I won't say much but second the great reviews. This is a great library and as a backpacker i spent…read moremany days in here using the wifi, getting info, etc. Not many backpackers here, mostly locals. Quiet. clean. very nice :)

Less helpful people working there now, but those still there are super helpful. Free wifi!…read moreVery nice study desk area's with power points for plugging in your laptop, and overlooking green areas outside. Very good thinking area. Lots of dvds still available for rent

This is my local library and one of my favourite places. It is as kid-friendly as could be and I…read morelove that I can walk in here with my kids and we each go our own way before meeting up later. I still have moments of amazement where I'm like "books for free!!!!!". It's one of the great pleasures of civilised life to have access to more books than you could ever read in a lifetime and best of all, it costs nothing! The librarians here are particularly helpful and one in particular always goes out of her way to make recommendations to my 11 year old daughter which I am so appreciative of. I will say though that there are a couple of (male) part timers here who are grumpiness personified. Yeah we know libraries are cool and yes, you must be very cool to work in one but let's not forget, it's still a customer service job. Like I said, the ladies are all lovely so go figure.

Town hall opened in 1911 This 5 story building was specially designed to fit a triangular shaped…read moreplot of land. It resemblances Lambeth Town Hall in London. This was Auckland's first permanent seat of both administration & entertainment in the city. The Great Hall seats 1,673 people, modeled on the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, considered having among the best acoustics in the world. The exterior of the Edwardian building is constructed of 2 types of stone. The ground floor is made of a dark volcanic basalt, heavily rusticated, contrasting with pale stonework above. Oamaru limestone from the south island was used for the upper part of the building. The lower part is often assumed to be Auckland basalt but was actually sourced from Melbourne. . The five-storey building was specially designed to fit the wedge-shaped piece of land that had been acquired for it in the 1870s at the junction of Queen Street and Grey Street. It bears a striking resemblance to the Lambeth Town Hall at Brixton, London, built at around the same time. The Town Hall formed Auckland's first permanent seat of both administration and entertainment in the city's history, with its Great Hall (seating 1,673 people) modelled on the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, and considered as having among the finest acoustics in the world. The exterior is constructed of two types of stone; the ground floor is made of a dark volcanic basalt, heavily rusticated, which contrasts with the pale stonework of the upper storeys. Oamaru limestone from the south island was used for the upper part of the building. The lower part was from Melbourne, in Australia.

The Town Hall bisects Queen St along with Aotea Square and looks down toward the water with it's…read morebig, old clock tower. With the re-branding of The Big Little City is nice to have this cultural icon sitting in place. I have enjoyed a wide variety of entertainment here including thumping house music, silent discos and classical music. The wooden floor flexing under the beat of jumping ravers or the walls echoing with Wagner's Valkyries- each special in their own way. Sometimes you can catch a talented organist playing the hall's grand organ. Everyone should visit this venue at some stage, to enjoy the entertainment, the acoustics and the heritage of Auckland.

I used to live in Avondale and hated it, and that hatred extended to everything in Avondale or…read moreAvondale-related. If you'd asked me what I thought of Avondale library I would have said terrible. Now that I no longer live there my feelings have softened. And to my surprise, Avondale library is not nearly as bad as I remembered (re: imagined) it. When I went in recently I was impressed with the quality and quantity of the art and design sections - clearly someone who works here takes an interest. The fiction was more what you'd expect from a smaller suburban library, heavy on the thrillers and chick-lit, light on the post-modernism and lit-lit, but the non-fiction was a treasure trove. Avondale library, I take back anything bad I might have said about you in the past.

The best thing about the Devonport Plunket clinic is their playground, its awesome! Lots of local…read moremums come here with their little'ies so they can play in the park outside or there's heaps of toys and couches inside too. I've only had a couple of appointments here and although they're helpful and friendly I still think Plunket in general could be a bit more proactive in their local community. Since I had a baby just over a year ago now I've seen them a total of three times. In saying this I'm sure that if there was anything in particular I needed help with they would be more than willing, just that as a matter of course they don't tend to check up on new mothers and babies too often.

This hall is at least as old as I am if not older. I remember it as part of my community fabric…read morethroughout the years as it plays host to a huge variety of functions and events. I've been to 21sts here, 50th wedding anniversaries, 5 year old birthday parties and engagement parties. There is a basic kitchen with everything you need for catering, trestle tables tucked under the stage if you want a seated occasion, a stage for performing events, and best of all the place has a great, relaxed vibe. I coordinated a children's fashion show here as a fundraiser for the kindergarten years ago and it was a roaring success. The local film club host their art house cinema showings here, usually on a chilly winter's night so you get to sip mulled wine while you rug up and wait for the heaters to kick in. The weekend craft markets are held in the hall, spilling out into the carpark. There are endless uses for a great community hall like this and glad to have it in my patch.

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.

Travelling with children can be a daunting and tiring experience, and with airlines milking the…read moreluggage weight costs, it can be very expensive to include enough toys to keep the young ones entertained. When my sister in law and her little darling daughter came over for a three-week visit, she simply couldn't bring along Louise's toys, so we arranged to collect some from the Northcote Toy Library. The library offers a great service, and as a national body, allows parents to access toys for children without the big cash required for a purchase. This is a great opportunity to use their services when you need it, and then to donate to when you are able to give back to society. I know I will.