Auckland Highlights

by Marc on April 22, 2009

There’s lots to see and do in Auckland, but having less than 3 days, we didn’t even try to do it all. After seeing all the tasty-looking dead fish at the big fish market we wanted to check out some live ones, so we visited Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World.

KTTunnel1

Built in an abandoned sewer just outside downtown, it’s a really nice place – featuring a set of underwater tunnels where you can check out a variety of fish, sharks and rays:

KTShark1

KTDaniRay

We arrived just in time for a feeding, where divers enter the tanks and a frenzy begins.

KTDiverFeed1

KTTunnelFrenzy

They also have a good variety of tropical fish, including many we had seen in Rarotonga and Hannah’s favorite, the porcupine puffer fish:

KTBlowfishPS

There’s also an area dedicated to the history of the the first expeditions to reach the South Pole, and a cute penguin exhibit.

KTPenguins

The aquarium’s free shuttle bus starts and ends at the famous Sky Tower, tallest in the Southern Hemisphere. We checked that out too, and got some great views of the city.

AucklandTowerLookup

Given the passion Kiwis seem to have for adventure sports, it’s no surprise that they offer tethered walks around the outside of the tower, as well as a free-fall SkyJump. Tempting, but we decided to save that for the next visit.

AucklandTowerSil2

{ 6 comments }

April 22, 2009 Mary Beth Haley

Beautiful

April 27, 2009 Craig

Sorry we missed you guys! Linda and I have just arrived back in NZ after three years on the road and we were in Auckland just a few days ago. Bummer.

May 11, 2009 G

Marc, is that you in the tank with the scuba gear on?

May 12, 2009 Danielle

No, he was behind the camera that day.

May 15, 2009 Danielle

@Craig – Sorry we missed you too. We totally want to go back to NZ and spend a few months there!

May 25, 2009 Lilliy

That is just amazing. I loved the underwart walk. Great site love your photos.

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