I took early morning flight from Christchurch which is situated in the south island of New Zealand to Auckland. It was a 1.5 hours flight and i reached Auckland at 7.30 am. I had a Ultra long 14 hours flight to Chengdu from Auckland at 8.30 pm so i had roughly about 12 hours to explore Auckland. Auckland is the biggest city of New Zealand and almost all the tourist entering New Zealand will eventually pass through Auckland.
Mount Eden -I took the SKY airport express bus from the airport and after 1 hour ride i reached my stop located near Mt Eden. Mount Eden Summit was 30 minutes hike from the bus stop and it is a popular hiking trail among locals. The view from the Mount Eden summit was very attractive. The mountain is located at the center of the city so you get to see great 360 degree view of the Auckland city from the Summit. The sky was clear and i was able to see some outlying islands located near the city. The view of the Auckland sky tower was brilliant from the summit of Mount Eden. The place was not overcrowded with tourist and you will mostly see locals with their dogs. Mount Eden is a volcanic mountain and the last eruption happened about 15000 years ago. This was one of the smallest volcanic mountains i have ever seen in my life. The volcanic eruption left a crater 50 m deep at the summit of Mount Eden.
The crater was covered with grass and it had a unique look compared to the crater located at other volcanic mountains. I really loved the view of symmetrical conical shaped Rangitoto volcanic island from the summit. It took me about 20 minutes to reach the main road from the summit of Mount Eden. I will strongly recommend everyone to visit Mount Eden during your visit to Auckland. Mount Eden is a great location for a half day tour.
Viaduct Harbor– Viaduct Harbor is located 4 km away from Mount Eden. I had lot of time to spare that’s why i decided to walk from Mount Eden to Viaduct harbor. On the way to Viaduct Harbor i crossed number of shops, museum and malls. The walk also helped me to have a closer look at the lifestyle of people of Auckland. It took me about 1 hour to reach Viaduct Harbor from Mount Eden.
All island excursion tours, yacht tours and whale watching excursion tours leave from Viaduct harbor. I saw number of beautiful yacht and cruises parked near the harbor. Transport facility to outlying islands located near Auckland are available from the harbor.Sky tower is located near the harbor and the view of Sky tower from the harbor is absolutely beautiful. Viaduct harbor is simply the heart of Auckland. You will find number of fine dining restaurants and bars near the harbor. The main promenade near the harbor is a popular place for street shows. Viaduct harbor hosts various popular events throughout the year. New Zealand’s Voyager Maritime Museum is located near the harbor. One can easily spend half-day at the harbor. Around evening time i took SKY Airport Express bus from Viaduct harbor and it took me around 1 hour to reach Airport.
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