This is one of the most beautiful green spaces I've ever seen in my life. I thoroughly enjoyed…read morewandering through the grounds of the domain. Especially the greenhouses. I wanted to stay in those spaces, smell all the flowers, touch all the plants, and pick some of the very ripe fruits and vegetables. I admit to smelling some flowers and touching a few plants, but no fruits or veggies were at risk. Highly recommend the Auckland Domain if you are in Auckland. It's free, beautiful, and walking it is great exercise. It's made of win.

Green lawns, ball fields, gazebos with live music, clean public restrooms, unique trees & shrubs,…read moreendless trails with lots of benches & a very nice day. I loved the trees, I expected to see a Hobbit crawl out. We were walking to the museum & then back to our hotel. We passed pristine rolling hills, a bowling center, tennis center, Olympic aquatic center .... Many were biking, walking, jogging and enjoying the green space. There is a botanic garden near the museum.

I play indoor netball here and everything is well organised. Once you've set up your team you can…read morepay your fee weekly or in a lump sum. Then you show up, put on clean bibs that you don't even have to wash yourself afterwards and play some sweet netball (sweet? I totally mean sweaty) with a referee that has also been organised for you. Basically you can just turn up and play! There are tables, chairs and a couple of couches to hang out at before your game or collapse into afterwards. There are toilets in the building as well. Conveniently located across the road is a park with courts if you want to practice/warm-up before the game, although there are only baskethall hoops and it's often very busy with others playing social sports and families hanging out.

Indoor Netball is not just for girls. No, no, no. It's fierce, fast and even at social level, super…read morecompetitive. I play in a mixed team once a week at Balmoral and love it. The competition is well graded, usually the games are very close. They are well organised, everything runs extremely smoothly. I can't even moan about the refs, they are focused (which isn't always the case with social sport) and fair. It's not too expensive, and it's a really fun way to break up the week while getting a mega fitness kick. The Balmoral courts are small and the venue has a laid back community feel

This must surely be one of Auckland's most sprawling parks. It's MASSIVE. However you feel about…read moreKeith Hay and his conservative Christian politics (although non-Aucklanders may have never heard of him), this big green space is pretty cool. It is home to two of Auckland's most iconic amateur sports clubs Three Kings United Football and TriStar Gymnastics. It is also where you'll find Cameron Pool, the Eden Roskill Cricket Club and Akarana Golf Course, as well as several playgrounds and some nice paths and wide open spaces to walk the dog or just get some outdoor exercise. The playing fields must be some of the most well used in the city as they are totally swarmed on Saturday mornings for the TKU soccer games. There's even a regular sausage sizzle, coffee van and merchandise stand. I always think we are so lucky in Auckland to have so much greenery and Keith Hay Park is a great example of this.

Keith Hay park played a massive part in my life when I first moved to Auckland. It was adjoined to…read moremy intermediate school (Waikowhai Intermediate,) as well as across the road from Roskill Grammar. Keith Hay Park played host to many memorable games of soccer for me over the years - I remember doing the Wynton Rufer academy and failing to do 15 juggles continually, while getting watched by the whole course. A little bit embarassing. Keith Hay Park is huge - if i remember correctly there are 15 full sized soccer piches on it, as well as a few cricket pitches and batting nets. It also serves as a home for Cameron Pools and the gymnastic centre, so it really serves as a centrepiece, one size fits all sporting destination.

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.

My daughter has been attending TriStar Gymnastics since Term 3 of last year. Helpfully they offered…read morea "try before you buy" session for free which is exactly what you need for these kinds of post school activities - there's nothing worse than committing to a whole term of something that just isn't what you thought it would be. There's really only a choice of two big gymnastics clubs in the central Auckland area and TriStar is based out of a massive purpose-built gymnasium next to Cameron Pool in Mt Roskill. Strangely enough there's not a lot of signage so if you see the big building with the red windows, you are in the right place. Once we decided to go ahead and join, there was an Enrolment Form to fill out and obviously fees to pay. My daughter is in the Incentive class which costs $155 per term (or $140 with prompt payment discount) for a one hour class each week. There's a huge range of classes on offer for every age group and when we were in the investigation stages, the information on the website, while comprehensive, was a bit confusing. I suggest a phone call for clarification as to which class is most suitable and to let them know when you'll be visiting. Also you won't find the fees on the site until you open the Enrolment Form. Our experience here has been great with the teachers being immediately welcoming and putting my daughter at ease (particularly the exotically monikered Flaminio!). There have been a few hiccups with the accounting side of things but I suppose this is to be expected given the number of people who attend the club. There is a small waiting area for parents with a window so you can watch your kids if you want to. The only real beef I have is that communication is not great but again, this is a function of the fact that there is only an hour and therefore it makes sense not to waste time chit chatting to the parents. I don't think parents are actively discouraged from being inside the gym but I would suggest rather than bothering your child's instructor who has a class to teach, take any questions you might have to the front desk as there is usually someone there who can help you. We are at the point now where my daughter is ready for the next level but this has not been addressed by her teachers so we'll bring it up with them and see where we go from here.... overall I think choosing between this club and the YMCA gymnastics programme comes down to what is most convenient for you and your family. I actually took my children to the YMCA's pre-school programme when they were little and that was a very positive experience so go with what works for you.

This year I was proud to take part in the 11th Annual Coastal Challenge. The start of the challenge…read morestarted as far north as Arkles Bay in Whagaparoa 33 km from the finish line of Windsor Reserve in Devonport. I however did not do the full monty option as they call it, and instead opted for a more achievable distance for a first time challenge; the 6km run/walk from Hauraki corner of Takapuna beach to Devonport. I was very pleased with the course, I joined hundreds of the people race towards the finish and it was a thrill and success to take part in such a worthy cause, the charity partner Hospice North Shore, use all money raised from the coastal challenge to support the community palliative care team. The challenge is also divided into age categories : under 20, 20-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60 plus. The events to choose from we're 6km,11km,17km, 22km, and 33km. You can either run or walk. The course included racing along the beach, climbing along rocks and occasionally getting a bit wet, but nothing over the knee. I know that the larger distances definitely include some water time. Views were just sensational along the way of Rangitoto, and all the beautiful beaches from Takapuna to Narrowneck. I look forward to challenging my distance next year with a few more km's.

The best thing about watching the Olympics is discovering how truly badass some sports can be,…read moreespecially when they are shown in slow motion. Table Tennis was the one that really grabbed me during the Beijing Olympics, watching the massive variance in body shapes as they played out some jaw dropping games. After playing for a while in my friends garage, we decided to venture out to the open tournament night that is run at the Auckland Table Tennis Association on Wednesdays. It costs 7 dollars to enter, and is run very well. It runs on a ladder system, where you play to 21 points, whoever wins moves one table up. Unfortunately, despite all the practice I had put in, I was completely dominated, with the final humiliation coming at the hands of a 13 year old with "learning disabilities." The stadium is also open for individuals, with table and bat hire available at 15 dollars an hour. The facilities are basic, but the space itself does what it is set up to - provide an arena for table tennis.

Played netball here for years…read more It is a great place to play social sports. My low rating is due to the facilities. They are a sports venue and don't even have a drinking fountain. You used to be able to fill up your water bottle from an outdoor tap, the handle on this tap has since been removed. For a place to play sports not to have a place to full up your drink bottles aside from the warm toilet taps is just not good enough.

I play netball here as well as the Balmoral Courts. Like most sports centres, the staff here are…read morereally laidback and they've got a full bar stocked with drinks, water and Powerade plus some nice cold beer and ciders for after your match. This place is a few bucks more expensive than the Balmoral courts, and the place does get really hot because there's not much ventilation, but they do have a few fans running around the place. There are three courts, and I know on certain nights they run indoor cricket as well as indoor netball. The refs are nice and so far they've been pretty fair with their calls. It would be a great place if they just invested in some air conditioning, because, as I mentioned before, it does get really, really hot in there. Make sure you invest in some shorts and singlets before creating a team!