Interesting Facts about Auckland - Fun Facts about Auckland

Classified as the Beta World City, Auckland is one the best places to live according to a recent Mercer Quality survey. Located in the Northern part of New Zealand, Auckland is the largest metropolitan area in the country. In Maori, Auckland is known as ‘Tamaki Makaurau’ and the transliterated version is ‘Akarana’. The city of Auckland has a cosmopolitan character, with people belonging to varied ethnicities. The geographical location of Auckland is such that it lies between the Hauraki Gulf of the Pacific Ocean to the east, the low Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the Manukau Harbor to the south-west, and the Waitakere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west. The region is also the site of Auckland Volcanic Field, comprising of around 50 volcanoes. Most of the cones have been quarried and the field is merely dormant. To learn some more interesting and fun facts about Auckland, read on.

Image: eGuide Travel@flickr

Fast Facts

Country: New Zealand

Population: 1,397,300 (2012)

Area: 482.9 km²

Demonym: Aucklander

Interesting & Fun Facts About Auckland

Auckland is the largest as well as the most populous urban area of New Zealand.
Auckland was originally inhabited by the Maori people.
‘Rangitoto’ is a baby volcano in Auckland and is only about 600-700 years old when compared to the other giant volcanoes.
Auckland was initially known as ‘Tamaki Makau Rau,’ meaning a maiden with 100 lovers.
There are about 50 volcanoes in Auckland, all of which were active in the last 600 years or so.
Auckland houses the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world.
Auckland has two harbors on two separate major bodies of water, namely Manukau Harbor on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbor on the Pacific Ocean.
The Harbor Bridge in Auckland has 8 lanes and the central barrier in the bridge is moveable.
The largest volcano located in Auckland is in the Rangitoto Island.
According to recent studies, the city’s population is expected to grow over 50% in the next 50 years.
English is the official language spoken in the city. However, since this place is largely Polynesian, a large number of other languages such as Asian and Maori languages are also spoken widely.
Auckland is located on and around an isthmus, with its narrowest point merely 2 kilometers in width, which is between Mangere Inlet and the Tamaki River.
As per 2006 statistics, Auckland ranked 23rd on the UBS list of the world's richest cities.
With regard to the quality of life, Auckland currently ranks 5th amongst 218 major cities of the world.
There are over 800 restaurants in Auckland.
Auckland has a perfect, 100 km of coastline and is home to some of the most stunning beaches in the world.
Auckland is commonly referred as the "City of Sails", because the harbor is flanked by hundreds of yachts and has more yachts per capita than any other city in the world.
The Sky Tower located in Auckland is the tallest free standing structure in the entire Southern Hemisphere.
Auckland is the breeding ground for the New Zealand Sea Lion, which is the most endangered of the five species of sea lion in the world.
Auckland houses approximately 30 percent of the world’s total population of yellow-eyed penguin, which is also bred here.
There are exactly 23 regional parks, situated in Auckland.
Auckland was the capital of New Zealand from 1842-1865.
The ‘Sky Tower’, is the tallest building located south of the Equator, which is located in Auckland.
The principal tribes that still exist in Auckland today are the ‘Ngati Whatua’, ‘Te Kawerau-a-Maki’, ‘Ngati Paoa’ and the ‘Waikato’.
Auckland is best known as the ‘mecca’ for water sports and is the cultural epicenter of New Zealand.
A very weird fact is that ‘pigeon post’ is still considered an official posting service in Auckland and the rest of New Zealand.

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