The Manurewa Aquatic Centre has been around for several years now and was a much-needed upgrade for…read morethe area. It's located at Mountfort Park and it's hard to miss off the main road. It's a great facility and, living a two minute walk from here, I know that this place is popular all-year round. The aquatic centre boasts five pools, one of them being Manukau's first deep water pool, perfect for water polo and all other deep water sports I'd never dare to try (I'm definitely not a swimmer). Entry to the pools are free, but there's a great range of paid extras you can go for like the spa and sauna. The pools close relatively early but for a small fee you can stay later, which is ideal if you like swimming in peace, because this place gets busy. I've only visited the aquatic centre a handful of times, despite living so close. I prefer the pools in the winter when it's not so packed. You get some serious swimmers here so beware of accidently floating into someone's lane! I learnt that one the hard way. I've taken some younger cousins here on a couple of afternoon and I didn't swim, but the spectator seats here are great and you get a view of all the pools so there's no blind spot to worry about. There's a cafe on-site aswell if the hunger strikes, but I usually bring my own food when I come here or practice patience until I'm home. I really like the changing room facilities here; they're modern, spacious and well-looked after considering how much foot traffic comes through. The Manurewa Aquatic Centre is great for families with their range of swimming pools, and give adults the extra option of chilling out in the spa and sauna for some alone time. The Community Gyms fitness centre is here aswell, so the aquatic is great for that post-workout swim or sauna! A great addition to the Manurewa community and its as popular as ever.

When I was growing up - this was the place to be in the summer! The outside pools rocked with the…read moreslides and deep diving pool. Now I'm a bit older ... I have to admit I've dropped into the free Aquacise classes and laughed my head off with the local mamas. I haven't tried the gym but it looks good and I like the strap line they use "no egos just real people"

This is a fabulous facility, close to the CBD, with good programs for kids as well as adults. This…read moreis only for the pool and changing room facilities, but not for the greater gym which is also available here. The pool area has both a 25m pool suitable for competitive swim training, but also a warmer, shallow pool for those who are doing young swim lessons and more relaxed laps. I swim with Future Dreams swimming which has workouts 3-5 days a week, typically with 2-3 options on times (morning, midday and evening MWF). It's a good group with a range of abilities, so would encourage you to try out a workout. Instructors for swim lessons seem quite knowledgeable and good, although the holiday programs can have a broad range of abilities which can be tough for swimmers on either end of the spectrum. The showers and changing rooms do the trick; hair dryer and iron are available but you should bring all your toiletries and towels.

Located off Auckland's CBD near the viaduct harbour, and (not so) fresh from a reopening in 2012…read moreafter a rennovation in 2010, Tepid Baths has a great location that is easy to visit (there is a parking lot nearby too) and has affordable prices (free for children under 16, $6.70 for adults 17 and older, $5.30 for seniors aged 65+, community service card users, disability access owners, and adults with an infant) Tepid Baths is a great place to spend your weekend or enjoy your morning/afternoon while working out. It's said that there is a cafe on site but I haven't visited it so I can't confirm that. The service is okay, the lifeguards watch over the swimmers well - kindly reminding them to change lanes if they are too slow/fast for that lane. I mainly go to their swimming pools, but they also have a gym that has a partial glass floor that overlooks the children's swimming pool below. They have a clean facility (although I suggest that they clean their floors and lower row of lockers more often) and a main pool with differed rows from aqua jogging/kids play area and a slow, medium, to fast speed for accommodate all sorts of swimmers. They also have a pool used for learners and kids (which is usually used for swim school to 1pm on weekends) and most excitingly, they have a spa (mind you, it's really hot) a sauna and a steaming facility (wooohoooo!) They have free lockable lockers that you can access in the bathrooms (it's BYO...lock) and they are conservative with water since they use timed showers (the ones that you have to press to turn on and then it turns off after a certain time, and you can press again until you are finished using the shower) and for the ladies they have two ghd hairdryers and straighteners that can be used anytime (yay no more bad hair days after swimming!)

I've spent way too much time here over the years; it can't be helped if you have kids. The little…read moreones LOVE it and by little I mean, preschoolers and up to about age 10. There's a nice warm baby pool and the shallows of the main pool are full of interactive water thingies, and of course a slide. There's "the lazy river" which is kind of an alternative to a whirlpool but what's most special about here is the waves, dude. They don't turn the waves on all the time mainly I think because they're bloody dangerous. Hold on tight to your toddler because the floor is really slippery and the force is enough to knock adults over easily, let alone adults holding another small body. Seriously, be careful. The hydroslide is pretty cool as far as these things go but the up the stairs and the shivering is not for me. Which I'm sure is fine with the kids. My reckoning is that this is Auckland's busiest pool so if you do have a little one in the big pool it's incredibly stressful trying to keep track of them. Go when your kids can swim on their own.

Why are wave pools so fun? These sorts of waves out at the beach are at best a non-event, at worst…read morea nuisance. But put me in a much smaller body of water with a concrete bottom, turn on the swooshing, and somehow that's a grand old time. I don't get it. The thing is it really is a grand old time. Wave pools are fun, and it doesn't matter how old you are or if you've ever seen what a real wave looks like. There's a shallow end for the little kids, and a deeper end for everyone else, and this is where the waves are at their best. There's also a grown-up pool in the next room (you know, with lanes and a flat surface) that you can swim laps in but to be honest I've never felt the need. I'm sure it's fine though.

I enjoyed going to a Kettlebells class here. The facilities are nice. I can only speak for women's…read morebathroom. There are three showers and also hairdryers and curling wand. The lockers already have keys so you just need to bring it into the studio with you. I suggest bringing your own towel (for shower) otherwise it costs $2 to hire. I'm a fan and will probably try to come to more classes. I think the only thing I would have liked is if our form was checked/corrected. I honestly based my movements on what others in the class were doing vs what was actually best for the workout. Some people were bending knees, some people weren't. So I'm not sure what was actually the best form.

If you are a group fitness junkie, there's a good chance you've taken BodyPump, Body Combat, Body…read moreAttack, RPM, Sprint, GRIT, and CX Worx. Well, this is where it all started back in 1968 by the Mills family. If you are a Les Mills instructor like me, this is Mecca and it's a big deal to come here. Jamie D'Angelo is one of the managers at this gym who moved to NZ from the US. She gave us a tour of the facility. They have 2 floors and several buildings or towers connected by a bridge. They have a CrossFit area, free weights and machine area, cardio area, boxing area with a ring, and group fitness studios. They film masterclasses in the group fitness studios. The studios are huge and can fit up to 200 people. While in NZ, I took BodyPump, CX, and Body Attack from Dan Cohen, Georgina, Glen Ostergaard, and Susan Renata. I wanted to classes from Ben Main and Lisa Osborne but they were off. I would've loved to take Dan and Rach's Body Combat class but my flight was only 2 hours before their class started and I would have missed my flight. I know most people are like "who are those people and why are they a big deal?!" I'm not usually a big fan girl of actors and actresses but I love athletes, and people who promote Health and Fitness around the world - and that's what these people do and they are good and passionate about it. I'm a bit partial to BodyPump instructors because that's the class I teach (more certifications to come). I absolutely love taking Glen's class - he's the program director after all. He's the man behind the song selections and choreography for BodyPump. I loved Susan's class too - she's very chatty while she teaches and she connects with her participants. Jamie had told her that we were going to her class. Right before class started, we introduced ourselves to Susan and she knew we were "the girls from Vegas" and got a special mention in class. We noticed that the gym members keep to themselves. They go in, they go out. They're not the type that stick around after class to chat with the Instructor or other members like we do at our gym but that might be a cultural thing. The group fitness studios have ear plugs (for people who find the music too loud), drinking fountains and fans with misters. The gym has a small cafe where you can get a snack or a smoothie. There's a vending machine for bottled water and energy drinks. They also have a clothing store that carries mostly Reebok (the official outfitter of Les Mills) and a lady named Mary works there and she is an absolute sweetheart. She's very helpful and friendly. I think you have to pay for parking - not sure how that bit works since we stayed at a hotel nearby and got a multi-day pass.

Massive gym, great group exercise options. there were plenty of studios and lots of space. Looking…read moreforward to getting another solid workout in next time. bring your own lock, these aren't combo lockers, got a great month deal as I was here in NZ for a month. Suggestion box: Wish there were more mirrors in the group areas and I can't recall which les mills had carpet, Britomart I think, it would be nice if it was...the opposite of carpet. Not sure where all my sweat went or how long it will be there... Also, it's hard to feel like your in an elite fitness club when the walls are trying to convince you you're in a kids club day care. I mean cmon- purple and chartreuse? Hopefully in the near future it'll be replaced with maybe some modern desaturated wall tile or something...well anything accept those two colors together I think would be an improvement. Great gym tho.

Great gym, everyone is very friendly and the owner is so pleasant. The selection of weights is…read moregreat, it never seems to get busy, and everyone reracks their weights. Nice and easy on the wallet too. Free assessments with a trainer every six weeks is a really nice touch too.

Very clean and professional gym. Really appreciate that the locker rooms have shampoo and soap…read moreprovided in the showers as well as hair dryers and electronic lockers. Really nice to not have to deal with providing your own lock. The real unique point of Bodytech is the well-staffed floor and the supervised circuit workout. This is part of membership and is like getting free mini-personal training sessions. When you factor in those features it is reasonably priced and good value for money. I have been a member for 6 years, I think that says it all, right?

I can't say I have experience in gyms seeing this is my first, but I'm definitely glad I picked…read morethis one after a recommendation from a friend. Firstly, the thing that sold me was they have a 2 lane private pool, and surprisingly it's hardly ever busy, usually I'm the only one in there, because I can't stand sharing a lane with 5 other people at a public pool. The gym also has a spa pool, steam room, sauna, and showers with shampoo and shower gel provided. The main feature of the gym is the supervised circuit, a set of 8 different weight machines to work out your whole body. It isn't full blown personal training but the trainers are there every step of the way to setup the next machine and push you till failure to get the most out of your workout. I've definitely seen a good improvement in strength and muscle gain from this. The trainers are also super friendly, and always offer advice and help with learning to use other machines in the gym. The only downfall is obviously all this comes at a price, which is a fair bit higher than a gym like Jett's, it's around 90-150 per month, depending on the term you select. But in my opinion, well worth it, especially for new gym-goers like myself, for the supervised circuit and the amenities. Only other thing is being a highly staffed gym, it's not open 24/7. I think currently it's about 5:30am to 9pm during the week. PS, keep an eye on their website if you're looking at joining, they usually have a decent joining offer.