Tamaki Drive

Kelly Tarlton Aquarium- In 1985, diver Kelly Tarlton established Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium in Auckland. His vision was to create an underwater facility where visitors could admire marine life by travelling on a moving platform around various tunnels. The redundant storm water and sewage tanks at Takaparawhau on Auckland's eastern waterfront provided the perfect site for his endeavours. The aquarium holds around 2,000 fish from some 40 species, including stingrays and sharks, most of which can be observed while walking through the underwater tunnel.

Mission Bay Reserve- It is the open green space between Tamaki Drive and Mission Bay Beach. It is also called Selwyn Reserve, after the first Anglican bishop of New Zealand, George Augustus Selwyn. The central attraction piece of the Mission Bay Reserve is the Trevor Moss Davis Memorial Fountain.

Trevor Moss Davis was director of the Auckland liquor firm Hancock and Company. His father Eliot Davis gifted a memorial fountain at Mission Bay to keep the memory of his son alive. The fountain was designed by architect George Tole and created by Richard Gross. It is constructed of Sicilian marble crafted to catch the light and decorated with three bronze sea monsters gushing forth water.

The memorial is a landmark on the city's waterfront, regularly, sending dancing jets of water as high as 12 metres in the air and at night it features a spectacular light show which one is recommended to visit. During the summer, young children use it as a paddling pool.

Bastion Point- Located at the west end of the Mission Bay, Bastion Point had strategic importance for both Māori and Pākehā. Its commanding view over the entrance to the Waitemata Harbour made it a key site for the defence of Māori settlements and later of Auckland City.

Round the Bays Fun-Run- Round The Bays is an annual event which is the result of the international running boom of the 1970s and 1980s, during which millions of people took up running. The Auckland Round the Bays Fun Run is one of the largest in the world and was initiated by the Auckland Joggers Club in the early 1970s.

The run is 8.4 km along Tamaki Drive, and follows the contours of the Waitemata Harbour, past Hobson Bay, Okahu Bay, Mission Bay, Kohimarama Beach, and finishing in St. Heliers Bay Reserve. Nowadays it is estimated that between 70,000 and 80,000 runners participate each year. If you happen to visit around this event, it’s best to put your jogging shoes on!