The Sky Tower in Auckland was one of those places where I didn’t know exactly what to expect. Sure, it’s one of those big tourist things everyone goes to see, which can often make you wonder if they’re overrated. However, going up to the observation decks was one of the best ways for me to get my bearings in the city.
It helped me realy understand how Auckland is situated between two harbours, with all those volcanic cones scattered throughout. Everything clicked into place when I saw it all from above. From up there, you could see other parts of the city that you’ve walked past on the ground, see how the ferries draw lines across the water, and spend a good hour or so admiring the view from various angles.
That’s what it was like going up Auckland’s most recognisable landmark.
Seeing Auckland from the Top
Sky Tower
From street level, I was constantly looking upwards at the Sky Tower as we walked towards it. After entering the complex, we followed signs that led us through the shopping centre concourse and to the entrance of the tower. It was simple enough, but it felt a little like walking around a mall first.
Then we collected our tickets from the front desk, had a look at the model of the tower to see what was on each floor, and went up to the top. Our main observation deck is at 186 metres high, but there’s also another one at 220 if you feel like going even higher. It wasn’t too busy when we went up, it feels well organised.
I liked that I knew exactly where we were heading!
The lift shoots up fast, and before long we stepped out onto the main observation deck. As soon as we got out my immediate reaction was to go directly to the window that faced over the harbour. With the harbour bridge arcing across to the North Shore, the Waitematā Harbour spread out below me and I understood why Auckland is known as the City of Sails, there was boats everywhere from up here.
It surprised me how close the bridge seemed and I watched the cars streaming across it for some time.
On the horizon, I could see Rangitoto Island in all its pointy-coned glory; closer to home, I saw the container port and its rows of giant cranes. From up here everything appeared tidier and smaller, which was always an odd sensation knowing just how noisy and busy it is down below.
The Viaduct marina was full of yachts and launches moored in tight rows, and we went for a wander. The city layout from up here made so much more sense. The CBD snuggles against the water, those new apartment towers clusters around the water, and the wharves stick out into the harbour.
I picked out buildings we’d passed, traced streets we’d walked earlier.
Directly below us were the toy-sized buildings of the CBD, while the suburbs stretched out as far as the eye could see inland. The windows are all curved, wrapping around the deck to give you a full 360-degree view that is honestly kind of mesmerizing. One man was standing at the window staring out, completely lost in it.
I got it; there’s something mesmerizing about looking down on a whole city going about its business from this height.
I saw what had to be Mount Eden, a green lump of a volcano rising above the suburbs, with a path winding up to the summit, and the parkland of the Domain close by. There’s the university campus… You can see where it stands out among all that concrete because of those trees.
And everywhere else, those volcanic cones dotting the landscape all around Auckland are really obvious from up here as green humps over the suburbs. It’s just all rolling on toward the horizon in every direction. It was even interesting from this perspective: all those lanes weaving through the towers and off towards the harbour and the suburbs, even at the motorway interchanges.
It is the sort of view that makes you want to work out which road leads where.
On my way out, I spotted the screen at SkyJump where they play video of the thrill-seekers who jump from the top of the building. Not something for me, but I did watch as a couple of courageous souls got harnessed up by the edge.
Different strokes for different folks, right? The lift lobby had these helpful graphics showing the tower’s different levels and what’s at each height, so we determined that we should go up to the higher observation level and see if there was a significant difference in the view. With ticket in hand, up another few dozen metres we went.
Upstairs on the top deck is even better, where they have some viewing scopes set up so that you can zoom in on certain landmarks. Looking down at the port and city blocks stretching out below, I was finding my way around again, the Domain, the harbour bridge, all of those familiar shapes but from just a slightly different angle. It’s honestly hard to say why I liked having the chance to compare views between the two decks, but I did.
And we continued circling around, spotting more. We saw volcanic cones poking up in the middle of the residential areas and railway yards snaking their way into the east suburbs. We also saw just how far some suburbs run right down to the water’s edge.
You don’t realize just how sprawly Auckland is until you see it from above.
I was drawn again and again to Rangitoto, that island really dominates the horizon, as well as the cranes in the port sticking out against the gulf beyond. And construction cranes working on new towers indicated how much the city was still growing and changing.
We returned to the main deck where our view was again directed downward towards Wynyard Quarter and the Viaduct. From up here, the entire area appeared bustling. There were boats lined up neatly in rows in the marina and apartment buildings groups tightly along the water’s edge.
It was no wonder that this is one of the most popular parts of the city.
I’d read something about the glass floor panels, areas where you can look directly down through the floor and see the rooftops and streets so many floors below, and there they were. I tried it but I’m not going to lie: I didn’t stand there for very long. If you’re after that stomach-drop effect, this is certainly the way to get it.
Yachts bobbed at their moorings while ferries cut across the water, leaving long white trails behind them. There always appeared to be boats coming and going. Water traffic never ceased.
However, other tourists were also there, looking out at things through the view scopes, taking pictures, and generally just being as slow about exploring the deck as we were. The observation area itself is spacious and comfortable, with plenty of room to find a quiet spot. From up here, yachts sailing beneath the harbour bridge looked tiny, and I wondered what the tower would look like from down on the boats.
And although we probably could’ve stayed up there for much longer, we had seen it all from all angles and did a full circuit a few times over. Turns out going up the Sky Tower was well worth doing; not only for the novelty of being that high up, but because it really helped me understand how Auckland fit together. I reckon if you’re visiting Auckland, this is one of those things that should of been done early on your trip, so you know where everything is in relation to everything else.
Do you normally skip the big observation decks when traveling? Or have you ever been up the Sky Tower?
