Portal about Travel & Study in New Zealand

   Español     Português    

PORTAL OCEANIA 

Auckland (pop 1.400.000)

Auckland is big, in reality very big. The centre or downtown area is not so much, but if you take in consideration all the neighbourhoods, specially if contemplated from the top of the Auckland tower, it extended as far as your eyes can see. The city concentrates one third of New Zealand population and it is not the capital of New Zealand, but Wellington. Auckland also is very multicultural, with migrants from all parts of the world, mainly from Asia, India, and from the South Pacific Islands. The multiculturalism can be felt everywhere, from the taxi driver to the shop owner, including the opportunity to try foods from very exotic places. Despite all this mixture, Auckland is a very secure place, compared with towns about the same size in the World.

What about a Volcano? That is right, Auckland has around 50 volcanoes in a "deep sleep situation" but they can wake up at any moment. Auckland literally floats on melted lava due the long and big fight between the tectonic plates of Australia and South Pacific. Because that, Auckland moves to the North about 60 millimetres per year. Anyway, the happy visitor don't need to worry because has been more than 600 year that nothing pyrotechnic has happened .Just for a brief history of Auckland in the past, the region rich in good soils, was a motif of dispute between Maoris X Maoris and then later Maoris X Colonizers. 

Auckland has everything for one or for all, with excellent infra structure of streets, transportation and amenities both for tourists and residents as well. The city is very clean with plenty of good quality Restaurants , Night Clubs, Pubs, Shopping, and leisure. Money is the key word in Auckland, because there are so many thing to do and consume, that even millionaires can feel a little bit poor sometimes. Auckland also has the highest living cost in new Zealand, but it is not a very expensive city at all, kind of middle range in terms of costs. There are dozens of souvenir shops selling all kind of New Zeeland artefacts from wool, Maori sculptures, green stones and Paua shell ornaments. Rental, Hotels and accommodation in general, are not cheap at all, but it is still possible to fin a few places reasonably priced. The centre is in a rectangular format and begins at the Warf  next to the Victoria building, a beautiful old time construction. From the Warf, ferry boat and catamarans run a public service to Devenport, on the other side of the bay. These boats also connect Auckland with the Island in the bay such as Waiheke, Rangitoto and Great Barrier. All these Island are perfect for picnics on a day trip. We consider a must to visit those islands.

For those in Auckland for the first time, we strongly recommend going up the Auckland Tower (328 meters hight). The tower is located in the same building of the Sky Casino, in the city centre. The 360º view from the top is fabulous and in a clear day you will be able to see as far as your eyes can see, including majestic views of the bay and Islands, bridge, suburbs, the downtown itself and the port area. The only downturn is that the glass is green with gives to the photos taken from the top a happy pea soup colour. (late processing with a software can strait it up). If after the time you spend on the top, and if you feel too tired to take the elevator down you can just jump down from the tower, I mean, for some extra bucks, take a "bungy jump style" way down, which consists of a cable from the top down to the street in which your "slide" down on a controlled descent. Once with your feet on the ground again, you can go to the Casino or to one of great cafes o restaurants the building complex to enjoy the rest of the day or the evening.

It is difficult to talk about Auckland without talk about "The City of  Sail". This nickname was given to Auckland due to the fact the bay is a paradise for sailboats and you will find plenty of them over there. Constant winds and semi sheltered waters provides a fantastic venue for sail crafts, from windsurf to sailboats competitions. Statistics say that for every 10 Aucklanders, 4 owns a boat or something that floats, even if they have to go to sea with a sheep around the neck to protect against the cold winds that blows during Winter time. If they are not sailing, they will be fishing or having a boat cruise with the family and of course the house cat(s). When the New Zealand boat beat the Americans during the America's Cup Race,  Auckland literally went to a halt with parades and carnival on the streets. Unfortunately, Sir Peter Blake, the captain of team New Zealand and captain of the boat, got killed some years later in North Amazon, Brazil during a robbery attempt to his boat while cursing the Amazon river. Anyway, this paragraph is about how New Zealanders (and Aucklanders) love the sea.

Auckland concentrates not the majority of the population but also jobs in New Zealand. The biggest multinationals and companies around the world have an Auckland branch. Of course this is the reason the city concentrates so much population. If you have some good skills is not difficult the find a job in Auckland if you have the proper  work permit. The suburbs of Auckland are spread out and in its majority consisted of houses instead of apartments. For those planning to study in Auckland the city offer hundreds of option, from English Courses, vocational and tertiary education. All of them of high quality and standards. International students are a relatively new and very strong component of the Auckland. For those with tourism in mind, Auckland is only limited by the size of your pocket, with great restaurants, entertainment and things to do, day or night. Auckland is clean, safe with easy transportation. We don't think one will enjoy Auckland enough if the person don't spend a least two full days in town. (We recommend  4 to 5 days to know it very well) 

Courses in Auckland

Tourist Attractions in Auckland

Distances and time by road  fron Auckland to:

Partial aerial view of Auckland