely lined with a stately botanic garden and accented with the iconic Sydney Opera House, several beautifully restored historic buildings and wide promenades offering amazing views of the sprawling harbor from all angles.

Likewise, Singapore and Hong Kong have lined their harbors with iconic buildings, incredible skyscrapers, parks and pedestrian promenades.

After seeing all those beautiful harbor cities, Auckland was a real let down.

Unfortunately, that’s not the end of the story. I was further disappointed by Auckland’s famous volcanic peaks.

Mt Semeru from my tent in Java – Indonesia

Over the years I’ve climbed, walked around, cycled up, driven over and gazed at many volcanic peaks, mostly in Japan and Indonesia. I’ve discovered that each volcano is a bit different, but each has something distinctly volcanic about it. Some craters hold scenic lakes. Other craters are filled with hissing steam, bubbling mud or oozing sulfuric odors.

Many volcanoes have black volcanic scree tops. Some have hardened lava flows. Some even have small towns or villages situated inside their craters!

So when I came to Auckland I was expecting dramatic, stately conical peaks towering over the metropolitan area. I could hardly wait to see such a city.

But there weren’t any volcanic peaks to be seen! Instead, I found only placid, grassy knolls gently nudging out of various residential areas. Grassy knolls? Grassy knolls? Is that it?!

Auckland’s volcanoes are little more than grassy knolls

There’s nothing remotely volcanic about them. They’re more like big softened hills covered with meadows and forests.

All in all, Auckland was a huge visual let down.

Luckily I stayed in Auckland long enough to explore further. Because Auckland does have several good points. Excellent points, in fact. By the time I’d spent several full days I’d actually come to love Auckland, despite it’s severely ‘visually handicapped’ downtown.

Auckland Art Gallery’s original building section

Auckland’s fine points include:

Architecture

Not ALL Auckland buildings are ugly & nondescript. A few beautifully-restored historic buildings and churches dot the city. The newly expanded Auckland Art Gallery showcases really incredible modern architecture masterfully incorporated against a stunning Victorian building and the neighboring leafy-green Albert Park.

Likewise, Auckland Museum is housed in a massive historic stone building that has been enhanced by an interesting modern foyer area.

If you explore the city more thoroughly, you can find some great architectural gems, both old and new.

Maori statues at Auckland Museum

Museums

I have to admit: Auckland has amazing museums!

Auckland Art Gallery has a great and varied collection of paintings by both New Zealand and European artists. There are galleries full of modern art, paintings of New Zealand, Maori portraits, and a decent overview of the development of modern art.

Auckland Museum has an astounding collection of art & everyday objects from the Maoris and Pacific island people. They have on display hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces. There’s also a fascinating gallery devoted entirely to volcanoes plus decent galleries on New Zealand’s plants, animals, birds and habitats.

Maritime Museum focuses on the long seafaring history of New Zealand, both Maoris and westerners.

The Domain – one of Auckland’s biggest parks

Parks

Although Auckland’s volcanoes were a visual disappointment to me, in terms of dramatic peaks, the soft grassy knolls do make for excellent parks. All provide great meadows, big shady trees and lots of bird life. Some also have gardens.

And all have stunning views over downtown Auckland and the metropolis, stretching from Manukau Harbor in the west to Waitemata Harbor and downtown in the east. Some of the best include:

One Tree Hill has vast hilly meadows. And they’re full of sheep! I have never visited a public park full of sheep before! Visitors have to actually enter and exit the areas via locked gates, like a farm, to help keep the sheep on the property.

Mt Eden, Auckland’s highest peak, is topped with a cute grassy crater. It’s the only place I’ve ever viewed a city from a volcanic crater.

The Domain is home to Auckland Museum and has more open meadows & giant trees.

sipping espresso at Nespresso store in Newmarket

Boutique Neighborhoods

Although downtown Auckland doesn’t have much charm, several small neighborhoods are full of interesting boutiques, art galleries, cafes, restaurants and bars. They include Newmarket, Parnell, Britomart, Devonport, K Road and Mt Eden.

Auckland panorama from Tamanaki Drive

Gorgeous coastlines and beaches

Although downtown Auckland’s shoreline has been ruined with ugly buildings and cargo wharfs, Tamanaki Drive begins just beyond the cargo wharf. It hugs the coastline south of the city, passing sailboat marinas, inland waterways, headlands and cute curving bays with golden beaches and small communities. Along that roadway views of Waitemata Harbor, offshore islands and Auckland are remarkable.

Likewise, panoramic views back to Auckland from nearby Devonport, situated across the harbor, and from various islands are superb.

Devonport, the islands and the southern coastline all have lovely golden sand beaches backed by trees or park lands. Beaches are clean, covered in washed-up shells, and uncrowded.

view of Auckland from Mt Eden’s grassy crater

Stunning panoramic views

Auckland’s grassy-knolled volcanic remains afford amazing panoramic views over the vast metropolitan area. More incredible views can be found along the coastlines outside the city CBD, from Devonport and from the harbor islands.

Other miscellaneous observations:

1. What does live up to New Zealand’s fine reputation are the locals, who are quite helpful, polite and friendly.

Maori woman I met in Auckland

2. Auckland has a huge population of Maoris and various Pacific Islanders. They tend to be very large, heavy people. Along with tourists from Asia, this gives Auckland a distinctly international feel.

3. There are many small privately owned groceries, bakeries, fruit & vegetable stores, boutiques, and other stores. That speaks well for local economies.

4. Surprisingly for me after roaming around SE Asia for so long, New Zealand stores close quite early at 5 pm.

5. Another thing I had to get used to was traffic & pedestrian patterns. Unlike SE Asian habits, pedestrians in NZ obediently wait for traffic lights and cross the roads only at pedestrian crossings. I’m used to just weaving in and out of traffic whenever and wherever I want.

6. Quite unfortunately, public transportation is outrageously expensive. From downtown Auckland out to its various neighborhoods and suburbs, a bus or train ticket costs over $3 on up to $10 one way! Wow.

My visits into the city, from suburban Auckland, cost me $11.20 round trip each time I visited. It was only a 30-minute train ride.

Conclusions:

Although Auckland generally doesn’t make a good first impression and has sorely botched up it’s stunning harbor setting, the city does have many assets. It’s definitely worth spending 3-5 days of explorations to scratch the surface. You’ll be rewarded with great museums, parks, panoramic views and a few architectural beauties.

Catch my newest post next week: 10 Free T hings to do in Auckland

Meanwhile, you might also enjoy:

10 Free Things to do in Sydney

10 Views of Sydney Opera House

Photo Gallery: Modern Architecture of Singapore

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