New Zealand's diverse geography and mild climate make it a haven for outdoorsmen. Whether you like to be in the water, in the mountains, or on the many playing fields, there is an activity for you in Auckland.

Sailing

Auckland is popularly known as the "City of Sails" as the city's many waters are often covered in yachts. There are more boats per capita than any other city in the world, with around 135,000 yachts. Of the 149,900 registered New Zealand yachtsmen, 60,500 come from Auckland.

Beware, conditions can change very fast. Always wear a life jacket, take plenty of fuel, and tell someone where you've gone.

Hiking

Hiking through the numerous parks and trails is very popular. Watch out for signs forbidding trespass and note that dogs are not allowed to enter national parks because of the risk to natural flora and fauna.

For your own safety and for the safety of others, read all notices and follow the instructions. There are many information centre in which you may ask about anything you do not understand. Weather can change quickly, so bring warm clothing, a waterproof jacket, food and water.

Golf

Golf is very popular in this beautiful landscape. There are more golf courses per capita than anywhere else in the world. Average green fees are also quite low at about NZ$30.
New Zealand Golf offers information concerning the development and promotion of the game. Throughout the website there is information on all aspects of the game, including contact details for clubs & district associations, on-line rules tests, results from our top tournaments, profiles on our Srixon Academy athletes & much more. The site,
www.worldgolf.com/courses/newzealand/auckland, lists some of the best locations in Auckland.

Swimming

Swimming is also popular with many beaches marked with flags, and lifeguards watch to make sure that swimmers are safe. You should always swim between the flags because there are dangerous rips and tides on these beaches which cannot be seen from the shore.
Snorkeling is also enjoyable with company's like Goat Island Dive and Snorkel offering a variety of scuba diving, snorkeling and/or kayaking options in a safe and protected environment.

New Zealanders have also been known to live on the wild side and there are many extreme sports available. Skydiving, canyoning, climbing, motorbikes, bungy jump, and more.

Popular events

The most popular organized sports in Auckland are rugby union and cricket. New Zealand's obsession with rugby union borders on the religious. The International Rugby Sevens Tournament in Wellington is a crazy tournament with tickets sold out within a day.

Other popular sporting events include:
The Harbour Crossing swim from Devonport to the Viaduct Basin. A yearly summer event, the swim covers 2.8 km and is attended by over a thousand mostly amateur competitors. It is New Zealand's largest ocean swim.
The Round the Bays is a fun-run, starting in the city and going 8.4 kilometres along the waterfront to the suburb of St Heliers. This has been an annual March event since 1972.
The Auckland Marathon (and half-marathon), are an annual marathon which draws thousands of competitors.

Stadiums

Eden Park is the city's primary stadium and a home to rugby and cricket matches. This will be the location of the 2011 Rugby World Cup final.
Auckland's world class cricket team, the Auckland Aces, play the majority of their home matches at Eden Park's outer oval.

North Harbour Stadium is mainly used for Rugby Union and Soccer matches, but is also used for concerts. The Corrs, Luciano Pavarotti, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and Cher, and The Who have all played here. North Harbour is the official reserve option for the 2011 Rugby world Cup.

Mt Smart Stadium, formerly Ericsson Stadium, is used for rugby league matches and is home to the New Zealand Warriors of the NRL.
Concerts are also held here , hosting the Auckland stop of the Big Day Out music festival every January.

ASB Tennis Centre is Auckland's primary tennis centre and hosts several international tournaments.

Vector Arena was built in 2007 and is a multi-purpose indoor arena. The arena holds 12,000 people and it is primarily used for concerts and Netball matches.

Trusts Stadium is where the 2007 Netball World Championships were held and is the home to the netball team, the Northern Mystics.

Viaduct Basin is a marina and residential development in downtown Auckland and hosted the America's Cup regattas in 2000 and 2003.

Western Springs Stadium is a natural amphitheatre used mainly for speedway races, rock and pop concerts.