Nine must-do highlights of Auckland, New Zealand
The hotel
New Zealand’s first Voco branded hotel opened in May last year. Steps from the main shopping drag of Queen Street, the Voco Auckland City Centre is part of a swish new 38-storey development that also includes a Holiday Inn Express. Thanks to a moody palette of greys, blacks and golds, the property has an upscale, sophisticated feel. Rooms on the upper floors offer sweeping harbour and city views while the seductive rooftop bar, Bar Albert, is the highest in the country. See ihg.com
The restaurant
French brasserie Origine.
Occupying a light-flooded two-storey space overlooking Auckland Harbour, Origine is a new French brasserie from acclaimed Kiwi restaurateurs Ben Bayly, Chris Martin and their spouses, Cara Bayly and Lucile Fortuna. Accessed via a discreet entrance in the second-floor food court of the Commercial Bay shopping centre, it expertly re-creates classic French fare (think snails and steak frites) using top-notch local produce. Portions are unusually generous for a French fine-diner and there’s an affordable two and three-course daily set menu. See origine.nz
The day-trip
Waiheke Island - a visit is essential.
If it isn’t already illegal to visit Auckland and not go to Waiheke Island, it should be. Located a scenic 40-minute ferry trip from the city, the 92-square-kilometre island boasts pristine beaches, quirky townships and several destination wineries. Fullers360’s Vineyard Explorer package provides the perfect intro, with a return ferry ticket, access to the handy Hop-On Hop-Off Explorer Bus and tastings at three of Waiheke’s best wineries: Cable Bay, Stonyridge and Batch. Our pick for lunch? Batch, the island’s highest vineyard, which enjoys captivating views over the Hauraki Gulf. See fullers.co.nz
The guide
For the last three years, the annual Iconic Eats program has invited Aucklanders to vote for their favourite dishes. The resulting 100-strong list is an intriguing snapshot of the city’s culinary scene, showcasing everything from gastronomic masterpieces by upmarket eateries Ahi and Onslow to fast-food guilty pleasures like Sneaky Snacky’s hot chicken donut burger. The only downside? Deciding which dish to try first. See iconiceats.co.nz
The bar
Bar Albert occupies an enviable position on the 38th floor of the new Voco Auckland City Centre hotel, making it New Zealand’s highest rooftop bar. From this elevated locale, enjoy mesmerising city views that are so distracting, Bar Albert could get away with serving run-of-the-mill drinks. Instead, the team has created an innovative menu that matches the majestic vistas, with adventurous cocktails named after local streets, a fine selection of New Zealand wines and an impressive whisky collection. The result? A seriously sexy bar with spellbinding views. Book ahead. See baralbertauckland.com
The museum
Housed in a grand neo-classical pile on top of a dormant volcano in Auckland Domain, Auckland Museum is both a war memorial (check out the moving exterior frieze depicting key battle scenes) and the city’s most important museum. Inside you’ll find an unmatched collection of Maori artefacts (including the last great Maori war canoe), many rare paintings and the world’s only pair of male and female T-Rex skeletons. Don’t miss the informative and entertaining twice-daily live Maori performance, which includes a spine-tingling rendition of the haka. See aucklandmuseum.com
The food experience
Few people are as passionate about Auckland’s food scene as Elle Armon-Jones. Through her tour company, The Big Foody, she’s been championing the city’s often-underrated gastronomic delights for more than a decade. On the four-hour Tastebud Tour, you’ll discover some of Auckland’s lesser-known culinary gems, including an artisan coffee roaster, a deli specialising in house-cured NZ game and a vegan chocolatier. Tip: schedule the tour at the start of your trip so you can visit some of the many foodie recommendations you’ll acquire along the way. See thebigfoody.com
The gallery
A one-stop shop for seven centuries of art … Auckland Art Gallery.
Despite being the country’s largest art institution, with a collection of more than 15,000 works, Auckland Art Gallery doesn’t induce the knee-buckling lethargy so often experienced in a flagship museum. Housed in an impressive architectural fusion of a 19th-century French chateau-style building with a striking contemporary extension featuring a soaring kauri roof canopy, it’s a one-stop shop for more than seven centuries of art, with everything from European masters to influential local artists like Colin McCahon. An unmissable highlight is the collection of intimate 19th-century portraits of tattooed Maori by Charles Goldie and Gottfried Lindauer. See aucklandartgallery.com
The view
Mount Eden offers head-spinning 360-degree views of the city.
Predictably, for a city built around 48 dormant volcanoes, Auckland has no shortage of impressive viewpoints. But if you’re only going to visit one, you might as well make it the tallest. Located 15 minutes from the city centre, Mount Eden is a muscular mound that soars 196 metres above the eponymous surrounding suburb. Notable for its 50-metre-deep crater and the remnants of a fortified Maori village, the summit offers head-spinning 360-degree views of the city. A wooden boardwalk circumnavigates the crater and don’t miss the delightful Eden Garden on the volcano’s eastern flank. See edengarden.co.nz
One more thing
Feeling energetic? Auckland’s 16-kilometre Coast to Coast walk threads its way from Waitemata Harbour on the city’s east coast to Manukau Harbour on the west. It’s a rollercoaster stroll that visits several lofty lookouts, plus historical treasures such as Cornwall Park’s Acacia Cottage (Auckland’s oldest wooden building) and the imposing Old Government House on Princes Street. See aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
The writer was a guest of Tourism New Zealand (newzealand.com) and Auckland Unlimited (aucklandnz.com).
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