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Listings
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Airlines
Air New Zealand and Air New Zealand Link, cnr Queen St & Custom St (tel 0800/737 767); Ansett New Zealand, 75 Queen St (tel 0800/267 388); British Airways
; Canadian, 48 Emily Place (tel 09/309 0735); Garuda, 120 Albert St (tel 09/366 1862); JAL, 120 Albert St (tel 09/379 9906); Malaysian, 12th Floor, 12-26 Swanson St (tel 09/373 2741); Qantas, 191 Queen St (flight info tel 09/306 5564, reservations tel 0800/808 767); Singapore Airlines, cnr Albert St & Fanshaw St (tel 09/303 2129); Thai, 22 Fanshawe St (tel 09/377 3886); United, 7 City Rd (tel 09/379 3800); see also the
Yellow Pages
under "Airlines".
American Express 105 Queen St (Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.30pm & Sat 9.30am-12.30pm; tel 379 8286 & 0800/801 122); 69 Symonds St (Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm; tel 367 4235). Automobile Association 99 Albert St (tel 09/377 4660, fax 309 2745, www.nzaa.co.nz ). Banks and exchange American Express ; Interforex, 2 Queen St (tel 09/302 3031) & 99 Quay St (tel 09/302 3066); Thomas Cook ; Travelex, 32 Queen St (tel 09/358 9173). Bike rental Penny Farthing, cnr Khyber Pass Rd & Symonds St (tel 09/379 2524, fax 379 2002) rent entry level mountain bikes for $25 a day; Adventure Cycles, 1 Fort Lane (tel 09/309 5566 & 0800/335566, adventurecycles@xtra.co.nz ), have roadsters for $18 and mountain bikes from $15-25, and offer touring bikes at around $180 a month. Adventure Cycles also offer a service whereby you buy the equipment and they'll buy it back from you at the end of your trip for half the purchase price, a service also offered by Pack & Pedal, 436 Broadway, Newmarket (tel 09/522 2161, fax 522 2163, www.packnpedal.co.nz , shop@packnpedal.co.nz ). Bookshops The biggest bookshops are downtown on Queen St: Borders, at #291 (tel 09/309 3377), and Whitcoulls, 210 Queen St (tel 09/356 5400). In addition, try Unity Books, 19 High St (tel 09/307 0731); Hard to Find (But Worth The Effort) Quality Secondhand Books, 171-75 The Mall, Onehunga (tel 09/634 4340) for a massive selection of secondhand books; Out!, 45 Anzac Ave (tel 09/377 7770) for gay-interest books and magazines; and the Women's Bookshop, 105 Ponsonby Rd (tel 09/376 4399), for feminist literature and women's interest books. For maps , make for the Auckland Map Centre, 1a Wyndham St (tel 09/309 7725), or Specialty Maps, 46 Albert St (tel 09/307 2217). Bus departures InterCity (tel 09/913 6100, www.intercitycoach.co.nz ) run the most comprehensive range of services to many destinations in conjunction with their partner (tel 09/913 6100, www.newmanscoach.co.nz ). Tickets for InterCity and Newmans can be bought at the office in the Sky City terminal on Hobson St. The Little Kiwi (tel 0800/759 999) run to Hamilton and Rotorua daily via Auckland Airport and offer very competitive prices. Buying a car For general advice, consult Basics , then peruse the noticeboards in hostels and at the main visitor centre or get along to one of the weekend car fairs, which are typically dominated by private sellers rather than dealers. The major Saturday venue is the Saturday Car Fair, Beach Road, City (tel 09/636 9775); on Sunday you've a choice of the Auckland Car Fair, Ellerslie Racecourse, Greenlane (tel 09/529 2233, www.carfair.co.nz ), and the Manukau Car Fair, Manukau City Shopping Centre (tel 09/358 5000). All take place in the morning from 9am to noon or 1am (gates usually open around 8am) and are well organized, with qualified folk on hand to check roadworthiness. Alternatively, glance through the page of cars for sale in the weekly Auto Trader or Trade & Exchange magazines, or pick up Wednesday's New Zealand Herald newspaper. Camping and outdoor equipment Bivouac, 109 Queen St (tel 09/366 1966) & 326 Broadway, Newmarket (tel 09/529 2298) have a good selection of quality gear for sale or rent; Kathmandu, 350 Queen St (tel 09/309 4615) stocks all the major brands; and it's also worth checking the noticeboard in Auckland's main visitor centre and around the hostels for offers of camping and tramping gear for sale. Canyoning About the most fun you can have with a wetsuit on in these parts is to go canyoning, a combination of swimming, abseiling, jumping into deep pools and sliding down rock chutes. Two companies operate in the Waitakere Ranges, both making pick-ups in Auckland and both charging $125 for a full day out. Canyonz (tel & fax 534 1468, www.canyonz.co.nz , canyonz@xtra.co.nz ) operate on a stream close to Karekare with a good variety of all aspects including an 8m waterfall jump or abseil. Awol Canyoning Adventures (tel 09/630 7100, fax 623 0505, www.awoladventures.co.nz , info@awoladventures.co.nz ) run similar though steeper trips with more emphasis on abseils. Both trips often end up with a visit to one of the West Coast surf beaches. Car rental The international companies all have depots close to the airport and free shuttle bus to get you to them; smaller companies, frequently offering highly competitive rates in return for older cars and a poorer back-up network, are mostly based in the city or inner suburbs. Rates are highly competitive and deals come and go so call around. You'll see scores of flyers around town but don't take too much notice of the outrageously cheap offers, they almost certainly won't apply to you. Look under "Rental Cars" in the Yellow Pages . Reputable companies Include: A2B Rentals, 11 Stanley St (tel 09/377 0825 & 0800/616 888, www.a2brentals.co.nz , info@a2brentals.co.nz ); Apex, 29 Beach Rd (tel 09/257 0292 & 0800/500 660, www.nzrentalcar.co.nz , rentals@southern.co.nz ); Avis, 17-19 Nelson St (tel 09/379 2650, www.avis.com ) & airport (tel 09/275 7239); Budget, 83 Beach Rd (tel 09/375 2270) & airport (tel 09/256 8447); Hertz, 154 Victoria St West (tel 09/367 6350) & airport (tel 09/256 8690); National Car Rental, 69 Shortland St (tel 09/379 5080) & airport (tel 09/275 0066); NZ Rent a Car, 7 Fanshaw St (tel 09/308 9004, www.nzcars.co.nz , rent@nzcars.co.nz ); Rent-a-Dent, 105 Lower Cook St (tel 09/309 0066) & airport (tel 09/275 2044); Thrifty Car Rental, 79 Fanshaw St (tel 09/366 0562) & airport (tel 09/257 0562). Consulates Australia, Union House, 32-38 Quay St (tel 09/303 2429); Canada (tel 09/309 8516); Netherlands, 57 Symonds St (tel 09/379 5399); UK, Floor 17, 151 Queen St (tel 09/303 2973); USA, cnr Shortland St & O'Connell St (tel 09/303 2724).
Emergencies Police, fire and ambulance, tel 111; main police station, cnr Cook St & Vincent St (tel 09/379 4240). Events Auckland Anniversary Weekend, sailing regatta on the Waitemata Harbour on the last weekend in Jan; Devonport Food and Wine Festival, third weekend in Feb; Round-the-Bays Run, a 10km fun run that attracts up to 70,000 participants, early March; Pasifika Festival, a celebration of Polynesian and Pacific Island culture held in Grey Lynn Park, mid-March; Round the Bays Run, when up to 70,000 jog 10km along Tamaki drive, last Sunday in March; Waiheke Jazz Festival, Easter week; Royal New Zealand Easter Show, Easter weekend, family entertainment Kiwi-style with equestrian events, wine tasting and arts and crafts, all held at the showgrounds along Greenlane; International Comedy Festival, late April and early May; Auckland International Film Festival, early July.
Internet access and discount phone centres There are places all over the central city mostly charging $5-8 an hour: try Usit Beyond ; NZ Discount Phone & Email Centre, 1 Queen St (tel 09/358 3000, nzphone@Ihug.co.nz ); the 24hr Cyber Gates , 409 Queen St; or Cyber City, 29 Victoria St (tel 09/303 3009, ytpark@hotmail.com ), next to Albert Park Backpackers . Kayak rental Ferg's Kayaks, 12 Tamaki Drive, Okahu Bay (tel & fax 09/529 2230; $18 for 2hr). Laundry Clean Green Laundromat, 18 Fort St (tel 09/358 4370; Mon-Sat 9am-8pm). Left luggage Sky City Bus Terminal, Hobson St (daily 7am-8pm); many hostels also have long-term storage for one-time guests at minimal or no charge. Library Auckland Public Library, 44-46 Lorne St (tel 09/377 0209; Mon-Thurs 9.30am-8pm, Fri 9.30am-9pm, Sat 10am-4pm). Medical treatment Auckland Hospital, Park Rd, Grafton (tel 09/379 7440); Travelcare, 5th Floor, Dingwall Building, 87 Queen St (tel 09/373 4621), offers diving medicals, physiotherapy, X-rays and dental treatment. Registered medical practitioners are listed separately at the beginning of the White Pages phone directory. Newspapers and magazines Auckland's morning paper is the anodyne New Zealand Herald , the closest New Zealand gets to a national daily. The best selection of international newspapers - mostly from Australia, UK and the US - is at Borders, 291 Queen St. This is also your best bet for specialist magazines, which are also sold at branches of Magazzino (33 Victoria St; 123 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby; and 3 Mortimer Passage, Newmarket). These shops also sell Metro , Auckland's city monthly which, if nothing else, offers an insight into the aspirations of upwardly mobile Aucklanders. Pharmacy The most convenient late-opening pharmacy is the Auckland City Urgent Pharmacy, 60 Broadway, Newmarket (Mon-Fri 6pm-1am, Sat & Sun 9am-1am); emergency departments of hospitals have 24hr pharmacies. Post office Auckland's main post office (tel 09/379 6714; Mon-Thurs 9am-5pm, Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-noon) is just off Queen St at 24 Wellesley St West. Poste restante (Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm, Sat 8.30am-noon) is in the Bledisloe Building, 24 Wellesley St. Roller blading Tamaki Drive is a favourite spot, and blades can be rented for around $10 for the first hour and $5 for each subsequent hour from Ferg's Kayaks, on Tamaki Drive across Okahu Bay from Kelly Tarlton's.
Swimming Central pools include the indoor Edwardian-style Tepid Baths, 102 Customs St West (tel 09/379 4745), the open-air saltwater Parnell Baths, Judges Bay Rd (tel 09/373 3561), and the heated outdoor Point Erin Baths, cnr Shelley Beach Rd & Sarsfield St, Herne Bay (tel 09/376 6863). Otherwise, simply head for one of the beaches . Taxis Alert (tel 09/309 2000); Co-op (tel 09/300 3000); Corporate (tel 09/631 1111). To add a little zest to your ride, call Auckland City Tuk Tuks (tel 09/360 1988), who run open sided three-seater tricycles. Thomas Cook 159 Queen St (tel 09/379 3924); and at 34 Queen St (tel 09/377 2666). Tours There's a wide choice of Auckland-based trips, ranging from short tours of the city (half-day and full-day, $36-99) to multi-day jaunts to the Bay of Islands, Rotorua and Waitomo (2-3 days, from $300); operators include Grey Line (tel 09/377 0904) and Great Sights (tel 09/303 1170). Travel agencies Auckland Central Backpackers Travel Centre, 16 Shortland St (tel 09/358 4877, travel@acb.co.nz ) specializes in budget domestic travel, as does CCB Travel Shop, City Central Backpackers, 26 Lorne St (tel 09/309 5742); for internal and international travel, try Budget Travel, 16 Fort St (tel 09/366 0061 & 0800/808 040), STA Travel, 10 High St (tel 09/309 0458), or Usit Beyond, cnr Shortland St & Jean Batten Place (tel 0800/788 3368 & 09/379 4224, fax 366 6275, www.usitbeyond.co.nz , enquiries@usitbeyond.co.nz ).
Women's centres
Auckland Women's Centre, 4 Warnock St, Grey Lynn (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm; tel 09/376 3227, fax 376 1817,
www.womenz.org.nz
,
akcentre@womenz.org.nz
) offers counselling, health advice, massage and a library. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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New Zealand,
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