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| Just be prepared for lots of green and blue hues |
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| I've never notice the beauty of our own KLIA #prettylights |
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| Here we go! The flight itself took roughly 10 hours, we were so exhausted from the rough ride |
Accommodation wise, we chose to go with half hotel and half AirBnb, reason being we truly believe that the essence of travelling is to live like the locals, in terms of daily living. AirBnb gives us the luxury of living like a local kiwi at an affordable price. I'll share more in terms of that later on as we proceed in the travelogue. For Auckland, we went with Grand Millenium Hotel, right in the heart of CBD (Central Business District) Auckland.
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| View right outside of our hotel-Auckland Sky Tower |
For the first night, we had a quick stroll around the vibrant city of Auckland before headed to Oyster & Chop for our dinner. This is a casual restaurant recommended by the lovely hotel staff, located just off the Viaduct Harbour, where all the happening night life is situated. Auckland by nature is a harbour town, blessed by tonnes of various fresh seafood, hence, seafood item is not to be missed. We ordered an oyster platter as sharing appetizer, followed by individual mains: Seafood Chowder, Fish & Chips and lastly Lamb Cutlets. The seafood items were pretty amazing with authentic flavours, personal favourite goes to the seafood chowder whereas the lamb was a disappointment. Some hits and misses but overall Oyster & Chop is not be missed if you are looking for a casual dinner with friends and family. Menu can be directed here.
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| Pardon my poor quality photos, as i totally forgot to bring out my camera |
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| Fresh & Sweet Oyster Platter- 25 NZD |
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| Seafood Chowder- 37 NZD Creamy soup base with fresh mussels, clams, prawns, squid and seasonal fish, paired with sourdough bread |
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| Fish & Chips- 26 NZD Beer battered seasonal white fish, served with fries and tartar sauce |
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| Lamb Cutlets- 43 NZD Spice-rubbed lamb cutlets served with beetroot and mint peas |
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| Viaduct Harbour |
Auckland's night tackled, now time to explore its beauty during day light. We had some bomb bagels for breakfast at The Best Ugly Bagel, a local Auckland bagel chain store. This is truly a local's favourite breakfast place, with its energetic and casual vibes. All bagels are freshly made upon order, with a wide variety menu.
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| Clockwise from top: Bacon & Egg, Cream Cheese, Smoked Salmon- 6-14NZD One of the best bagels ever! |
Farmer's Market is not to be missed when you are visiting NZ, because this is where the local farmers bring forth their freshest home grown produce, local delicacies to market. We were lucky to catch one of the market happening during weekends (Britomart Farmer's Market). Albeit not that huge compared to Aussie's version, we still managed to grab some delicious snacks and fruits, quite a memorable experience to try out.
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| If you know me, pastry and coffee is my muse |
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| Absolute charm: Mussel Fritters |
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| Coffee-to-go at Chuffed- 3.80 NZD |
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| Famous Aqua S seasalt icecream with seasonal taro and pumpkin twist-5 NZD each |
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| My farmer's outfit to Farmer's Market |
We skipped all the museums in Auckland and headed to Coromandel Penisula. I've read some travel blogs while researching for NZ trip, that Coromandel is not to be missed while visiting the North Island. Remember all the pretty postcards your friends sent you from NZ or the promoting photos of NZ tourism or The Chronicles of Narnia? These beautiful attractions can be found in the Coromandel, which is only 2.5 hours away from Auckland. Along the way, you will be welcomed by scenic ocean view, with never ending greeneries. We took the scenic Coastal Highway and found ourselves immersed in the beautiful shades of blue. Although it is a 2.5 hours drive, but the journey was never boring as we made a couple of stops in their small town like Thames, Whitianga, Coromandel town and more. Each of these little towns has its own stories to tell, if you are in North Island for a longer duration, i would highly recommend to stay in this beautiful coastal town for 3 days to fully explore its beauty and attractions
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| Fresh Oyster (a Dozen)--25 NZD |
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| Coromandel Oyster Company for the freshest oyster |
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| New Chums Beach |
We spent some quiet time just relaxing by the beach before headed towards the iconic Cathedral Cove. On the way, do pass by Whitianga for some fresh seafood along the beautiful Mercury Bay and enjoy a cuppa warm coffee. The Cathedral Cove or some may have seen it in the movie of The Chronicles of Narnia is situated in the Te Whanganui-A-Hei (The Great Bay of Hei) Marine Reserve, south-east region of the state. It is a natural rock formation that had collapsed and formed a cave, with cathedral dome like structure, hence the name-Cathedral Cove. It is accessible via foot from Hahei Beach (70 minutes), kayaking (10 minutes) or by a short hike via the World War 1 Memorial Forest (35 minutes). We opted for the last option (highly recommended!) and was welcomed by trails of wonderful NZ habitat. Visitors can swim, snorkel and kayak around the reserve and further on to Gemstone Bay and Stringray Bay (towards Hahei Beach). The view here is not to be missed and is worth a visit.
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| View from the peak of WW1 Memorial Forest, so picturesque! |
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| Sunset view from The Cathedral Cove |
Next up, we stopped by the famous Hot Water Beach, which is around 10 minutes drive from Hahei Beach to experience the thrill of digging up thermal water by the beach, as its name suggest. Unfortunately, we missed the low tide timing and couldn't find any hot water, but the view and beach is still worth a quick pit stop.
With that, ends our 3d2n trip in Auckland and Coromandel Penisular. Of course there are plenty of attractions out there that we didn't manage to visit due to limited time (Auckland Sky Tower, museums, Coromandel hikes and train rides, water sports in Hahei beach), but with the limited time we spent here, it was more than enough to be amazed and fell in love with this piece of beautiful island. Next up, we headed down South to the land of Hobbits and thermal wonderland. Please stay tuned for the next write up soon! xoxo
More information:
- New Zealand Official Tourism site: https://www.newzealand.com/int/
- Auckland Official Tourism site: https://www.aucklandnz.com/visit/discover/attractions
- Coromandel Penisular Official Tourism site: https://www.thecoromandel.com/
- Oyster & Chop website: http://oysterandchop.co.nz/
- The Best Ugly Bagel website: https://www.bestugly.co.nz/
- The Best Ugly Bagel address: City Works Depot, Wellesly & Nelson St, Auckland, opens daily 7am-3pm
