With a population over 1.582 million, the Auckland Region is currently home to 33.4% of the country’s population. Situated as it is between two harbors and with many little islands in the Gulf, it is one of the prettiest cities in New Zealand. As there is so much surrounding ocean and most people live in houses with gardens, Auckland tends to sprawl a little and be difficult to drive through.
The undoubted jewel in the Auckland crown is her Waitemata harbor (Sparkling Waters). It is the focus of the whole region and in a manner of speaking is to Auckland, what the thermal activity is to Rotorua and ski slopes to Queenstown – identifiable, distinguishing and carrying the promise of excitement and adventure.
Interesting & Fun Facts About Auckland
• Auckland is the largest as well as the most populous urban area of New Zealand.
• Auckland was originally inhabited by the Maori people.
• ‘Rangitoto’ is a baby volcano in Auckland and is only about 600-700 years old when compared to the other giant volcanoes.
• There are about 50 volcanoes in Auckland, all of which were active in the last 600 years or so.
• Auckland houses the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world.
• Auckland has two harbours on two separate major bodies of water, namely Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean.
• The Harbour Bridge in Auckland has 8 lanes and the central barrier in the bridge is moveable.
• The largest volcano located in Auckland is in the Rangitoto Island.
• English is the official language spoken in the city. However, since this place is largely Polynesian, a large number of other languages such as Asian and Maori languages are also spoken widely.
• Auckland is located on and around an isthmus, with its narrowest point merely 2 kilometres in width, which is between Mangere Inlet and the Tamaki River.
• With regard to the quality of life, Auckland consistently ranks in the top 10 major cities of the world.
• There are over 800 restaurants in Auckland.
• Auckland has a perfect, 100 km of coastline and is home to some of the most stunning beaches in the world.
• Auckland is commonly referred as the “City of Sails”, because the harbour is flanked by hundreds of yachts and has more yachts per capita than any other city in the world.
• The Sky Tower located in Auckland is the tallest free standing structure in the entire Southern Hemisphere.
• Auckland houses approximately 30 percent of the world’s total population of yellow-eyed penguin, which is also bred here.
• There are exactly 23 regional parks, situated in Auckland.
• Auckland was the capital of New Zealand from 1842-1865.
• The ‘Sky Tower’, is the tallest building located south of the Equator, which is located in Auckland. • The principal tribes that still exist in Auckland today are the ‘Ngati Whatua’, ‘Te Kawerau-aMaki’, ‘Ngati Paoa’ and the ‘Waikato’.
• Auckland is best known as the ‘mecca’ for water sports and is the cultural epicentre of New Zealand.
• Waterfront Plan: The Waterfront Plan sets out the vision and goals for Auckland’s city centre waterfront and contains a range of short, medium and long-term initiatives that will continue to transform this part of the city. Some of the projects in the Waterfront Plan include: A 10km promenade and cycleway along the edge of the waterfront from Harbour Bridge to TEAL Park. A linear park through the Wynyard Quarter t that will link Victoria Park to future headland park on Wynyard Point. A light rail system linking the Wynyard Quarter to the city.
• Americas Cup; New Zealand successfully defended the Cup in March 2021