Hop-on-Hop-off Tour
I researched online for a city tour and there I came across ‘hasslefree tours’ . After considering many options I preferred to book myself a 24 hour Hop-on-Hop-off tour of Auckland . It cost me dollar 12.90 and I was expected to reach near Skycity at 10am the next day . The Hop-on-Hop-off buses start from Skycity . They have defined two tours of the city- red tour and yellow tour . Both the tours cover different destinations . I chose the red tour as I wanted to explore the famous Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium and the Auckland zoo.
I reached the Skycity at the right time . There were fifteen minutes for the bus to leave and I made use of those minutes to have a coffee at a cafe nearby .
The whole bus was empty except six of us ( including the driver) . I was enjoying myself in the open roof bus watching the city and clicking pictures .
Auckland Zoo
I hopped off the bus at the famous Auckland zoo . The entry was dollar 20 and the zoo staff welcomed me by clicking my picture in fearful expression (as if a lion was coming to attack me )
The zoo is very large .They have divided it into different parts of world- Australia , SriLanka , America and Africa , showcasing animals of each region separately . It was very enjoyable to see Emu , Flamingo , Seal , Ostrich , lots of jiraffes and many colourful NewZealand birds in addition to monkeys , elephants ,lions or rhinoceros .
There are many eating places inside the zoo . You can have burgers ,icecreams ,salads or wraps . But I preferred to just have my coke and the energy bars I was carrying in my bagpack . Saving dollars you know !
Watching lots of animals and birds , there was a souvenir shop near the exit where there were available almost all the animals in soft toy form for the kids . Lots of other stuff like mugs , diaries , pens , T-shirts etc but I didn’t buy anything . Saving dollars you know !
Just then a guy came to me with the pic which was clicked on my welcome entry . It was enclosed in a beautiful folder and I was told to pay dollar 15 for it . My eyes widened but I preferred to ask him smilingly whether it was compulsory to buy . Although he said ‘No’ but my heart said ‘Don’t save dollars everywhere ‘ and I puchased my picture . Here you also have a look at it :
Kelly Tarlton Aquarium
I hopped on the bus and my destination was Kelly Tarlton Aquarium where I hopped off . This is a public aquarium in Auckland which is famous among tourists . It was the brainchild of the marine archaeologist and diver Kelly Tarlton .
In 1983, Kelly Tarlton proposed building an aquarium in unused sewage tanks underground on the Auckland waterfront. Fish would be viewed through a long acrylic tunnel.
PC: Wikipedia
I got myself a ticket to the sealife aquarium for dollar 39 but I was alert for the welcome entry . Yes ! a guy did come to click me but my experienced mind smilingly said ‘No please, Thankyou so much’
Major attraction of Kelly Tarlton aquarium is Shark Tunnel Area
It was a beautiful experience watching different kinds of sea animals -fishes , sharks and the cutest penguins .The shark area is the best attraction of this museum where you walk through a tunnel and you see sharks in the glass cages above your head .
The large snow area with so many penguins personally attracted me the most . It was so beautiful to watch the penguins taking baby steps to walk around . I wanted to kiss them , hug them and spend more n more time with them .
Fell little short of time to explore the aquarium fully as the last time of hopping on the bus was 6 pm . I came out well in time so as not to miss my bus . The bus left me near Skycity and I went ahead to board the train to reach back home .
HopOnHopOff tour is a good option for sightseeing of Auckland city and you can choose your destinations as per your choice .
Read my experience of the famous SkyTower of Auckland
For other videos of Newzealand travelogue go to my youtube channel here
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