January, 2014
New Zealand has three historic and beautiful waterfront villages: Russell, Devonport and Akaroa (the latter in the South Island). We were already very familiar with Russell (in the Bay of Islands) but had only briefly visited Devonport the previous year. This season, we hoped to spend more quality time there.
Devnonport is very much like Russell with historic buildings, quaint cottages, big trees, and a beach. Its harborside location is protected from ocean swells and has fairly flat water. Across the channel sit Auckland’s eastern suburbs, and boats sailing by make this a painting-worthy scene. In all, Devonport is a very pleasant place to be. I think it was summed up best in photos we took the previous year, which I’ll recycling here:
Aside from its seaside beauty, the general Devonport area has two dormant volcanoes which are now reserves, terrific places to visit for their city and harbor views. We decided to start this Devonport visit by checking out the volcano that overlooks the town: Mount Victoria.
People on foot enjoy taking the walk up Mount Victoria. People with cars wonder if they, too, should walk up and get some exercise. We certainly considered it before guiltily driving to the upper parking area. Mount Victoria, once an active volcano, is now a tall grassy hill with tree-strewn slopes. The view from up top is certainly nice, and for those who like such things, there’s a disappearing gun, basically a hidden canon meant to surprise invaders, from the 1800s.
Below, some photos from our visit to Mount Victora, including a photo of the disappearing gun. The “mushrooms” are air vents for a below-ground work area. (Click to enlarge and scroll though galleries in this post.)
Next, we headed to the central area of Devonport and re-acquainted ourselves with its beach, pier, and the really lovely Windsor Reserve park with some very big trees. Finally, we wandered up the main street and spotted a nice-looking Thai restaurant, Monsoon, where we enjoyed an early dinner. Below, some photos from our visit to town.
Over the course of our month-long stay in Bayswater, we visited Devonport regularly. Takapuna was our primary town for eateries, but Devonport was a nice alternative for a more relaxed outing and our go-to place for a chocolate fix. Devonport is home to one of our two favorite chocolate shops in all of New Zealand, and it was fun to enjoy regular visits. (Note: Our other favorite is Makana Confections located in Northland and Blenheim.)
And while we can’t claim to have thoroughly scouted out Devonport’s restaurants, we did have a couple of very nice meals. Aside from Monsoon, we went to a British pub called The Patriot which had some good English food and great beer. Another favorite spot was a Mediterranean restaurant called Manuka. Not only was the food terrific, but they had a nice big awning under which to sit and be protected from the sea breezes. We generally avoid outdoor tables, but we comfortably enjoyed an evening meal, sidewalk-cafe style.
One more nifty spot was the Devonport Stone Oven Bakery and Cafe, a local institution very popular for its bread, baked goods and cafe meals. Below, a few photos of these favorite spots in town.
In all, Devonport was a nice find and one of the best reasons to stay in the Bayswater Marina, but having a car was essential to get to and from the area.–Cyndi
