We look forward to seeing you at our outings...
2024
Our Christmas activities update.
December -Thursday 2nd: We will meet at the Club room as usual at 10:00am and then walk over to the Royal Oak School for their Christmas Choir entertainment. After which we will return to our meeting venue for a club funded Special Christmas Morning tea and general socialising.
We look forward to seeing you at all these events.
2025
February - Thursday 20th: we are looking to have a post- holiday season get-together. By popular demand it will be at the Alex Bar & Eatery, Alexandra Park, Greenlane Rd. Meeting at 11:30am. There is counter food and a varied Board menu. It is at own expense and drinks are available. Good parking and buses on Manukau and Greenlane Rds
Past Trips
2024
November - Thursday 21st: Christmas Lunch at the Howick Club.
October – Thursday 17th.
Chelsea Sugar Factory Tour.
Chelsea Bay Refinery, Chelsea Bay. Includes train ride round the site, Devonshire tea, Factory tour, then off to lunch in Birkenhead. We will leave by bus at 9:00am from Manukau Rd.
We will arrive 15 min before the tour and split into 2 groups, the train only takes 18 people. The first group will take the 1hr tour, while the 2nd group will have the Devonshire tea, time to look around the shop etc. then swap. Visitors MUST wear long sleeve tops and trousers and closed in flat-soled footwear. Other factory safety gear will be provided and must be worn at all times as instructed.
Following the second group tour we are back on the bus for lunch at the Birkenhead RSA.
Lunch is at own expense.
Cost - $45. This includes Bus, Chelsea Sugar Refinery train around the site and Factory tour and Devonshire tea.
September – Thursday 19th –
Fabulous Yum Cha Lunch
Menu will include 10 delicious dishes eg: combination meats crispy noodles chow mein, green beans stir fried, prawn dumplings, pork dumplings, Taro puffs, Spring rolls, sticky Chinese sausage rice in taro leaves, Roast Pork buns, and Ice-cream ball to finish. Chinese tea and cold water on the table.
August- Thursday 15th:
Social Lunch
get together for members at Little Urban, 653 Manukau Rd across the road from the One Tree Hill Domain entrance. There is a light café menu and counter food Cost is at own expense.
July -Thursday 18th:
Visit the Bohemian Village of Puhoi.
Bus leaves Royal Oak, Manukau Rd at 9:30am. We have morning tea at 10:30 at Puhoi ‘Cottage Tea Room’ - (Scone with Tea / filter coffee). 11:15am Back on the bus to visit for a tour of the Heritage Museum housed in the former Convent School
and the 1880 Catholic Church
with 22 stained glass windows.
At around 1:00pm we will go to lunch at the 1879 “Classically Colonial Pub” which has an interesting bar. There is outside seating if the weather is fine. (It was!)
You can then visit the little gift shops across the road before boarding the bus at 2:30pm for the trip back to Auckland hopefully beating the traffic.
June - Thursday 20th:
Mid-Year Lunch. Wellingtons Restaurant. Waipuna Lodge,
Mt Wellington. 12:00pm
This is a Buffett Lunch – including Soup, Seafood, Salad, Hot offerings of Chicken, Fish, Ham and assorted Vegetable dishes. Also a choice of 5 desserts.
May - Thursday 16th:
Cambridge , Velodrome and Cambridge Stud and Heritage Centre.
Leave Royal Oak at 9:00am and stop for morning tea at Fixate Eatery, Rangirir - Share a Jumbo
Scone and Muffin plus Tea or coffee.
On to Velodrome for an hour tour – behind the scenes look at
NZ ‘s high performance sports set up, learn about track racing, history of the Velodrome and view one
of team NZ’s bikes up close.
Lunch at Bikery Café- seasonal local food, both counter and Menu.
Pay your own or bring your own and sit in the stands.
Then on to Cambridge Stud Heritage Centre. An introductory talk with interactive displays, photos
and memorability that tell the story of Sir Patrick Hogan and Sir Tristram’s contribution to the
NZ and international racing industry. Present and future operation of Cambridge Stud and its
world -class facilities offering a fascinating insight into the world of thoroughbred horse breeding and
racing. A possible view of the stables – (sorry no horses).
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April - Thursday18th:
Social Lunch get-together for members at Joe’s Garage Café at 11:00 am by Alexandra Park, off Green Lane West Rd, across the road from the hospital entrance and opposite Fresh Choice. There is a light café menu. www.joes.co.nz/alexandra-park/menu/before-5pm.
March - Thursday 21st:
A trip to Waiheke Island – We have planned to visit the Musical Museum, Oneroa - A collection of over 100 antique musical instruments. The tour will include a live presentation and playing of instruments and stories regarding the unusual and special musical collection. Then to lunch. (At own expense) There are many eateries, Sheila and I will be going to Oneroa Beach Club, a café on the right going down the main street with a deck looking out to the water, we would be happy if you joined us. Then there is free time to shop or explore and return to Auckland at your own time.
February - Thursday 15th :
After a very interesting talk by Ian McLean on migratory birds. We arranged a guided walk to see the birds at Ambury Regional Park, 43 Ambury Road Mangere Bridge. There are plenty of shorebirds to see e.g. bar- tailed godwits, oystercatchers, royal spoonbills etc. This will be an afternoon activity to catch the high tide.
We will meet at 2:00pm at the Information Kiosk (on the left of the entrance). There will be a talk about the history of the park, time for a toilet break and then we will meet with Ian at the Kiosk at
3:00 pm. The guided walk of around 2 hours is on level ground with a total walking distance of approx. 3 km. Please wear sturdy shoes as we will be walking through grass paddocks and, as this is a working farm, may encounter some friendly farm animals. A sun hat and water bottle may be wise.
2023
December - Monday 4th : Christmas Lunch at McHugh’s of Cheltenham.
46 Cheltenham Rd, Devonport. Following the meeting we will catch the bus at the usual place on Manukau Rd at 11:45am for the trip across the harbour to Mc Hugh’s at Cheltenham Beach, North Shore for our, highly recommended, Buffet Christmas Lunch around 12:30pm.
November - Thursday 16th: Howick Historical Village - Bells Rd, Lloyd Elsmore Park, Pakuranga.
A living Museum which aims to present a fencible Village in the 1840-1880 period. 7 acres of heritage gardens and over 30 historical buildings. Shell paths are suitable for walkers and wheelchairs.
We will meet at Bell House at 10:30am – go past the main entrance building to the ‘Red Bell Barn’. We will have morning tea in ‘Bell House’ a beautiful category-1 listed historic house built in 1852. Once we are settled in there will be a short talk on the history of the village and then you can explore at your leisure. A map will be provided. There is a Museum Shop and a Homestead Café offering home cooking in a historical setting.
October - Thursday 19th: A get-together for an Informal Lunch
Venue: Alex Bar and Eatery – Alexandra Park, Greenlane West Rd, Gate B
Time: 11:30am – go past the Bar to the Café.
Menu: Varied from - counter food, usual Breakfast offerings, Pizzas, Burgers, Salads to Fish and Chips or Scotch Fillet. Generous portions. (See menu at Outings desk). Lunch at own expense.
September- Thursday 21st, NZ Post -Auckland Mail Centre, 122 Highbrook Drive.
The tour takes approx 1 hour and is a sedate walk around the processing area – all on the ground floor level (must wear covered footwear; ie: no open shoes or sandals). At 10:00 am we will start with morning tea – scone, jam & cream, tea & coffee. After the tour we will return to the Post Office cafeteria for lunch. Special meal choices: (1) $13.50 Roast Chicken or Ham, Roast Potatoes, Kumara, Pumpkin; (2) $10.00 Roast Chicken, Fries, Green Salad; (3) General cafeteria food eg: pies, toasted sandwiches etc. Payment can be by cash, eftpos or credit card. Tea and coffee is free. Lunch is at own expense.
August- Thursday 17th: – back by popular demand - Fabulous Yum Cha Lunch –
Menu will include 12 delicious dishes – eg: classic stir-fried beef with wide rice noodles, prawn & coriander dumplings, spring rolls, sticky rice parcels in banana leaf, crystal prawn dumplings, crispy vege net & prawn rice roll, vegetable & pork dumplings and an ice cream ball for dessert. Hot tea and cold water on the table.
July - Thursday 20th: - Visit the Stardome Observatory & Planetarium-One Tree Hill Domain,
Manukau Rd entrance. Planetarium Show – Nga Whetu o Matariki Star of Matariki, which will be celebrated by a holiday on Friday 14th July. Learn about the cultural and astronomical aspects of this group of stars; Māori myths and stories about the formation of the Earth, the Moon and Māori New Year, with significance to the Māori calendar.
We will start at 12:30pm with a light lunch in the Matariki room. The show starts at 1:30pm for about an hour. There are many interesting display items and an opportunity for spending. Make your own way there, good parking at the Stardome and buses along Manukau Rd.
Cost - $30. Please indicate your interest in coming on this trip at the July 2nd meeting. Making final confirmation and on-line payment to bank account 12-3025-0276779-00 by 13th July. Any cash payments should be made to Sheila at the July 2nd Meeting in a named envelope with exact money as no change can be given.
Come and enjoy the show.
June – Thursday 15t: - Mid Winter Luncheon. Settlers Country Manor, Waimauku.
A Lovely Buffett Luncheon in the Arch room in the on-site Gamekeeper’s Restaurant. 
Menu included 3 vegetable dishes 3 hot meat dishes plus a chicken carvery, shrimp cocktail and 3 desserts. Yum! There is an extensive drinks menu. On the way we will stop at the Kumeu Arts Centre where there are 2 exhibition rooms at this time; one with a festival of photography and one showing female artistic work. Then on to lunch at 12:30pm. On the way home there may be time to stop at Boric Food Market where there is fresh produce and other treats.
May -Thursday 18th:- VISY Recycling Education,
29 Victoria St, Onehunga. Sessions teach Aucklanders what happens to the contents of their kerbside bins, once inside the Material Recovery Facility, and how to recycle correctly. This is an approximate one-hour visit; you are required to wear flat, closed-toe footwear. We will then move on to lunch at Onehunga Café 259 Onehunga Mall. We have reserved a space, lunch will be at own expense, there is a menu and counter food, and also a bar for drinks. Back in the car to visit Jellicoe Park to see the Historic buildings from mid-1800.
April – Thursday 20th: - Weta Workshop Unleashed,
88 Federal St, Sky City Precinct – Explore the wacky world of movie making – A 90-minute guided tour. Meet on level 5 (up 2 escalators) in ‘The Cave’ at 10:15; tour starts at 10:30. Tour through fully themed environments, step behind the scenes of make-believe horror, fantasy and sci-fi sets. Discover how effects for TV and films come to life. Most of the experience is standing and walking but it is walker and wheelchair friendly. There are also some Horror elements, for details of the trip go to https://tours.wetaworkshop.com/unleashed/tickets/
After some possible retail therapy in ‘The Cave’ where there is a must-see collection of ‘cool stuff’ to buy, we go to lunch. We are negotiating a space in the ‘Food Republic’ area of Sky City Casino with its range of international flavours – Asia, India, and Europe – lunch is at own expense (no items above $20)
March - Warkworth, Museum and Bush Trail
- A traditional outing will be to Warkworth, Museum and Bush Trail. The bus will leave Manukau Rd at 9:30am. We will visit Parry Kauri Park for a museum visit including morning tea, you can choose to visit the textile department where a textile volunteer will provide a descriptive commentary - listen to a brief talk on the history of Warkworth and district; take a walk on the well-made boardwalk through native bush, a short walk approx 15 min or a longer walk approx 30 min. There are quite a few easy steps but also a sturdy handrail. Then back on the bus into the interesting town of Warkworth for free time and lunch at own expense. We will leave Warkworth at 3:00pm to be back in Auckland about 4:30pm.
February - Thursday 16th -
an informal Waiheke Island visit for the February Thursday 16th outing.
November 2022
The outing to the Tree Church at Ohaupo and the Cornerstone Alpaca Stud at Gordonton went very well. Members enjoyed hearing the history of the Tree Church and wandering through the extensive gardens before having lunch in a covered area overlooking the gardens - we were very lucky with the weather and didn’t have to dodge showers! Then on to the Alpaca Stud, where we met and fed some very sweet animals, including a wee baby, and heard a very interesting talk on the history and farming at the Stud.
October 2022 a very interesting outing to the Tip-Top factory, where we saw how ice cream is made and got to try a sample, and then carried on to the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple at Flatbush for an excellent vegetarian lunch and then a conducted tour of parts of the galleries and temple, including a preview of an Indigo art exhibition which opens next weekend.
Enjoying Tip Top
On the steps of Fo Guang Temple
August 2022, Yum Cha lunch in Three Kings
July 2022 Mini Golf
Not the best weather but enjoyed by those that took part
June - Midwinter Lunch at Soljans Winery.
I think everyone enjoyed the talk about the family history, given by Tony Soljan, followed by a tasting of several of their wines and then a delicious two course lunch with tea and coffee. (I also noticed quite a few cartons of wine being taken home afterwards!).
April - Thursday 15th - Maritime Museum and sailing on the Ted Ashby.
March -Thursday 18th – Goat Island Marine Discovery Centre – Leigh
A lovely drive to the Goat Island Marine Discovery Centre – Leigh, for morning tea (included) and a Tour showcasing the wonders of the marine environment. Back to Matakana Country Park for lunch at the cafe and time to visit the lovely craft shop, art gallery and park animals. We then toured Morris and James Pottery – Matakana, with time for making purchases and/or a cup of tea.
September: Wednesday 30th.
A traditional Chinese Yum Cha Lunch at the Lucky Fortune Restaurant.
October: Thursday 15th - Warbirds at Ardmore
Group of our members who had a fabulous guided tour of the New Zealand Warbirds Museum on Thursday 15th October 2020.
What an interesting speaker Guy Slocum was - his enthusiasm was so palpable and made us feel almost ready to fly that plane.
Any members with grandchildren old enough to be interested in flying should take them there.
Group at the Sistema Plastics Factory visit
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