Mission Bay
Mission Bay
About
Mission Bay is the name of a suburb 7 kilometers to the east of the Auckland CBD. Do yourself a favor and take the drive from the city down Tamaki Drive and watch the water on your left as you wind around. Getting stuck in traffic is not as bad a thing as normal here as you can see the Hauraki Gulf through the Pohutukawa trees that line the road out. The feature of Mission Bay is the public beach. It has recently been re-sanded (a long story) and is back to its old self. A fantastic place to laze away the day. The surf is not the best (head to the west coast for that), but the water is always refreshing and the people watching is superb. If cooling off in the water is not good enough for you, take the 20 meter (approx) walk to the main shops at Mission Bay and have an ice cream or something of the colder variety (I recommend an ice cold Steinlager Pure). The main feature of Mission Bay is the Trevor Moss Davis Memorial Fountain (no this isn't the opening to Married With Children, but it could be…). It is constructed of Sicilian marble and provides a water dance at night with a light show accompaniment. During the day, you are as likely to see kids swimming in the fountain as in the surf.
