Babbling Brooke’s Travel Blog

Starting the day with a walk to the nearby Woolworths grocery store, we stocked up on some breakfast foods in an attempt save a little here and there. While we were there we noted prices and at first glance the produce seemed incredibly expensive, until I realized it was priced per kilo instead of pound…which really changes things! There was also this little stand that had a variety of single fruits with a sign that they were free for kids to take. A picture was needed for proof.

After eating some breaky and once Matt’s work day was done, we headed out! Trying for a balance of sightseeing mixed with exploring neighborhoods and asking “do we see ourselves here?” we ventured into another subdivision of Auckland for our day two itinerary.

This time we opted for a neighborhood near Cornwall Park, between Epsom and One Tree Hill neighborhood. We stopped at a cute little restaurant called Little Jimmy and went a little crazy ordering a huge lunch. Something that stood out for this place was that they work to promote and source from smaller kiwi businesses. We ordered the ribeye steak with bone marrow au jus and the market fish (snapper) to split. Both were so delicious and went down wonderfully paired with a couple of red wines! I tried to Pinot noir and Matt got their Malbec that was described as “a Malbec on steroids”. It was an accurate description, indeed!

And because you can never say no to a sweet treat, we devoured two incredible desserts: Warm sticky date pudding with ice cream and butterscotch sauce and this whipped cream with strawberry…thing? It looked like art! Both were divine but for me, the date pudding was my favorite.

To burn off all we ate we headed for Cornwall park and began the trek up the hill to the top of Maungakiekie One Tree Hill. Ancient-looking trees lined the walk way before opening up to meadows adorned with more giant trees. As we climbed, the views of the surrounding city were made clear while various birds chirped or sang their songs. Now I’ll admit, eating a huge lunch and then immediately walking up second tallest hill in Auckland was probably not the smartest idea but alas, it’s what was happening.

The views from the top were absolutely gorgeous, and the monument stood in the center of it all. All of the Māori engravings around each placard were so detailed and beautiful.

Making our way down the from Maungakiekie One Tree Hill Domain and around to the other side of Cornwall park (it is 425 ACRES), we walked passed sheep, cows, and even an archery club! Everywhere we looked there were groups of people gathered around either on picnic blankets or in folding chairs, often eating food or playing lawn games. There was so much space it never felt crowded. Seeing folks enjoying third spaces together, where you don’t have to go spend money to be together is truly something that I envy not having more of in the US and it was really beautiful to witness.

Once we were parked-out we hopped into an Uber to go check out Mission Bay on the other side of town which is a cute little beach neighborhood with shops, bars and buzzing with Summer activity! By this point I honestly was a little overstimulated by the crowds of people so we walked around a bit, got some ice cream. I would’ve loved to stay longer as I am rarely ever ready to leave a beach, but in that moment I needed some R&R so it was back to the Airbnb to freshen up and relax before dinner.

After walking down Ponsonby Road we ended up popping into The Blue Breeze Inn purely off vibes alone (often my favorite way to pick where to eat in a place I’m unfamiliar with). I was too hungry to snap a picture of the food but it was mighty tasty.

After dinner we opted to hit up one of the many bars lining the street. It was POPPIN’ on this Saturday night and folks of all ages were getting after it. So many cool themed bars that we simply just did not have the time (or the livers) to try everyone but some notable mentions: Jolene, a western themed bar where everyone was wearing pink cowboy hats. Chapel, a was church-themed with stained glass and a statue of Jesus holding two pink guns made from neon lights behind the bar, a record bar, and a little spot called “Lime” that we got an after-dinner round of cocktails at. They were playing truly iconic music and the ladies next to us were feeling it! It was not the least bit “annoying drunk people” and all the “girls just wanna have fun” vibes. Oh, and it was open until 3am. The in-bed-by 9pm Seattleite in me was baffled at the late closing time!

One last item on the to do list for the day was strolling down Franklin Road to see all the houses decorated for Christmas. And while it’s definitely more on the touristy-side of the spectrum, I loved every second of it! Large neon pink and purple heart lights adorned the trees lining each side of the street and all the houses were decked out in lights. Some of my favorites are below:

With tired eyeballs and feet from walking and sightseeing all day, we headed back to our Airbnb for some much needed shut-eye before tomorrow’s adventure of embarking on a day trip outside of the city to a winery-filled island.

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