Visiting and events
Leading the national trend, Auckland's overall
visitor numbers are rising, with international visitors
accounting for much of this increase. The Auckland
CBD is packed with apartments, hotels, entertainment
venues, shopping spots and restaurants.
Auckland hosts international and local festivals
and events, including:
- Asia NZ Lantern Festival
- ASB CLassic/Heineken Open Tennis tournament
- Auckland International Cultural Festival
- Auckland Marathon
- Auckland National Dragon Boat Festival 2005
- Christmas In The Park
- Grey Lynn Festival
- Music in Parks
- Dancing in the Street
- Pasifika Festival
- Jazz Festivals
- Rally of New Zealand
Transport
Auckland city is sprawled over a large area connected
by urban roads and motorways. Buses and trains run
but services are fairly limited and are not at the
same standard as some other major metropolitan cities.
Buses have designated lanes on some Auckland routes,
which scooter and motorbike riders may also use.
This makes it easy to get through busy roads in
peak traffic as other vehicles can not use these
lanes.
As most other cities do, Auckland has problems
with congestion during rush hours. This causes traffic
to move slowly and in some areas, problems with
poor air quality result.
Road rules follow conventions of most other countries
that drive on the left hand side. Auckland also
has many 'roundabouts' (raised circular intersections
not controlled by traffic lights) and the Left Turn
Rule, when vehicles on opposing sides of an intersection
turn into the same lane. The vehicle turning the
further circle gets right of way.
Check out the link on the right side of this page
for parking for scooters and motorbikes in Auckland
city. These parks are free 24 hours a day.
Environment
Auckland is on an isthmus and has many beaches
and bays/harbours. This environment supports importing/exporting
docks for goods and local product exports, as well
as marine industries such as boat building and fishing.
Much of this product is exported.
Around Auckland lie many habited and uninhabited
islands, many of these are reachable by ferry or
small plane. These islands offer their own culture
and pace of life, and are great destinations if
you have a day or two. You can take our hire scooters over to many of these islands.
High rainfall makes New Zealand an ideal place
for farming and horticulture - natural products
are an emphasised domestic/exported product.
Weather
Auckland's weather is notoriously changeable, it
is no strange thing to see completely blue skies,
thunderstorms, lightning and hail all in one day.
Rainfall is relatively high and spread throughout
the year. The summer months are December to February,
bringing high temperatures and sunshine. Days are
long and sunny, nights are mild. These months are
great for riding scooters because of the warm air
and long sunshine hours. Even winter is not so bad
as the mild temperatures mean a good jacket and
gloves will keep you warm enough on your scooter.
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