Auckland Art Gallery have really upped their game in the last decade. The new building is stunning, a work of art itself. The New Zealand section is beautifully curated, with the pieces tastefully presented, with lots of space and well-balanced in each room. Very easy wandering.They are getting in more exciting exhibitions, like the recent success Who Shot Rock ‘n’ Roll, which is one of the best photographic exhibitions I have been to anywhere in the world. The centrepiece to the gallery is the Breathing Flowers, which I love. It is a huge hanging installation piece of inflated flowers, which move or ‘breathe’ as you watch them. It is quite captivating and will only be up until 3rd September this year. Have a look and see what’s on…

I really love the fact that Auckland’s Museum is actually good! Sounds harsh, but a lot of cities have very dull museums! I love the Maori and Pacifica section, so interesting. The marae is great. The giant waka is so cool! Loads of great stuff to look at and it’s free for Aucklanders - just bring a library card or a bill as proof!

One of the best zoos in the world that I have been to. Huge open spaces for the animals, really natural habitats for them to hang out in. A lot of animals mixed in together, rather than always having one animal in each area. No tiny viewing cages/windows where the animals don’t have much space. Such a great zoo. One of my fave places in Auckland!

One of the pricier options, but such a good one too!! And how many places can you get a really good look at lots of exotic creatures while staying warm and dry inside?! The penguin train is the best! The tunnels to walk through the aquarium give you such an amzing perspecitve on some really exotic and exciting things, including huge mantarays, sharks and more!

Tucked away out of the centre of town, a lot of Aucklanders have never been here, but it’s really great! Lots of incredible plants to look at and cool facts. Some amazing smelling flowers and a warm and vibrant and healthy environment to wander through.

If I want a whole load of healthy nutrients, lots of tasty food and I don’t have much money to spend on it, this is my number one place to go! The $6 lunch is the best, you get a little bit of everything, including dessert!!

Best vege burger I have ever had. For serious. Really unusual type of vege burger, I think that’s what makes it so great. It’s some kind of seed and grain patty, delicious. Also the deep fried pickles are so amazing! And it’s open…. late!! :D

The Thai food here is so freaking good. And so cheap! They have a huuuuuge selection of vegetarian dishes, the most I’ve seen probably anywhere in Auckland! Almost too many! Haha. The vege Tom Yum soup is amazing too.

Don’t be fooled by the shabby decor, dinner here is a taste-bud sensation! Yes, the staff are very friendly and the seating is comfy, but it’s the food itself that takes the prize. I’d highly recommend the Dahi Puri, pictured. It’s a hard, crispy shell with potato inside, topped with yoghurt, tamarind paste, chutney, fresh herbs and ground spices and oh my god is it delicious. I also love their Dosa, a thin pancake with crispy edges, with curry inside, rolled up and served in slices. So yummy! Good prices and you can even BYO wine, like we did! Loads of great vegetarian options! Get into some scrummy South Indian cuisine!

AMAZING DUMPLINGS!!! Great selection of vegetarian options. There are two different kinds of aubergine they do and both are inconceivably tasty. Are they wizards? I suspect yes. Every time I’ve been here we’ve had to order more aubergine because all the meat-eaters kept eating it! Beware though, if you order a plate of dumplings, do not let the price fool you into thinking it will be a small amount! This place is cheap and you will get a mound of dumplings. They are really good and I have eaten so much every time I’ve gone here cos it’s all just so hard to resist! The décor ain’t so glam, but they do have those nifty lazy susan tables and extra seating available upstairs. The star of this show is defo the food though!

One of the many events this CBD park puts on is Chinese Lantern Festival, a vibrant, fun and colourful celebration of Chinese culture. A wide range of really yummy Asian (and some Western) food at really good prices too! Albert Park have always been really good about hosting big public events, rather than worrying about their grass getting trampled. This park can take a lot of use, a lot of visitors - concerts, stages, crowds; it’s all good at Albert Park!

Not far from the city, this dog-friendly beach is a long stretch of white sand. Much of the beach is lined with grass banks as opposed to buildings, which is really pleasant. Outside of day-light-saving hours, dogs are welcome any hour of the day and the long beach makes for great exercise ground! People are very friendly round here, particularly amongst fellow dog-walkers! With the shops close-by and amazing house-made gelato on offer at the Takapuna Beach Café, this is a great location to escape the hustle bustle and feel the sand under your feetsies!

Def the best thing to come out of the Rugby World Cup in my opinion! This is a lovely place to walk around and has events on frequently! Throughout the summer, they do screenings of films, which you can watch outdoors from the park. Everyone brings blankets, rugs, pillows, picnics and wine and gets cosy. The first one I went to was on a date! It was such a perfect date activity. We snuggled and drank wine and watched The Labyrinth! Other times I have gone with groups of friends, as pictured. They have sweet night markets with great food stands. The Mexikai truck has been frequenting there recently, which I have been very pleased about! The playground is really good. Lots of fun things, all in meticulous nautical theme, for kids and adults alike to play on. There is a really pretty water feature with an installation sculpture hovering over, which I like too. Also, you occasionally get to see a drunk person fall in it!  :/ Located right next to the string of great restaurants and bars along the Wynyard Quarter, you can always pop in somewhere for a meal or a drink too. The cinema screenings were free and I would like to thank Silo Park for putting them on! One of the highlights of my summer!

  This is easily the best mini golf in Auckland. It has a lake. It has a pirate ship! Which you can walk on!! It has TWO different courses. Water features. Everything is pirate themed. Need I say more??   It is reasonably priced, has a range of snacks, whatever, who cares?! It’s pirate mini golf!!!!!!!! Amazing amazing. Highly recommended!

One of the best zoos in the world that I have been to. Huge open spaces for the animals, really natural habitats for them to hang out in. A lot of animals mixed in together, rather than always having one animal in each area. No tiny viewing cages/windows where the animals don’t have much space. Such a great zoo. One of my fave places in Auckland!

One of the most reliable and long-standing excellent coffee spots in Auckland! I appreciate their high standards and know that I will always get a perfect flat white here. Good treats available in the cabinet too!

Big spacious cafe with a great modern warehouse aesthetic. Excellent, excellent coffee, both the barista skills and the coffee beans, which they roast themselves. Good place for meetings too, as there is lots of space.

Very simple: great coffee, good people. They did a collaboration with the Auckland City Mission recently, where you could bring a can and swap it for a coffee, all the cans going to the Mission. Good karma with your coffee?!

The smell of fresh roasted coffee beans percolates the air as you approach this great cafe and roastery. A drum of churning coffee beans sits at the edge of the cafe floor, where they roast their own coffee. So we’re off to a good start! I have been frequenting this cafe for years and they always hire superb baristas. The breakfasts are delicious - I highly recommend the eggs bene, which I get with spinach & avocado. You can also get it w hash browns if you’re feeling moreish! Staff are always very friendly and attentive too!

Excellent coffee, really polite, professional and friendly staff, beautiful views and amazing food. They’re cakes and treats selection is superb!

I really love the fact that Auckland’s Museum is actually good! Sounds harsh, but a lot of cities have very dull museums! I love the Maori and Pacifica section, so interesting. The marae is great. The giant waka is so cool! Loads of great stuff to look at and it’s free for Aucklanders - just bring a library card or a bill as proof!

Inside, sheltered from any potential bad weather, all sorts of beautiful and fragrant plants and flowers bloom inside this ornate glasshouse. The glasshouse is gorgeous and has a king of art deco look to it, with its high curved ceiling. Inside, there are several areas, including a central courtyard with ponds of bright goldfish and Grecian statues. There is also a fernery, which is really relaxing to walk through. Entry is free! Bonus! And if the weather is nice, you have the rest of the Domain to stroll through. Bring some bread and you can feed the birds at the pond. A couple of nice cafes throughout and of course Auckland Museum, which is free to Auckland residents (bring a local library card or a bill with an Auckland address as proof). Lots of options! It is a little breath of fresh air in the middle of the city; lovely to walk through!

Auckland Art Gallery have really upped their game in the last decade. The new building is stunning, a work of art itself. The New Zealand section is beautifully curated, with the pieces tastefully presented, with lots of space and well-balanced in each room. Very easy wandering.They are getting in more exciting exhibitions, like the recent success Who Shot Rock ‘n’ Roll, which is one of the best photographic exhibitions I have been to anywhere in the world. The centrepiece to the gallery is the Breathing Flowers, which I love. It is a huge hanging installation piece of inflated flowers, which move or ‘breathe’ as you watch them. It is quite captivating and will only be up until 3rd September this year. Have a look and see what’s on…

This is such a lovely cinema. It is huge, there are loads of cinema screens and each screen is massive! Having lots of screens means there are loads of options of what movies you can see at any one time, as well as lots of options of screening times for any given film. The big screens really make the movie-going-experience. If you book online, you can pre-order any treats and snacks to just pick up the lot together with your tickets. It is also part of the Westfield Mall complex, so you can buy anything from the supermarket, the food court or any of the bars and restaurants that line the mall. I just went and saw the new Star Trek film there and it was AWESOME!

One of the pricier options, but such a good one too!! And how many places can you get a really good look at lots of exotic creatures while staying warm and dry inside?! The penguin train is the best! The tunnels to walk through the aquarium give you such an amzing perspecitve on some really exotic and exciting things, including huge mantarays, sharks and more!

Auckland Art Gallery have really upped their game in the last decade. The new building is stunning, a work of art itself. The New Zealand section is beautifully curated, with the pieces tastefully presented, with lots of space and well-balanced in each room. Very easy wandering.They are getting in more exciting exhibitions, like the recent success Who Shot Rock ‘n’ Roll, which is one of the best photographic exhibitions I have been to anywhere in the world. The centrepiece to the gallery is the Breathing Flowers, which I love. It is a huge hanging installation piece of inflated flowers, which move or ‘breathe’ as you watch them. It is quite captivating and will only be up until 3rd September this year. Have a look and see what’s on…

Inside, sheltered from any potential bad weather, all sorts of beautiful and fragrant plants and flowers bloom inside this ornate glasshouse. The glasshouse is gorgeous and has a king of art deco look to it, with its high curved ceiling. Inside, there are several areas, including a central courtyard with ponds of bright goldfish and Grecian statues. There is also a fernery, which is really relaxing to walk through. Entry is free! Bonus! And if the weather is nice, you have the rest of the Domain to stroll through. Bring some bread and you can feed the birds at the pond. A couple of nice cafes throughout and of course Auckland Museum, which is free to Auckland residents (bring a local library card or a bill with an Auckland address as proof). Lots of options! It is a little breath of fresh air in the middle of the city; lovely to walk through!

Trust The Basement to be so topical as to have a play in residence about being young and gay right when the vote for Marriage Equality is being drafted! I recently saw Queen by Sam Brooks in the intimate studio theatre and, in with moments of tears & many of laughter, were some real revelations about what it is like growing up gay today. Brooks won the Playmarket Playwright’s B4-25 Award in 2012 and Queen is a brave and honest piece of work. Enjoyable & thought-provoking, it sparked a long conversation afterwards about the themes. ****On 16-25 April @ 7pm**** When I went to see Queen, there was a sign behind the bar: “We are nice! You have the options of: 1. Being nice back 2. Going away! x” and it’s true! One time, the staff here found the last remaining seat in the house to squeeze me into at the last minute when I was on stand-by & desperate to see a popular show, saying “We can just fit you in! Quick! You can pay at the interval!” They are good guys. Basement are now a risk-share theatre too, so they take a cut of ticket sales, rather than charging to book the theatre. This means that new theatre companies have the opportunity to put on a production based on the merit of their work alone, rather than whether they have the capital up-front to book a performance space. Therefore, Basement takes bookings for plays they believe in and they help market them too, because they are invested in the play’s success. This is an important shift and has changed the landscape of Auckland’s theatre repertoire. Love love love for The Basement. :)

I really love the fact that Auckland’s Museum is actually good! Sounds harsh, but a lot of cities have very dull museums! I love the Maori and Pacifica section, so interesting. The marae is great. The giant waka is so cool! Loads of great stuff to look at and it’s free for Aucklanders - just bring a library card or a bill as proof!

Tucked away out of the centre of town, a lot of Aucklanders have never been here, but it’s really great! Lots of incredible plants to look at and cool facts. Some amazing smelling flowers and a warm and vibrant and healthy environment to wander through.