Three Days in Auckland

Mary Kay and I could have stayed in Auckland's City Center, but we didn't want to push our luck driving any more than necessary in city traffic. The reason we chose to stay at a vacation rental in Bucklands Beach, a suburb of Auckland, was because it is walking distance to the Half Moon Bay Ferry Terminal which offers ferries to the Auckland City Center as well as Waiheke Island. It was a perfect choice!

Visiting Auckland City Center

We started our first full day in Auckland with an early morning walk to the Half Moon Bay Ferry Terminal. It was only a 45 minute walk from our "home" and we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and views of the bay along the way. It was a little chilly on the 40 minute ferry ride but it didn't stop us from riding on the top deck and taking in the views as we approached the harbour.

Mary Kay and I made the most of our day in Auckland's City Center. We toured the Weta Workshop, ate lunch at Portofino, visited the shops, and toured the Sky Tower.

Experiencing the Weta Workshop

We didn't know what to expect when we booked tickets for the Weta Workshop but we had heard it was worth seeing. And it was! While neither Mary Kay or myself are much into fantasy films, we had a ton of fun exploring, learning, and taking photos with the props and activities.

Visiting the Sky Tower

When Tom, Sierra and I visited Auckland six years ago, we stood below the Sky Tower and counted down the New Year for 2020 (oblivious that Covid was about to destroy the entire year). But, we never went up in the tower. This time, with Mary Kay, we indulged in the Sky Tower tour. The first elevator took us up to the main observation deck on Level 51 where we walked around and viewed the city from high above. The second elevator took us up to level 53 where we watched people leaning over the edge doing Sky Walk adventure.

After our tour of the Sky Tower, Mary Kay and I returned to Bucklands Beach, via the Ferry, and prepared for our visit to Waiheke Island the next day.

Visiting Waiheke Island

Mary Kay and I caught the 12pm ferry from Half Moon Bay for the 50 minute ride to Waiheke Island. In hindsight we should have started earlier because we didn't have nearly enough time on the island for what we wanted to see.

Our ferry from Halfmoon Bay dropped us off at the Kennedy Point Ferry Terminal. From there we caught a city bus across the island to the Matiatia Ferry Terminal where we bought tickets for the Hop On Hop Off bus. After a short ride on that bus we hopped off at the first stop, Mudbrick Vineyard. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and glass of wine at the Archive Bistro then wandered the grounds and made our way to the Glasshouse Tasting Garden where we sampled four wines. We were having so much fun, and wine, we lost track of time. I went to the counter to pay our tasting bill and somehow ended up with four bottles of wine, to go!

We only had a short time before the buses stopped running but we were convinced we could squeeze in a quick visit to one more winery along the way. We hopped off in front of Cable Bay Vineyards and the bus drive warned us not to be late for the last bus. Oops! Now what? After considering our options, maybe hitchhike? We decided to walk. In our current state, we weren't exactly sure where we were walking, but we had a great time! Fortunately, we walked passed a friendly local that could we we would benefit from a little guidance. He pointed us in the right direction and we caught a city bus just in time to catch our ferry back to Bucklands Beach.

So many wineries, so little time!

After two full days in Auckland, we spent our third day packing up and heading for Taupo.

You can view the Wheels Up for New Zealand 2026 trip page to see all my blog posts, photos, and Wanderlog info.