Travel notes: Discovering Auckland – Photofocus

I’ve found myself going over old trip notes and photos from recent adventures, longing to go back. One such trip we did was a month-long self-drive around the North Island of New Zealand. For me, it was a dream come true and such an amazing adventure. I thought I’d share some of the highlights with you.

First off, we found it very easy to get a car and self-drive our way around New Zealand. It allowed us to carry more gear, stop where we wanted and spend as much time as we wished in each location. We also had no accommodation booked apart from our first night when we flew in. Our entire trip was driven until we wanted to stop, and stay as long as wanted, when it got to about 3 p.m., we decided how much further we’d drive that day and then find accommodation for the night. We never went without a place to sleep, although sometimes what we got was unexpected. We stayed in 2-star and 5-star accommodations and frequently for the same price! It truly was an adventure.

Auckland

We flew from Australia into Auckland, got our car, found our hotel and then hit the ground running. There are many notable things to explore in Auckland, but as we had been here before we didn’t spend much time revisiting too many old areas, but there are a few of note we did on this trip.

Cornwall Park and One Tree Hill

So named for the lone tree that used to sit on top but was removed for public safety, there now sits a monument. It is a very steep and long climb. It’s full of dog walkers and walkers, but has such a lovely view on a clear morning. A nice wide-angle will gain some lovely scenic shots if you can catch your breath after the climb.

Piha Beach

Piha Beach and Lion’s Head Rock are quite famous spots in New Zealand, the backdrop to many movies and TV series, from “The Piano” to “800 Words” and many more. It’s about 40 km from Auckland, so quite a drive. We did it on a hot Sunday! So silly, it was so busy. Took ages to find a car park and there were so many people. Lots of people trying to learn to surf as well. Too many people to safely surf, I am sure.

This is a black sand beach and extremely hot to walk on. Honestly, if you want to check out Piha Beach do NOT go on a weekend or Public holiday. There is limited parking available and I’m not sure you can get there without a car. I just used a standard 28-75mm lens at both beaches. It was way too hot to stand in black sand and do long exposures. Did get some pretty reflections and surfers just for fun.

Bethells Beach

We then drove to Bethells Beach, which is only 7 km from Piha as the crow flies, but takes 45 minutes by car! Not quite as busy, but still loads of people out enjoying this lovely Sunday afternoon. Also a very hot black sand beach, which is made of iron and silica, in the North Island. The black sands come from volcanic rocks and dominate the 750 km of shoreline between Taranaki and Cape Rēinga in the far north. Auckland’s black sands are mined and smelted into iron.

To be honest, we were not quite sure what all the fuss was about. Bethells Beach was not quite as scenic as Piha. It’s a LONG walk from the car park to the water over VERY hot sand. Many people would stop partway in the creek to cool off their feet — dogs included. There is a great spot for kids to play and there is a Life Guard Station here. We found a lovely cafe and cooled off with a drink before heading off again.

Domain Winter Gardens

Back in Auckland is the Domain Winter Gardens, so beautiful, with the greenhouses, fabulous hothouse flowers, lotus and bumble bees! We don’t have bumble bees back home and I am fascinated with them. Take a macro lens to these gardens, between all the flowers and bumble bees, you will be busy. You might want a 50mm to even 28mm -70mm for some scenic shots, it’s a very pretty area.

Tips:

• There are other attractions to visit in and around Auckland, Rangitoto Island, Auckland Zoo, Sky Tower, Viaduct Harbour, Karekare Rainforest, and Waitakere Ranges Regional Park, Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life, Adventure Park, Howick Historical Village just to name a few.
• If your time in Auckland is limited, think about booking a guided day tour around Auckland itself (We did that on our first visit several years ago).
• Hit the tourist spots, have fun and explore, everywhere you look is a feast for the eyes.
• Don’t forget the galleries and museums, the gardens, and the parks. The Harbour is very pretty too.