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Auckland and around in January

Posted by: Nigello on Jul 15, 04 at 02:48 AM Posted in: Australia & the Pacific Tagged: Jump to last reply

On our 5th trip to Oz next January, we have decided to return to NZ. (It is so close and we were scratching our heads as to what to do in Oz, so thought it would be better to go to NZ while in the area.) We'll keep our trip to the north of the north island, and want to find out about the best beaches there.
Also, I would like to know about the hippest hotels, bars etc in Auckland. Are there good, quality boutique hotels in Bay of Islands/Coromandel peninsula? What is the best beach around those two places? Will Auckland have changed much since September 96 when we were last there?

Thanks,

N

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    Kiwi_acct on Jul 15, 04 at 08:06 PM

    Hi Nigello

    Glad to hear that you will be vivtng New Zealand next year.

    As with most visitors to NZ I recommend the PureNZ.com site as a good start.

    The link is below, don't be confused by the address it is the Purenz site.

    http://www.newzealand.com/travel/

    It has great links to accomodation and sites.

    As far as best beaches are concerned, how far north do you want to go. Matai Bay in Northland is a great beach but is in fact north of Kaitaia on the KariKari peninsula. There are good beaches in Northland which are closer, though IMHO not as nice. There is Pakiri beach, Beaches around Mangawhai are pretty good and accessible, Uretiti beach if you like letting it all hang out so to speak. Coopers Beach up near Manganui and then onto KariKari peninsula with Rangiputa, Karikari beach,Whatuwhiwhi, Matai bay etc.

    Near KeriKeri the are some secluded beaches with small self contained accomodations nearby. I suggest searching under "Kerikeri accomodation"

    On the Coromandel there are good beaches at Whitianga, Whangamata, Pauanui and Matarangi. These locations also offer a lot of choices of accomodation as well. However these locations are also more popular and therefore will have more people staying. There are quieter beaches such as Cooks beach which is very nice.

    Again to find a good location search under "Coromandel accomodation"

    Auckland has changed a fair bit since '96 and for the better. The waterfront area around the Viaduct and Princes wharf have undergone a major upgrade and this area is now home to some good reataurants, bars and accomodation.

    Sadly I am not quite cool enough to be a regular attendee at hte spots the beautiful people hangout at but I do know that your best choices for location are Ponsonby (As on your last visit) Parnell (Ditto) and the Viaduct.

    Some places to be seen are Soul on the viaduct, Iguacu for early evening drinks in Parnell, Coast on the waterfront, Sponge bar in Ponsonby.

    Hope some of this helps.

    Sorry can't be more help with the accomodation, as I live here I have limited use for hotels.

    Cheers

    Steve

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