We checked in to the Mercure Hotel on Customs Street near the intersection with Queen Street in Downtown Auckland.

Our first day was spent shopping for hiking gear at a nearby "The Warehouse" store (similar to Wal-Mart), getting a Vodafone Mobile Broadband Internet account, and buying some food from the Countdown Supermarket on Quay Street.

After all those errands were done, we planned out an informal walking tour of the city for the next day.

Some of the sights we saw included the Auckland Botanic Gardens, Auckland Domain Park, Historic Gardens, Nancy Steen Garden, Parnell Rose Garden, Sky City Tower, Dove Myer Robinson Park, and the Winter Garden.