3 stars might be a bit low . This is a good place to hang on a Saturday but there are some…read morecaveats. Hotel California might be playing or Pink Floyd. Get my drift? Not exactly cutting edge sounds coming from the bar. Beer selection is great and drinking is what I think this place is best suited for. Grab a snack if you need to and are hungry but the menu has very few low carb or veggie options so you might just want to have a gin and tonic. House gin is Matakana. Staff are friendly. The outdoor high tables were all slightly sticky to the. Touch. The patio needs a good cleaning and some falcons to eat the pigeons.

The Lumsden Green is a nice patch of grass in the middle of Newmarket, it has a little hill and an…read moreinteresting concrete and water installation where I once saw a hobo having a shower. On a sunny day people sprawl out over the green or sit on the benches and rocks, often you see suits down here catching some sun during lunch hours. You could have a picnic here if you wanted, the space is big enough and this is the only patch of greenery right on Broadway. It's also a good waiting space if you're going to be dining at one of the restaurants on Davis Crescent, instead of standing around awkwardly in the front of the restaurant you can wait on a bench under a tree instead.

The Devonport Domain is known amongst locals to be home of the North Shore Cricket Club. If you…read morehappen along on a Saturday afternoon and enjoy a good afternoon of cricket, then pick up a half pint from the cricket club building, sit yourself on the bank and enjoy the game. There is a lot of shade from all the leafy oak trees surrounding the pitch, so you can sit on the bank or possibly the thoughtfully provided wooden park benches dotted around the domain. There is also a playground for the little ones with safety matting below, so it is quite a child friendly place to go. There are basic toilets available, but don't expect soap.

This place is so quintessentially English - on a warm afternoon you just want to sit on the grass,…read morewatch the cricketers do their thing and listen to The Kinks... Anyway, in years gone by I've spent plenty of time on these fields either as a player or a spectator, and there just aren't many more picturesque places to play cricket or football - the field is a perfectly maintained green carpet, the backdrop is all leafy old trees, houses and North Head and Mt Vic a short distance away. I don't play much sport anymore, but there still aren't many more relaxing spots for a walk than this and for that reason I still like to come down here.

Fantastic park and walkway that I got to introduce to friends who had never heard of it or been…read morebefore! So glad they know of it now, especially the one who has a dog whose allowed on this track. Just next to Castor Bay, Kennedy is home to gun emplacements as well as tunnels from the Second World War. The tunnels are only open second Sunday of every month between 11am and 2pm for guided walks by volunteers from the Kennedy Park WWII Trust. There is also ample green grass and shade from trees next to the wooden coastal walkway. There is a sturdy wooden staircase leading to Back Beach where several people were doing up and down stair-runs and other fit-stuff. Good on them. Unfortunately we came at high tide so couldn't make it full all the way around the cliffs but definitely coming back at low tide to do more walk exploring and go for a swim! Having said that though, we instead did the coastal walk, noticed the spiderweb-centred playground that looked like fun as well. A proper dedicated car park space you can turn into after the main sign. Such a great park space- must see.

JF Kennedy Park is one of those fantastic spots that has somehow managed to remain relatively…read moreunknown - well, unknown enough at least to ensure it's not overcrowded or anything. You get there a little turnoff into a carpark off Beach Road which reveals a wide expanse of park complete with a quality playground. At first you don't quite realise how high up you are, but then you notice the water of the Hauraki Gulf on the horizon out to the east, walk to the edge of the park, and see that you're actually on a high clifftop. You can follow a wooden staircase all the way down the cliff-face, revealing a beautiful beach mercifully free of direct car access which makes gives it a nice secluded feel. It is a favourite of the fitness/dog walking crowd, but most of the time this beach is pretty well empty so it's a great place to come for a swim, enjoy some Vitamin D, and marvel at the golden rock of the cliff. My favourite time to come is just before sunset - it's especially peaceful around this time, and in summer the water's still lovely and warm.

I am not too sure what to make of this park... I have been past many times and it is never empty,…read morebut never packed either. It is situated right along side the train line, with a station just metres away. There is no permanent fencing - which was my first concern; parents if you go here please watch you children with the eyes of a hawk. The train track doesn't have barriers I should add. The upside is that the children train spotters will love watching the action, not only going past so close by, but also the picking up and off loading of commuters. The playground itself is quite small (which is probably suitable so it doesn't get too crowded), with a small patch of grass for around one family to occupy and one park bench. It is in a residential area with a few local dairies on Great North Road nearby. It is the type of place you come if you are a local within walking distance but not a place to come out of your way for.

This does not compare to Sydney, it actually looks more like the old railway bridge connecting…read moreQueens to Manhattan. They do have bridge climbs and jumps from here. Originally built in 1959, this long-standing bridge and city icon doubled its lanes from 4 to 8 and recently added pedestrian walkways as well as a special bridge-climbing adventure for most ages and abilities. There is an island underneath with views of the city & harbor.

One of my favourite places to drive and park at in the city is Westhaven, just under the cityside…read moreof the Harbour Bridge. It's a perfectly tranquil spot to sit and contemplate how Auckland isn't actually that bad when you find the pretty spots. A few months after I discovered this place, I used it as a location for a magazine I was working on at the time. It was a motoring themed issue and we had a classic car club come down during "the magic hour" and pose with their gorgeous vehicles and gorgeous smiles amongst gorgeous evening light. Bliss! Out of all the covers I've ever art directed, this was in my top five. Great lighting, great Harbour Bridge backdrop. Awesome.

Well this was going to be one of the highlights of the trip for me. I felt like gadget man, GoPro…read moreand camera's ready to roll. But ............................ Fortunately talking to our hosts at the lodge we were staying at informed us that the health & safety police had closed off the tunnels. I was very disappointed, but we decided to rock up there anywhere and might try a bit of exploring. We had high hopes when saw quite a few cars parked. After a good walk up to the site, our hosts were correct the tunnels are closed to the public until about 2016. We did not spot any signage advising of their closure until we were about to walk through the gate to the complex. Still we had some great views on the way up and down. There is not much at the site, we saw several families with disappointed children with torches in hand. Not a bad place for a picnic, but there are other more accessible locations for one.

If you're over on Waiheke, Stony Batter is an awesome day trip. It's on the eastern end of the…read moreisland so you'll need a car to get there (about 40mins from the wharf the ferry arrives into). Stony Batter is a series of underground tunnels and rooms from World War II; if you are claustrophobic this is not for you! It's very very dark down there and the tunnels go pretty deep, so for everyone else it's awesome fun. A torch is ABSOLUTLEY ESSENTIAL, with out a torch don't even bother entering, it's dangerous. If you've forgotten yours you can hire them there for $5. This is where my highlight comes in; the lady you pay has a giant pet sheep. It follows her everywhere (I can't remember the name, but something like Dolly perhaps?). Anyway it's pretty bizarre to see this big woolly creature following her around like a dog; that alone names the trip worth it.

This is a racetrack for horses (which I often see regularly used in the early mornings from the…read moreAvondale train station viewpoint), it is a very big track, and a very dry one at the moment with the summer we have just had. It can also be used to walk your dog/s, note the above - DO NOT WALK YOUR DOG IN THE EARLY MORNINGS, COULD BE A DISASTER;) I (insert sigh) don't have a dog, but I would walk one here like so many other people do that I pass when out walking with my husband after work sometimes. Occasionally you might also walk pass a drunk guy hanging out here, but he seems friendly enough, he might even offer you a drink. This is a nice easy place for a stroll, run or cut through to get to the markets on a Sunday if you know the back streets well enough. If you do get lost, most of the streets all lead out to a main road anyway.

I remember coming here a couple times as a kid with my parents, and I never really got the whole…read morehorse racing thing. I just wanted to see the dog races, but I never saw any of those. I remember coming here and getting heaps of food and soft drinks, and watching my parents go crazy over the races. I've never come as an adult, but I know people who have and they always seem to have had a good time. It's a really large race track, and if you come here on Sunday's for the markets the whole place will be extremely busy. Sometimes kids come here to race their cars, so be wary of that. Probably be a sweet place to go for a run on the weekends or after work, but I probably wouldn't walk here alone at night.

Best. Playground. Ever…read more Right on one of the best beaches in Auckland. Close to a large selection of good cafes abd restaurants. The playground equipment is in very good working order and there are lots of picnic tables nearby to have a picnic or enjoy some takeaways!

I don't get to visit Browns Bay too often, but the highlight for my sun is the amazing playground…read morethey have here. As a mother of a bubbly active 17 month old baby, I am always keen to re visit playgrounds that are planned and made for children of his age. I have been to a few that are just way to complex and hard to navigate for his younger age. I need not worry at Browns Bay; they have a fabulous ground floor playground for the little crawlers to walkers, and runner's even- fun tunnels, up and down moving boardwalks, climbing stairs and lots of slides. I like that the playground is located nice and close to the beach, so if your child has had enough playing they can either go to explore the beautiful beach, or even splash around for a swim. It is just a short walk to the public toilets, and a cool skate area for the big boys and girls. I usually just grab a coffee at the nearby cafe and sit and watch as my son enjoys this great play area.