Auckland is New Zealand’s biggest city, the major hub for the country’s intercontinental air connections. Clean, green and spacious, the city sprawls across an isthmus with the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Tasman Sea to the west.
Auckland subtitles itself “City of Sails”. Boat ownership per capita is the world’s highest, and with a balmy climate and the glorious Waitemata Harbour at its feet – “Sea of Sparkling Waters” in the Maori language – it hardly comes as a surprise that most of Auckland seems to spend most of each weekend on the water.
Another of the city’s distinguishing feature is volcanoes. Auckland sits squarely on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Within a 20 km radius of the city there are 48 volcanic cones, the youngest of which is the 600-year-old Rangitoto, at the mouth of Auckland Harbour. It is also the worlds largest Polynesian city, thanks to a substantial Maori population, as well as sizeable numbers of immigrants from islands scattered around the South Pacific.
Essentially a modern, international city with a thrusting skyscape, Auckland has pockets of real charm in suburbs such as Parnell and Ponsonby. On the northern shores of the harbour, Devonport is one of the city’s crowning glories, an enclave of kauri timber mansions that were built by the city’s merchants during the Victorian era, overlooked by green hills that were once the site of Maori forts and swept by a bracing sea breeze.
To the west, Auckland is bordered by the Waitakere Ranges, a stunning wilderness area with 16,000ha of native rainforest and coastline and 250km of walking tracks that provide access to beaches, breathtaking vistas, spectacular rocky outcrops, streams, waterfalls and farms overlooking the wild west coast. The best way to experience it is along Scenic Drive, which lopes through the hills between near-solid walls of vegetation. A number of signposted walking trails dive into the forest on either side, leading to natural wonders such as Fairy Falls, where the trail wanders beneath the filigreed umbrellas of giant tree ferns to the falls themselves, a series of plummeting cascades.
Auckland’s beaches are commonly categorized by area, either "East", "West", or "North". The closest to the city are the east coast beaches along Tamaki Drive. The most popular of the west coast beaches is Piha, about 40 kms from Auckland, which has pounding surf as well as a sheltered lagoon, dominated by the reclining mass of Lion Rock. Across Waitemata Harbour, a magnificent chain of beaches including Takapuna and Milford stretches north as far as the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, 40 kms from Auckland.
A 40-minute cruise from Auckland, Waiheke is one of the many islands that crowd the Hauraki Gulf and an ideal setting for a day trip. Over the past decade, Waiheke has become one of the centres of New Zealand winemaking and there are now more than 30 vineyards on the island. With its sparkling seas and crystal air, Waiheke is also a prelude to the simple, natural pleasures that are New Zealand’s specialty, yet it has a sophisticated selection of restaurants, its own coffee roaster, an olive oil press and a lively arts scene. There are around 200 painters, sculptors, ceramic artists and craftworkers on Waiheke and a tour of artists’ studios is one of several possible themes. The island also has bird and marine reserves with walking tracks and its serrated coastline offers wonderful possibilities for sea kayaking. Along the coast there are oyster catchers, shags and gannets exploding into the water, and sometimes even whales erupting from the depths.
