Parks and Rec

I think Leslie Knope’s dream job, should she ever decide to leave Pawnee Indiana, would be to run the Parks and Rec division of the Auckland Regional Council.  Auckland has an amazing amount of public green space, with over 4000 local and sports parks as well as 35 regional parks.  You are never more than a few minutes from one of the local parks, which have tons of entertainment options: 712 playgrounds, 73 skate parks, 11 full cricket fields, and 2732 dog exercise areas!  Our children have worked hard to explore as many playgrounds as possible since we’ve been here and have decided that Elstree is one of their favorites, due in part to the giant spinning tire.  They also like Albert Park, which, like many parks in Auckland, has plenty of massive trees that are great for climbing.

Elstree Park

Albert Park

The local parks in Auckland also are home to most of the 48 volcanic cones that dot the Auckland landscape.  Auckland sits on top of a large volcanic field, with some craters that erupted over 40,000 years ago and others as recently as 600 years ago.  Many of these volcanoes provide some of the best views of the city and some still contain working farms.  In fact, some of the parks have interactive farms experiences for visitors, including cattle milking and sheep shearing.

Mt Eden

Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Park

Cornwallis Park

The 35 regional parks are even more impressive than the local parks.  They cover everything from the rough, pounding surf of the Tasman Sea, to picturesque waterfalls, to miles and miles of beautiful beaches.  

Piha Beach

Karekare Falls

Orewa Beach

We recently discovered that in 1999, the Auckland Regional Council set up 16 large gold picture frames in various spots within these parks to help promote the tourist industry.  Some have apparently been removed over the past 15 years, but most still remain and we have found two already that certainly make for some great photo opportunities. 

Luke and Sedona at Shakespear (sic.) Regional Park

Bert and Jamie visiting the Aratiki Visitors Center in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park

The parks also offer tons of recreational opportunities, including horseback riding, disc golf, paragliding, swimming, surfing, fishing and even yoga.  So everyone – even Ron Swanson – can find something to make them happy.  In Ron's own words: 

“Fishing relaxes me. It’s like yoga, except I still get to kill something.”