Victoria Park Market, the Sky Tower, the Domain, DaVinci and the bays

Last time I was in Auckland, two weeks ago, I was so tired from my trip here that after 6pm I was pretty much ready to sleep. Today was the opportunity to see what Auckland really had to offer!

Our first stop was the Victoria Park Market, the younger and smaller sibling of Camden Town, which is housed in the old Auckland incinerator. Cute as the market was it was nothing in comparison to our next destination: the Auckland Sky Tower! At 328 meters it dominates the city landscape and is indeed one of the main symbols of the city. Conquering our fear we ventured up to the observation deck (192 meters) where the 360 degree views of the city just took our breath away! http://www.skycityauckland.co.nz/

Despite the views we were glad to be on firm ground once more and headed to the Domain (one of the old volcanoes in Auckland) for a picnic and a visit to the Auckland Museum which housed an exhibition on the DaVinci machines. The exhibition was great fun as at least half of the exhibits were interactive and you could see exactly how they worked! It is amazing to think how little some things have changed over the centuries. The founding principles of mechanics, hydraulics and even flying were known and used since the Renaissance.

With the cultural part of the day over we decided to drive towards the North East side of Auckland, to Mission Bay; the home of Auckland’s rich and famous. Although not more than 20 minutes drive from the city centre you could easily believe you are in a sea resort full of bathers and ice cream parlours!