Hillsborough Bay is a place of beauty. Just off the top of Hillsborough Road there is also a track…read moreyou can take which is like walking through the jungle to get there. At the bottom lies a green and a picnic table. Carry on across the road down steps to the bay and you will be in awe of the beautiful surroundings. You can see a couple of mountains before you. The setting is tranquil and there are wooden benches to sit on. Take a book and sit under the shade of a tree. There is a children's park at the end, however, it is rarely used. There is also a beach area, however its quite stoney. If you want to meditate or go somewhere peaceful this is your place.

I love this little park located in the heart of Remuera. It has to be one of the more fun…read moreplaygrounds in the area. With a swing set, a big climbing frame, slides, a flying fox and a skate board bowl, there is something here to entertain all the kids while you could be walking the dog (on leash only). Upland Road playground also has a lot of greenery for you to sit down on and set up a picnic for lunch or those summer evenings. Located incredibly close to Benson Road dairy, it's only a short hop and skip away to get an ice block, ending a perfect fun filled afternoon at the playground. I have grown up coming to this playground and have taken my siblings here a number of times. It's always a favourite; you just can't go past the awesome flying fox!

This is a super cool park for kids! There's a playground with actually nice and maintained play…read morethings and swings, slides, all that sort of thing - appeals to young babies up to older children. Plenty of seating for parents while the kids play. There is also a big flying fox, and a skate park for the bigger kids. To one side is a cliff that kids can climb up and have a little picnic at the top. We have had several birthday parties here. And heaps of grassy playing area! HEAPS! But note - if you are allergic to grass, this is the grass that will make you come out in a rash. Parking is on the road.

This is one of my most favourite places to bring my dog, the lawns are so vast and the views are…read moreincredible here. Parking is easy as there is lots of free parking on site and navigating the grounds is also a cinch because of the walking track. I have never let my dog off the leash here it just doesn't feel right for some reason? I am unsure what the official rules are regarding dogs but it's better to be safe. The TSB Wallace Arts Centre also makes this place extra special standing majestically in the middle of the grounds. I like to pretend that it is my house and I'm simply taking a walk around my endless garden. If you are fitness focused, this place really can deliver as a walking or running destination as it is quite a large circuit with lots of inclines and declines! The views here as mentioned before also make it an excellent spot for a romantic picnic (tried and tested).

Monte Cecilia lies semi-hidden , off Hillsborough and Mt Albert Road - with the best parking up by…read morethe Pah Homestead, where the TSB James Wallace Art Gallery resides. The park spreads out from this high point , curving away down to the road on one side, the school on the other, and looking out over the Manukau Harbor on the far right. The park has the biggest collection of Northern Hemisphere trees in New Zealand - and they are certainly big themselves. When I play disc golf here, I usually have to dedicate at least half an hour to climbing trees to retrieve discs- provided, of course, they aren't at the very top of an old oak tree. There is a course available at : http://www.discgolf.co.nz/monteCourseDescription.htm, but the map can be a bit confusing - so it's worth contacting the contact available on that page to get shown around. Afterwards you can stop off for a coffee in the cafe, or head to Cameron Pools for a nice dip.

This is such a wonderful beautiful park. We landed in Auckland after a long flight and just wanted…read moreto stretch and get some fresh air, this was the perfect choice! We took the field trail up, I did it in sandals but sneakers or hiking shoes would be better, and we took the road on the way down. There were people having picnics, kids playing, dogs walking, people just enjoins the great outdoors. As we started the trail you can see cattle, a small cafe, and more at the bottom. As you climb the views are amazing. A 360 panoramic view of Auckland is visible from the top. It was just a majestic view from the top. Walk is easy, the views are spectacular, the trees are so unique and huge, it was lovely.

Lovely food great setting. The staff are friendly and it's a great place for families…read more 5 star

Having decided to try visiting this bird sanctuary on a lark (thanks folks, I'll be here all…read morenight), I was impressed enough with it. One visits by boat either from downtown Auckland (which I imagine is a scenic ride) or from a more remote peninsula near the island where the boat stops just before reaching it (which is nice if you want somewhere free to park for the day). The boat ride is most of the cost; for a small additional fee you get a guided tour lead by one of a remarkably large number of local volunteers. Why not? The guide leads you through the middle of the island with some narration, before finishing at a lighthouse and leaving you the second half of the day to roam alone. There weren't that many visible birds during New Zealand "winter"; you'd here more than you see. The island was once a farm before being purposefully replanted as a forest. Things grow fast here; it looks quite wild. Up to the point of reaching the light house, I'd probably have written a four star review. However, they buried the lead. Exploring alone yielded vast panoramic views of the entire region. The island is centrally located between the city and a variety of other islands. New Zealand's indigenous people are of Polynesian descent, and while you walk around here you might confuse the volcanic landscapes, abundant greenery, and clear turquoise water for a more archetypically Polynesian vacation spot. There are a few swimmable spots. It is a big enough island that there were significant areas of track that I did not see even after hustling around the coastline. Always leave 'em wanting more, the saying goes. If I had occasion to, I wouldn't mine going again, which having paid $60 to see an island that had no trees at the time I was born is something. Tips: *There were a ton of local schoolkids, but the guides kindly separated out kids and adults for the tour, and once you're off the boat, it really isn't an issue. *Adults get free tea and coffee at the end of the tour, but no food. There is literally nothing even to buy. Bring decent food. *A truck loads any bags you might want to leave at the wharf, and carries them to the lighthouse and back, meaning you do not need to carry what you bring while walking the island. *They are very concerned about biosecurity, so wear clean shoes and bring only closed, zippable bags. *Apparently the name means that it's a really windy island. Which it really is. Be ready for wild temperature differences based on wind and shade.

Seriously one of Auckland's greatest outdoor treasures. This pest-free island is a magical place…read morethat harkens back to the days before massive deforestation for farming, hunting, and introduction of pests shrank the population of New Zealand's birds. The bird songs you'll hear here are incredible! Amazing work has been done to reforest native plants and trees, and reintroduce rare birds on this island. You can see hihi (stitchbirds), saddlebacks, kakariki (red crowned parakeets), bellbirds, north island robin, heaps and heaps of tui, wood pigeon, little blue penguins, kokako (if you're lucky) and of course, my favorite - the takahē (a population of less than 300 exist in the world, and this is one of the few places you can see them in the wild - plus BABIES!) So worth paying the $70 to take the ferry out there. Pack your lunch and your sunscreen, bring your swimsuit and good hiking shoes, and get ready for an amazing day. The extra $5 for the guided tour is worth doing at least once. The guides are very knowledgable and will point out the birds and interesting plants and give you a history of the island. However, when we went the second time without the group, we saw heaps more birds, I think as we were separate from many of the larger (noisier) groups. I'm dying to stay overnight at the DOC hut and try to spot a kiwi! The huts are booked well in advance so you're gonna have to troll the website for an opening. Also be sure to book your trip well in advance as the ferry can book up during peak season, and you don't want to miss out!!

Blockhouse Bay Beach is, strictly speaking, artificial. The white sand on the beach is trucked in…read moreto create the beach area for people to enjoy, but once you're out into the water, it's actually a muddy bottom, which you can see at low tide. Don't let this put you off though, as the water tends to be nice and calm, sheltered from the harbour as it is by the headland. We went down to check it out as a place to paddleboard from, and we had a great time paddling out past the headland and around the basin. The park facilities are awesome, and despite being right in the middle of the suburbs, it never really tends to be that busy, which is choice, as I hate beaches and parks that get spoilt by an overabundance of people. All in all, a great little spot to head out for a paddle, or chill out with fish and chips on the grass and enjoy the day.

This side of the harbour seems to be strangely under used, I suspect because everyone heads out to…read morethe more scenic Titirangi, but it's actually a really good place to come and hang out on a good day. Blockhouse Bay is a little horseshoe shape, so it's a bit more sheltered than some of the other beaches around the area which are more exposed, so even on a windy day it's quite pleasant. Swimming isn't that wonderful here as the tide never comes in that far, so it's always a bit of a wade out to somewhere where it's more than ankle deep, but it's a good place for a wander, or a swing on the swings, or just to sit and read a book and eat an iceblock.

I went here yesterday for the first time, suggested by some friends from Auckland (who I hadn't…read moreseen in 15 years) as a nice place that would be child friendly. Driving up from Hamilton with two sets of directions (printed from Google maps and navigation from my phone) and we still got a little lost... I'll take some credit for that, but also to forewarn you that the signing up to the park isn't that great and it's a little out of the way. There was plenty of parking when we arrived around 10:15 on a Saturday morning. There were already a lot of people there, appeared to be many birthdays and parties, rented jump houses and the like. There are lots of picnic tables around. It would be friendly for strollers/prams/push chairs. We also brought our son's little balance bike, and he enjoyed riding around on it there. Mostly, it's flat gravel areas for walking, flat grassy areas and very little paved area. The park was free to enter and to view the animals. It didn't appear to be staffed during the time we were there. You just walk around the various animal areas. We saw some rabbits, chickens, sheep, cows, goats, horses and a pig. My son (3-years-old) liked it, but wasn't blown away. Maybe we've been to too many animal parks lately. After walking through the animal areas (took about 30 minutes at a very slow pace), we grabbed a picnic table and chatted until my friends had to leave. One, somewhat bizarre thing, is that we couldn't find any garbage cans/rubbish bins here. So, if you are planning to generate trash, bring some bags with you. There appears to be some camping areas and some walking tracks. We didn't go around any of these, so I don't have any comment about those. Overall, I thought this place was fine, but not amazing. It's free, so you can't complain too much :)

Except for the rain, I had an excellent Ambury Park experience. You go through it as part of the Te…read moreAraroa trail (hiking trail that spans the length of NZ) so it makes an excellent place to stop for the night. I bumped into a park ranger as I arrived and she was really awesome, and since I was hiking the TA, allowed me to camp free of charge. The grass is flat, the toilet facilities are clean, and there's water available: everything a tramper could ever want. I didn't spend much time wandering the rest of the park (after walking in the rain all day I was kind of over it) but it's a nice outdoor area and a great place to take the family.

This park is a regular of mine, I always turn to it in times of need. When I'm looking for…read moresomewhere fun to walk my dog? I come here because there is a large open field for her to run in, as well as forest type track walks for her to explore. When I'm looking for a natural location for photoshoots? I come here because it's local, it has great parking as well as looking untamed much like forests that you would find out of Auckland (just in a miniature scale). The reserve also offers barbecues, tables, a sportsfield with a cricket pitch, netball and tennis courts as well as half courts. As I said before, there is plenty of street parking which is free, so even if you aren't into sports, come here and have a barbie on their electric bbq's!

Windmill reserve is actually the shit. It's a good sized field, surrounded by big pine trees and a…read morebit of a track that you can walk along. It's great for exploring and I take photos back there sometime and pretend I've taken them somewhere out of the city in a secret location or something. Next to the field is a set of in Winter - netball courts, in Summer - tennis courts. All free to play on. Yeah, they're kind of concrete and shitty, but they're still cool and there's heaps of them so you're likely to find space if you want to have a game. The best. Full Disclosure: I live near here so I'm kind of biased.

What a great park with everything you need in one place. It has a secure childrens playground…read morewhich is fenced all the way around, access only via the 2 gates so very secure for the little ones. It has this great path all the way around the park with exercise activities you can do while you are walking or running around. You can also come here for sports acitivies, soccer, cricket, rugby etc. Also onsite is the Ellerslie YMCA which also has a child centre. On the otherside there is also the duck pond and wildlife reserve with lots of ducks and pukekos. Its a great park if you are in or near the area, and its one that I miss going to as I just to be just a hop and a skip away from it.

It's true this is a great park ! Big open kids play area ,…read morewith a small gate to keep them in . Ample parking and it looks like they're trying to sort the drainage issues on the sports field . No public toilet though .