Travel Guide

Places To See

Parnell Baths

Water babies squeal with delight at the sight of the partly submerged playground here. Then there's the toddlers' pool with fountains of water squirting from the surrounding wall and the bigger kids' pool. And, there's a café to keep the adults quiet.

Mt Eden

The grassy slopes of Auckland's highest volcanic cone are a popular vantage from which to watch the city and look into the gaping mouth of its crater. Come at dawn when it's just you and the lowing cattle watching the sun and the city rise.

Harbour Bridge Bungy & Climb

Auckland is synonymous with superhero-type stunts. Be part of a human chain strung out atop the Harbour Bridge (those strung out by heights need not apply). Or, swan dive off and dip your nose in the water.

Waikumete Cemetery

The country's largest cemetery is a fascinating historical record, including numerous heritage buildings, plus a South African wildflower sanctuary. Don't miss the Corban family mausoleum (they of Corban Wines, once one of NZ's largest and most successful wineries). Guided walks are available on the first Sunday of each month.

Howick Historical Village

This fascinating 'living' museum will split visitors along 'Isn't it tacky/fascinating' lines, with its costumed staff evoking the atmosphere of Auckland in the turbulent pioneering era from the 1840s to the 1880s. There are over 30 buildings, many relocated here from other parts of the region.

The streets, the pond with ducks and geese, and the village gardens are faithful reconstructions of Victorian fashion, and there's a cafe with homemade goodies as well. There is a theme day on the third Sunday of each month, with special events and displays such as the blacksmith working at the forge, the 65th Regiment firing its muskets, and maybe even a chance to see the school in session.

Fridge

Tables are scarce at this bulging deli, where produce takes priority. Snaffle a chair and join regulars here, on first-name terms, who come time and again for take-home goodies or to indulge in homemade goodies in situ. Fridge's cakes are worth writing home about.

Dizengoff

This super-stylish shoebox serves one of the great breakfasts in Auckland to a mixed crowd of business and bohemian types, locals and visitors. The menu is kosher-friendly with mouthwatering scrambled eggs and great coffee. Linger over the best stack of reading material in the city if you tire of eavesdropping and people-watching.

Antoines Restaurant

Ring the doorbell of this villa-style restaurant to alert the white-waistcoated waiters of your arrival. The last word in old-fashioned fine dining, Antoines gives a nod to its venerable standing by offering a supplementary 'nostalgia' menu, featuring favourites from its early days in the '70s.

Caluzzi

Would you like drag with your steak? Your three-course set meal (around 50.00) comes with lashings of torch-song tunes, repartee and cheek (both buttocks and behavioural varieties) delivered by your drag queen-diva waitresses. Best you book a babysitter, and book ahead for dinner at Caluzzi.

Float

Your basic garden-variety club: each night brings a different crowd-pleasing flavour from R & B through to funk. Join gangs of girlfriends and an older crew on their big night out.

Lenin Bar

The iron curtain has been replaced with a classy glass one, affording twinkling night-time views. March up to Lenin's curvaceous bar and order one of their 80-odd vodkas, including home-infusions, plus potato and grain varieties from around the world. DJs incite dance-floor action Thursday to Saturday.

Events

Summer is a happening time in Auckland. In January there are the Open Tennis Championships and the Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta, commemorating the arrival of Captain Hobson in New Zealand. Come March, the hugely popular Pasifika Festival celebrates Polynesian culture through music and performances at Western Springs. The Waiheke Jazz Festival also tunes up in March and full-size Maori waka (war canoes) take to the Waikato River, Ngaruawahia, for the Turangawaewae Regatta. November blooms with the Ellerslie Flower Show at the Botanic Gardens, and the year is wrapped up in December with the Auckland Cup at Ellerslie Race Course. Various small food, wine and music festivals crop up throughout the year.

Pre-Departure Information

Electricity

230V

50Hz

Electrical Plugs

Australian-style plug with two flat angled blades and one vertical grounding blade

Weather Information

Auckland's maritime climate ensures that temperatures never go to the extremes they would if the city were landlocked. Temperatures usually stay in the mid 20°s (high 70°Fs) in summer, and rarely fall near freezing in winter (June-August) - although the ground in some sheltered low-lying areas may at times receive a coating of frost. In summer the weather can become quite humid.

History and Culture

Pre-20th Centure History

Maori oral history maintains that the Maoris came to the islands of New Zealand in waka (canoes) from other parts of Polynesia. Of all the waka that visited the region, the ones carrying the Tainui, whose descendants were known as Ngaoho, have had the most lasting impact. These waka called in at many places before being hauled across the isthmus where Auckland is now situated to Manukau Harbour. Archaeological evidence of human settlement dates back some 800 years, with the earliest sites mainly located along coastlines and harbour mouths. The picture that emerges is one of a distinctly Polynesian society that depended on fishing, the gathering of shellfish and edible plants and (increasingly as the centuries passed) agriculture. Until the 17th century, when tribes from the north and south challenged the isthmus dwellers, things were relatively peaceful. However, by the time European settlers arrived in 1839, tribal warfare, disease and destruction of the area through hunting and forest clearance had depleted the Maori populations.

A pivotal date for Auckland is 1840. The year began with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, commonly seen as New Zealand's founding document. In Auckland, local chiefs gathered at Karaka Bay, Awhitu and Mangere to sign or put their marks to the document that promised protection of Maori land if the Maori recognised British sovereignty. In this year too, William Hobson, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand, chose Auckland as the capital of the new colony, named for his naval commander George Eden (Lord Auckland). The city retained this distinction until 1865, when Wellington took over as capital.

During the township's early years, relations with the Maori seemed quite cordial. Maoris, in fact, supplied most of the fresh produce for the township; they traded widely and provided labour for public works and other projects. However, despite the treaty, the encroachment of European settlers on Maori land was continuous, leading to a series of skirmishes and conflicts. Barracks were built in Auckland and British troops called up. Most of the fighting took place in Waikato; some, however, occurred on the southern borders of the Auckland region, around Pukekohe and Clevedon. This had a devastating effect on local Maoris and many settlers also suffered heavy losses. Maoris themselves refer to the Land Wars of the 1840-60s as Te Riri Pakeha (White Man's Anger), and claim, as did some European observers of the day, that they were only defending their land and their culture. The result was massive confiscations of land, the ramifications of which are still being addressed today.

Modern History

The turn of the 20th century was an era of social and economic reform that made New Zealand a world leader in social welfare: the vote for women, the old-age pension, a national child-welfare program, minimum wages and a 40-hour working week were all brought in. However, the country suffered heavily in WWI, with one in every three men aged between 20 and 40 killed or wounded fighting for Britain. The suffering continued during the Great Depression and WWII, when war was declared in the Pacific, and New Zealand was directly threatened. The Pacific War also brought many American servicemen to Auckland, and their influence still remains in some quarters. Things began looking up again in the post-war years, especially when Auckland hosted the Empire Games in 1950.

In the 1980s New Zealand declared itself a nuclear-free state, causing some friction with the US, whose warships were refused entry, and the French, who were testing nuclear weapons in the Pacific. In 1985 French secret service agents sank the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour. The 70s and 80s also saw further friction between indigenous and non-indigenous populations, with a resurgence of Maori consciousness. In 1985 the Treaty of Waitangi was revisited, and while race relations remain an issue, Maori culture is now a significant part of the city's self-image.

Recent History

Perhaps the most significant event of the 1990s - at least a great cause for national celebration - was New Zealand boat Black Magic's historic win in the America's Cup race in 1995. Auckland's waterfront was given a facelift for the event in 2000, when the triumph was repeated. Team New Zealand subsequently lost 2003's challenge to landlocked Switzerland - whose boat was skippered and crewed by NZers. Auckland is the fastest growing city in New Zealand and it shows no signs of slowing down.