MUST DO on your first day! Highly recommend Liz's Aucky Walky Foodie tour in Auckland CBD. Debbie…read more(and Liz) met us right outside Sky City Tower sign/ticketing area which is right in front of the SkyCity Hotel entrance. You won't be disappointed... you end up with tummies full of delicious food, ton of information, and new found friends. I really liked the small group setting bcuz it's like you are on a private tour. Knowledgeable and they chose the perfect spread of foods while meandering the streets of Auckland CBD down to the wharf. Take the tour first before anything else... that way you can narrow down where to eat/see next. Debbie - you are the BEST! Thank you for being our guide. Special thanks to owner Byron at Cocoa Wilds Chocolates for personally coming out to greet us. We could just feel the good vibes and passion he has for his business. God bless you and much success to you and your team! Special MAHALO to Jed, SkyCity Tower Hotel OUTSTANDING concierge, for recommending us to Aucky Walky tours.

Great tour! Debbie customized the tour to accommodate our interests and she graciously answered our…read moremany, many questions about architecture, history, culture, restaurants, places to buy men's shoes and Auckland customs. We enjoyed our time with Debbie and wholeheartedly recommend Aucky Walky Tours. -Michael Florida, USA P.S. the mussels were incredible! Thanks for the recommendations.

An excellent way to spend several hours. We had about 5 hours waiting on our flight so we headed…read moreover to see the flowers and get some exercise. First off...it's FREE! Second....it is EXPANSIVE. you would need an entire day to see everything. Lastly...it's beautiful! There are nervous subsections from edible gardens, perennials, cactus, African, orchards, magnolia, camelias, tropical, you name it. Even a rose garden. Everything is so clean and easy to navigate. They have art installations throughout the garden which adds whimsy. You can get lost while seeing a beautiful garden. There is Wi-Fi in the visitor center and a small overpriced cafe.

Lovely gardens and a oasis of calm and serenity in Auckland. We had gone in October and managed to…read moresee some cherry blossoms as well

Loved visiting this beautiful Wintergarden in Auckland Domain…read more Wintergardens are conservatories or glasshouses that were built to enjoy flowers in the winter. They were very popular stating in the early 1900s. The Auckland Domain Wintergarden was built a century ago. It has two glasshouses that contain the most beautiful flowers, a sunken Fernery and a courtyard with a pond and sculptures. Loved the glasshouse filled with so many colorful flowers. Giant hibiscus. Sunflowers. Gladiolas. Foxgloves. Begonias. The Fernery is so interesting. Loved walking into the sunken quarry and looking at all of the native ferns. The wooden statues which represent bird native to New Zealand were a nice touch. The Wintergarden is free. Located in the Auckland Domain, it is a nice place to stop and enjoy the flowers and history.

One of the highlights of my trip to Auckland was visiting the Wintergardens. It was an especially…read morecold and gray day when I set out to explore Auckland Domain, so by the time I got here I was thankful to be heading inside. The gardens are two main greenhouses: one very warm, the other more temperate. In between the two is a fountain and pool, outdoor plants, and at the back is the entry to the fernery (a word I didn't know existed but now I want one for myself). The building on the right of the entrance is the warm one, which keeps the doors closed. Inside are many warmer weather plans including orchids, lotus, ferns, and tropical flowers. The building on the left is more temperate and has flowers galore; so many colors it's hard to know what to see first. The fernery is an amazing place - dark, damp, and quiet; you can either walk around the ring path at the top or go down the stairs to the bottom to look up. There are statues of various New Zealand birds around to show you what their silhouettes would look like if you came across them in the wild. You can't be aware how varied ferns are until coming here. This is an amazing free activity to do on your visit to Auckland, plus lots more nearby. You can easily spend a day in Auckland Domain. There were a few groups of retired people and school groups as well, worthwhile for any age.

A stunning open to the public park with over 5000 roses. We explored the gardens, then meandered…read morealong the paths to the overlook above the water. Gorgeous, with plenty of benches so you can sit and appreciate the peace and beautiful that's absolutely free. Long expanses of green space make it a perfect place for children!

This place is a gem. I can't believe it's just open to the public. Anyone can access it and it's…read moreabsolutely free. The roses are gorgeous. There are small restaurants where you can order take away and eat here or at a nearby park. You can smell the roses as soon as you start walking in the garden. This place is quite a distance from central Auckland, but it's worth a stop!

Beautiful water garden that I stumbled across by accident online and correctly knew that I had to…read morevisit in person with the family. The photos do not do it justice- it was so much more beautiful seeing it in real life. Had such a great day just being with nature and soaking up the summer sun with good company. An amazing, huge circular garden with a maze of walking paths on the forest floor, ground, mud, grass leading to different points of interest marked by letters of the alphabet, at different levels and heights. Had a good time admiring the various sculptures within the gardens from life size to small garden ornaments. At Wrights, they specialise in aquatics as well as ground-bound plants- there were several big ponds with waterlilies frequented by thin dragonflies, saw their eel pond but had trouble finding their colony of turtles. They had a cool wooden boardwalk-type over the ponds that we had quite some fun with. Tall, small, colorful and vibrantly bright flowers around everywhere amongst the green bushes, grass, shrubery and trees. Lots of ups, downs, curved pathways into mini forests, next to fields and around the Mauku Waterfall and stream the gardens were built around. A surprise temple and neat wedding venue field as well. A lovely gift shop with a huge range of Chinese porcelain vases, as well as tinkling windchimes, souvenir jewellery and other knick knacks. They also have a cafe that we were unable to visit this time around but noticed their small collection of drinks and snacks if you don't bring your own just before entering the gardens. Stopped by the garden nursery just before we left as well to see the plants thriving in their individual water crates as well as lots of different types of fish for sale. A beautiful spot to visit for anyone of any age- highly recommend it

This was our first visit here. We took a packed lunch and spent a few hours wandering around…read moreexploring the wonderful sights. It is also a great location for a Wedding !

My partner and I stopped here for our first lunch in New Zealand and it did not disappoint! I…read moreordered a Vege Frittata, Beetroot Salad, and an iced latte. My partner ordered a Breakfast Bagel and Frangipine Bar. Not only was it extremely affordable (about US$21), but it was delicious and satisfying. The location is perfect! It's located in front of the botanical gardens and has a breathtaking view. The lady that took our order was extremely kind and engaging. I would absolutely recommend stopping here if you're in Auckland!

The best carrot cake, coffee and savoury tart I've had in a very long time! Highly recommend !…read more10/10!

I went over to Waiheke the other day with a girlfriend to see what we could get up to. Having not…read morearranged any transport prior to getting to Waiheke, we thought we'd just see what happens. We bumped into a local man called Dave. He has a little shuttle business offering tours around Waiheke Island, then finishing off the tour by dropping you at your selected vineyards. For $45 Dave will give you a big tour of the island and be your diver for the day, dropping you off at vineyards and eventually taking you back to the ferry terminal to catch the 4pm ferry back to Auckland. What Jamie and I did was a mini tour, only $15, we received a mini tour around Waiheke Island and then got dropped at our chosen vineyard. Dave was incredibly helpful and I would recommend giving him a call when you next need a driver on Waiheke Island. He is incredibly well priced as we ended up using another company to the ferry terminal (arranged by the vineyard) which cost us $15 just to get us there directly. Calling Dave is the way to go.