Ice skating at Aotea Square, what will they think of next? This is pure Auckland! What other city thinks they have the right to do something like this?
This has been an annual winter family activity for a few years now but it wasn’t until last night I finally managed to get there. (more…)
Has anyone not heard about all the change about to go down at the Auckland waterfront?
There has been a lot happen already and stacks of news on this subject recently. As the Auckland waterfront (in particular Wynyard Quarter) is one of my favourite spots I decided to do some research….I didnt have to go far.
All you need to jump on the Your Waterfront website and see what is going on in your city. (more…)
Everyone knows that parking in Auckland city is horrible. There are no car parks, everywhere is full or its too expensive. WRONG!!! Read on to find out where to park….all the hard work is done for you.
Ellie Goulding kicked off her second New Zealand tour on Saturday night with a performance at Auckland’s Vector Arena .
Vector Arena was set up with a free flow crowd system where a ticket to the show got the viewer access to any seat and the entire floor area. Seats were on a first in first served basis and filled up fast. That left the rest of us to join the swarm on the floor which was good for the tall people, not so much for the shorties. There was plenty of room for fans to move and dance with no pushing and shoving, I am glad to see the event was not over sold. (more…)
One great thing about Auckland is the amount of events that unknowingly happen each weekend. You actually need to search out events though, if you are not in the right circle or don’t know where to find out what is on then you will get left behind. I was fortunate enough to be in the right circle to hear about the Palace Dance Studio performing The Royal Crusade show.
This was a fundraising event for the three time world champions as they prepare to head back to Las Vegas to perform at the World Hip Hop Championships. All the crews from The Palace performed – Bubblegum, Duchesses, Sorority, ReQuest and The Royal Family.
Earlier this week, I was lucky enough to attend the pre-screening of “Maleficent” at 
IMAX cinema (Thanks to someone).
With myself being from a small town (where the cinema is named Whakamax) and currently living in West Auckland, I had not experienced a screen bigger than your average household LCD TV. The IMAX cinema however is like an auditorium, it felt like I entered the Colosseum when I walked in and I was almost disappointed when the people already seated didn’t applaud me. I scaled the stairs and found a center seat about 100 meters back from the screen, took my seat, turned to see the wall of a screen in front of me and was immediately impressed. (more…)
Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city boasts Queen St as the central hub of shopping and culture, so one would expect it to be constantly vibrant and buzzing.
I have spent a lot of time in the CBD lately, no not just at night…but also during the day, and Queen St doesn’t seem the way it used to be. I recall the night bringing bright lights, friendly crowds and shops open forever. Now on a week day the shops are locked up by 6pm, restaurants and bars are dead, and the crowds have dwindled to a few suits walking home from work. (more…)
After 15 years in the game, DawnRaid Entertainment threw together a celebration concert tour with a huge line up, including Savage, Aradhna, Sammy J, Che Fu, Deceptikonz, Monsta and Brown Hill. The Auckland concert was held in Studio Bar on “K” road and drew a great localist crowd from the home town of DawnRaid. 
Trying to impress my girlfriend Laura, I arrived at opening time…only to have to wait an hour to get in. The doors finally opened fashionably late and the crowd enter to witness DJ Peter Gunz laying down a great set of hip-hop and rap classics while mixing and scratching the decks 90’s style. (more…)
Malls, malls, malls….Today I visited three of them!! Westfied Albany, Westfield West City and Westfield St Lukes.
Going to the mall is definitely a favorite Auckland past time. People dont go to the mall to spend money, they go to the mall to “go to the mall”, the aisle ways are constantly full of people walking with no sense of direction, mothers dragging kids and husbands, groups of 14 year old Justin Bieber look-alikes and the occasional consumer. (more…)
I decided to attend the 2014 NZ International Comedy Festival, not by choice but because Dizzee Rascal pulled the pin and left me high and dry on a Wednesday night I had already planned to spend in the CBD. A mad rush of event searching ensued, firstly on “event finder”….this was a dead end search and led me to believe there is NOTHING happening in New Zealand’s largest city on a Wednesday night, unless I wanted to attend a night class in French language or a pub quiz!
This got me thinking, how can this city be so dead?? Where is the traffic??….Topic for another day I think.
Only by chance I stumbled across the 2014 NZ International Comedy Festival site and settled on “The Creeping Charlie Showcase” featuring Wilson Dixon, Urzila Carlson, Ewen Gilmour, Rhys Mathewson, Nick Rado, Jesse Griffin and Simon McKinney. (more…)
Real Life Auckland 