Auckland versus Wellington
Although we now almost live for two years in New Zealand, we never really visited Auckland. We flew to Auckland several times and passed through the city when we went to Northland, but that was it. Now we have spent a week and although I do prefer Wellington, I must say that I had a good time in Auckland.
It is hard to compare two cities but in this web log I will just give it a try.
Both cities are surrounded by water. The waterfront in Wellington is transferred into a recreation area. The waterfront in Auckland is still in use for the port industry. The area around the ferry building and the Queens Warf are developed for tourist purposes, but Wellington scores higher in points here. (We just wait and see what happens when they might build the new stadium at the Waterfront in Auckland.)
Left: Ferry Building Auckland
Right: Waterfront Wellington
For shopping there are definitely more possibilities in Auckland. I did not really go shopping but Parnell, New Market and Ponsonby looked very tempting to spend a lot of money. A minus is that it is not close together, you really need a bus to go around. This is the great thing about Wellington: everything is so close together and no hills.
Both cities have walkways to explore the cities. In Wellington we walked several and in Auckland I walked the Coast-to-Coast Walkway. I must say the sign posting in Wellington is better maintained. But the views you get when you are walking in both cities are stunning.
Both cities have a Mount Victoria. In Wellington it is a hill with a great view of Wellington. In Auckland, Mt Vic is a volcano in Devonport with a great view on the skyline of Auckland. Maybe Auckland wins here. Mainly because I really liked the little village Devonport and the volcano was not so steep as the climb in Wellington.
Left: View Mt Vic Auckland
Right: View Mt Vic Wellington
What else is there to compare. I had heard a lot of stories that the public transport in Auckland was pretty bad. I must say I did not have this experience. Maybe buses go not as frequent as the buses in Wellington. But the LINK bus goes frequently and is quite convenient. I certainly liked the public transport to Devonport. This is a very nice ferry trip of 10 minutes with great views.
Wellington has Somes Island. Auckland has a lot of islands and with this point Auckland certainly wins from Wellington. This trip we only had the possibility to visit Waiheke Island but for example, Rangitoto Island is still on our list to visit one day. We did enjoy our day on Waiheke. We did a nice walk. Unfortunately the signposting was not that good again, but the views were great. In the far distance we saw the skyline of Auckland.
Because Auckland is so widely spread out, there is no place like Courtenay Place, or at least we did not find it. No central area with lots of restaurants and bars. But both Wellington and Auckland do have “Boogie Wonderland”.
The big difference in the CBD area is the hilly streets. The apartment we stayed in Auckland was pretty close to the CBD, so comparable with the situation in Wellington, but every night was an exercise for our peroneus. So for more reasons than this I do prefer to live in Wellington. I really don’t want to offend anyone and like I wrote before, Auckland exceeded my expectations, but I am really happy that we work and live in Wellington.
Left: Bea walking in Auckland
Right: Bea walking in Wellington
My suggestions for a short visit to both the cities, if for example you just have two days per city.
Auckland
Day 1: Take a ferry to Devonport. Walk the two volcanos walk way and have a cup of coffee somewhere in the village. Take the ferry back and make a full circle with the LINK bus. You will pass all the highlights and you can pick you favourite place for the next day. The last thing to do on the first day: walk through Queens Street to the Sky Tower and enjoy the views from the top.
Day 2: Walk the first half of the Coast-to-Coast walk way. This will lead you to the Domain and to Mount Eden. Visit the museum on the way. Walk back from Mt Eden to New Market and take the bus to any of the shopping areas, for example Ponsonby or Pernall
Wellington
Day 1: Walk along the waterfront to Te Papa and visit the museum. After the visit of the Museum go to the Cuba Mall, have a coffee and enjoy watching all the people passing by. In the afternoon, take a bus or walk up Mt Victoria and enjoy the great views. End the day with a nice diner somewhere on Courtenay Place.
Day 2: Take the cable car up to Kelburn. Walk back to down town via the botanical gardens. If you are back before 12.00 have a look at the special clock in the Old Bank Arcade, and if you are not in time, have a nice cup of coffee. The afternoon is for shopping at Lambton Quay or for a real challenge, take a train to Ngiao (Stop Selma Crescent) and climb up Mt KauKau for stunning views of the whole Wellington region.
Have Fun
It is hard to compare two cities but in this web log I will just give it a try.
Both cities are surrounded by water. The waterfront in Wellington is transferred into a recreation area. The waterfront in Auckland is still in use for the port industry. The area around the ferry building and the Queens Warf are developed for tourist purposes, but Wellington scores higher in points here. (We just wait and see what happens when they might build the new stadium at the Waterfront in Auckland.)
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Left: Ferry Building Auckland
Right: Waterfront Wellington
For shopping there are definitely more possibilities in Auckland. I did not really go shopping but Parnell, New Market and Ponsonby looked very tempting to spend a lot of money. A minus is that it is not close together, you really need a bus to go around. This is the great thing about Wellington: everything is so close together and no hills.
Both cities have walkways to explore the cities. In Wellington we walked several and in Auckland I walked the Coast-to-Coast Walkway. I must say the sign posting in Wellington is better maintained. But the views you get when you are walking in both cities are stunning.
Both cities have a Mount Victoria. In Wellington it is a hill with a great view of Wellington. In Auckland, Mt Vic is a volcano in Devonport with a great view on the skyline of Auckland. Maybe Auckland wins here. Mainly because I really liked the little village Devonport and the volcano was not so steep as the climb in Wellington.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Left: View Mt Vic Auckland
Right: View Mt Vic Wellington
What else is there to compare. I had heard a lot of stories that the public transport in Auckland was pretty bad. I must say I did not have this experience. Maybe buses go not as frequent as the buses in Wellington. But the LINK bus goes frequently and is quite convenient. I certainly liked the public transport to Devonport. This is a very nice ferry trip of 10 minutes with great views.
Wellington has Somes Island. Auckland has a lot of islands and with this point Auckland certainly wins from Wellington. This trip we only had the possibility to visit Waiheke Island but for example, Rangitoto Island is still on our list to visit one day. We did enjoy our day on Waiheke. We did a nice walk. Unfortunately the signposting was not that good again, but the views were great. In the far distance we saw the skyline of Auckland.
Because Auckland is so widely spread out, there is no place like Courtenay Place, or at least we did not find it. No central area with lots of restaurants and bars. But both Wellington and Auckland do have “Boogie Wonderland”.
The big difference in the CBD area is the hilly streets. The apartment we stayed in Auckland was pretty close to the CBD, so comparable with the situation in Wellington, but every night was an exercise for our peroneus. So for more reasons than this I do prefer to live in Wellington. I really don’t want to offend anyone and like I wrote before, Auckland exceeded my expectations, but I am really happy that we work and live in Wellington.
.jpg)
Left: Bea walking in Auckland
Right: Bea walking in Wellington
My suggestions for a short visit to both the cities, if for example you just have two days per city.
Auckland
Day 1: Take a ferry to Devonport. Walk the two volcanos walk way and have a cup of coffee somewhere in the village. Take the ferry back and make a full circle with the LINK bus. You will pass all the highlights and you can pick you favourite place for the next day. The last thing to do on the first day: walk through Queens Street to the Sky Tower and enjoy the views from the top.
Day 2: Walk the first half of the Coast-to-Coast walk way. This will lead you to the Domain and to Mount Eden. Visit the museum on the way. Walk back from Mt Eden to New Market and take the bus to any of the shopping areas, for example Ponsonby or Pernall
Wellington
Day 1: Walk along the waterfront to Te Papa and visit the museum. After the visit of the Museum go to the Cuba Mall, have a coffee and enjoy watching all the people passing by. In the afternoon, take a bus or walk up Mt Victoria and enjoy the great views. End the day with a nice diner somewhere on Courtenay Place.
Day 2: Take the cable car up to Kelburn. Walk back to down town via the botanical gardens. If you are back before 12.00 have a look at the special clock in the Old Bank Arcade, and if you are not in time, have a nice cup of coffee. The afternoon is for shopping at Lambton Quay or for a real challenge, take a train to Ngiao (Stop Selma Crescent) and climb up Mt KauKau for stunning views of the whole Wellington region.
Have Fun
posted by Bea at 7:54 PM
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