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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lancelot" data-source="post: 4879216" data-attributes="member: 30022">Depends what you're after. If you haven't visited Auckland before, there are a number of options. Some of my personal favorites:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Take a ferry out over to Rangitoto (volcanic island) and climb up to the summit. Make sure you take a detour to the lava caves (bring a torch, and wear old clothes so that you can crawl through low tunnels). The main caves on the walking track aren't extensive, but still fun.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Visit the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Three levels, and it's not all military. First level is primarily NZ, Maori and Pacific Island culture (including reconstructed meeting houses, wakas/canoes, etc). Second level is other cultures and plants/animals/etc. Third level has a small reconstructed Victorian village and the military exhibits, including an intact Spitfire and a Zero. Other interesting items include the guns out the front of the museum, from HMS New Zealand (battlecruiser that fought in most of the major engagements of WW1, and had the distinction of firing the most shells of any ship at the Battle of Jutland).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There are two MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology) sites, linked by a tram. The first has old engines, cars, trains, etc. The second has aircraft, including a Lancaster bomber, V1 flying bomb, etc. They're both very close to Auckland Zoo as well, which is another tourist option. Both MOTAT sites are better visted on the weekend, as they sometimes run special events.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Devonport is one of the nicer suburbs in terms of casual shopping and dining. It's waterfront, you can get to it by ferry, it has many owner-operated stores (few chain stores), art galleries, antique shops, three 2nd-hand bookstores (some fantasy, sci-fi, RPG), plenty of cafes and a few pubs. It's also close to more of my beloved military locations: a small Naval Museum with some fascinating historical artifacts, the Devonport naval base (...where you'll be able to see NZ's mighty navy of a couple frigates and some auxilliary support vessels), and the old WW1/WW2 installations on North Head. The latter are worth a trip, again with old clothes and a torch. You can explore the old tunnels in a freeform fashion, there are great views from the summit of the hill, and there are several large guns maintained in emplacements.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If you were visiting later in the year, I'd recommend a trip out to Piha beach on the west coast. Only 30-40 minutes drive from central Auckland, and there's nice scenery through the Waitakere hills on the way out there. Unfortunately, it'll  be pretty cold and grey in late winter / early spring.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In terms of gaming shops in the central city, there's King of Cards (Magic, DDM, Board Games), Vagabond (RPGs, Warhammer, Anime, Flames of War) and Heroes 4 Sale (RPGs, Comics). They're all roughly within a km/mile of each other in the central business district, which runs along Queen St and Karangahape Rd. There are a couple of generic Games Workshop stores at St Lukes and Sylvia Park malls as well.</li> </ul>Despite my love of Auckland, I'd keep your expectations relatively low for gaming, though. Our stores have a very limited selection compared with, say, Sydney (which has the population of our entire country within the city limits...) or most US/Canadian cities.Most gaming is based around groups of friends at home. We have a couple conventions each year (e.g. Armageddon which includes gaming, comics, anime, sci-fi, etc), but it's just too small a market to support major events.</blockquote>

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