A Day in Davenport, Auckland, New Zealand: Colonial Charm, Coastal Walks, and Volcanic Vistas

 

There’s a particular thrill in outsmarting a ferry fare system before breakfast. Auckland’s morning sun wasn’t just glinting off the harbor—it was practically winking at us as we tapped our cards with the smugness of people who’d just halved their ticket price through sheer luck and a vague understanding of technology. The ferry itself, the Takohe (a name that sounds less like a ship and more like a regal fruit), was a vision, gliding past the Deloitte Building and the Ferry Building like a dignified grandmother side-eyeing a group of TikTok dancers.  

Davenport, when we arrived, didn’t so much greet us as assault us with charm. Colonial buildings slumped under the weight of iron-lace verandas and enough bougainvillea to clothe a small nation. Palms waved, hydrangeas erupted from window boxes like botanical fireworks, and vines crept over cottages with the determination of teenagers claiming squatter’s rights. The air? A heady cocktail of salt and jasmine, which is to say, it smelled like a spa that moonlights as a fish market.  

At the Naval Museum, we found Fergus, a Scottish expat who’d swapped Edinburgh’s drizzle for Davenport’s sunshine and now spent his days pointing at model ships while muttering about rent. “Paradise?” he said, gesturing to a map of the Pacific. “Aye, if paradise charges NZ$1,000 a week for a closet with a sea view.” He then launched into a tale of love and real estate that made me grateful my own marriage requires only a Netflix subscription.  

The battlements at North Head offered cannons, views, and a surprise pop-up from the Tourist Board, which was handing out free hot dogs—a sentence that feels both delightful and faintly dystopian. Jill, our resident skeptic, eyed the scene as if the sausages might be laced with timeshare offers. But hunger trumped caution, and soon we were descending a cliffside path so steep it could double as a StairMaster for mountain goats. Below, Cheltenham Beach lay deserted, its sand pristine until our arrival, which, I’m certain, triggered a local environmental alert.  

By afternoon, the day demanded ice cream. Enter *hokey pokey*—a Kiwi creation that’s essentially vanilla ice cream with caramelized sugar rubble, because why enjoy a simple pleasure when you can crunch it? We devoured cones while eavesdropping on Judith’s chat with a policewoman, who’d just bought a chocolate-coated scoop the size of a traffic cone. Their topic? Cruise ships. “They’re like floating nursing homes,” the officer sighed. “Except with more shuffleboard and fewer bedpans.”  

Then came Mount Victoria. Judith’s knee had begun to protest, and Jill was melting like a wax figure in a heatwave, so naturally, I was volunteered to hike the volcano. The summit rewarded us with a view so panoramically perfect it felt like God had Googled “scenic backdrops.” Auckland’s skyline jabbed the horizon, sailboats darted below, and our cruise ship loomed in the distance, a floating reminder that all good things must end (preferably before the buffet closes).  

Davenport is a place where history clings to every weatherboard, where rents could fund a small space program, and where trails wind through landscapes that alternate between “Jurassic Park” and “Architectural Digest.” As we ferried back, the Queen Anne glowing in the sunset, I scribbled a note: *Return. Rent bike. Avoid hot dog-related gullibility.*  

*Traveler’s Wisdom*: Tap ferry scanners like you’re hacking the Matrix, wear shoes that forgive volcanic grudges, and never—*never*—skip the hokey pokey. (It’s what it’s all about.)

Davenport is a patchwork of surprises: history etched into its colonial bones, modern struggles whispered in rent prices, and landscapes that shift from rainforest-thick trails to volcanic peaks. It’s a place where free hot dogs and $14 ice creams coexist, where every path leads to a postcard view. As we ferried back to Auckland, the *Queen Berry* glowing in the sunset, I scribbled in my notebook: *Return. Rent a bike. Stay longer.*  

Tips for travellers :   use individual cards and tap the ferry scanner for deals, wear sturdy shoes for the volcano climb, and never skip hokey pokey.