Devonport, New Zealand

A harbourside suburb of Auckland

Devonport is a real little gem of a suburb just a ferry ride from the Auckland CBD. Being able to take the ferry across the harbour is a great way to start a visit there.


The ferry pulling away from the wharf. The old ferry building in the background. With the ferry terminal moved to the wharf, the old building has been renovated and there are cafes and restaurants with lovely views of the harbour.



The ferry only takes 15 minutes to get across to Devonport, this is the view from Devonport of the city centre and the ferry on its way back.



This beautiful building is Elizabeth House, originally it was a seaside hotel, it then was taken over by the navy to house Wrens ( naval women)It was nicknamed the 'Wernery', the New Zealand navy is based at Devonport. Once the wrens moved out it was sold to developers and is now a set of privately owned apartments with a great view of the harbour.

The architecture of Devonport is to me is very New England, with the wooden houses and wide porches.









It was all very pretty and made it very pleasant just to walk around and admire the homes.

I came across an old wooden church.



It had a stunning wooden interior.



The main street away from the ferry terminal is Victoria Avenue, which has most of the shops, restaurants and cafes.









Just like in Australia, the most ornate building in the main street was the bank. This was the former Bank of New Zealand building, now a restaurant. The post office is the art deco style that dates it back to the 1930s.

Once at the top end of Victoria Avenue, you can keep climbing up to the lookout at Mount Victoria.


View from Mt. Victoria, of the city centre and the naval base.

And when you're back down to the the wharf, there's a wagon and clydesdales that can take you around, if you want a different method of seeing the area!



Going across to Devonport, very much reminded me of catching the ferry to Manly in Sydney. But once across the areas are very different, Devonport seems to still have a quaintness about it, and there are far less people around!


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