Posts Tagged ‘Auckland’

Auckland’s Skytower

The Auckland Skytower is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere and stands high above what is a fairly low rise city in comparison to Asia and even Australia.  The concrete tower is a pretty impressive structure and can be seen miles before you see the skyline of the city. Standing at 328 metres or 1076 feet in the old scale the tower offers spectacular views of up to 80 kilometres from the observation decks on a good day.  There are several floors, the highest viewing floor is at 200 metres, there’s a restaurant at 194 metres, and another at 190 metres, while the second observation deck is at 186 metres with a sky lounge a floor below.  For thrill seekers the tower offers a heat stopping sky jump where you can leap off the tower and fall at 85 kilometres an hour to the ground. Also for the not so faint hearted, there is a exterior walk around the tower, this give visitors the chance to walk around a 1.2 metre walkway 192 metres up in the air… you would have to be mad, think I will stick with the tasty buffet!

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Icy icy wonderland…with penguins!

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For a wonderful and informative adventure in New Zealand’s Auckland visit Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World and Antartic Encounter. This attraction was built in a old storm water holding tank and now houses some of New Zealand’s and the Antartic’s finest collection of sea life. The complex features a huge acrylic tunnel with moving footpath where you can get an up close look at some amazing fish including huge stingrays and sharks. The largest stingray called Phoebe weighs in at over 200kg and has a massive wingspan of over 2m. The highlight of the visit for most people is the penguin encounter, here is one of the few places outside the Antartic where you will see the king and gentoo penguins. The centre has plenty of informative interactives and lots of fun for young and old.

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