House and Leisure - October 2015

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS: SUPPLIED

a most liveable city

No longer simply a stopover on travels to New Zealand’s Elysian fields, Auckland has

a burgeoning cultural scene that’s reason enough to visit the country’s largest city

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS NAASHON ZALK

1015_HL_120_125_Travel_NZ_RFO.indd 120 2015/09/04 9:57 AM

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS: SUPPLIED

The Club lounge at The Langham,

Auckland. RIGHT Lunch-time

diners at Ostro in the Britomart

precinct. OPPOSITE A ferry leaves

Waiheke Island for the mainland.

ollowing on from its 2011 Rugby

World Cup makeover, Auckland

has been growing in stature as an

international tourist destination. In the

past it was seen as more of a gateway

to the rest of New Zealand but that has

all changed.

The draw of its natural beauty – being

situated on a dormant volcanic field and

on the edge of the stunning Hauraki

Gulf – has been greatly enhanced by a

waterfront redevelopment, a culinary

revolution, a revamped art gallery and

an ascendant design and fashion scene,

not to mention the great craft beer, which

thankfully is dispensed by beer makers,

not irritating hipsters.

With this in mind, and conscious of the

strong yet underacknowledged connection

between South Africa and New Zealand

through rugby and immigration, we ventured

F

to Auckland to compile a definitive guide of

this city worth discovering.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO

Once neglected and derelict, the

waterfront-facing buildings of Britomart

have been transformed into a vibrant

retail, fashion and food hub. As a

convenient location to sample what the

city has to offer, it can’t be beat. High-end

restaurants with breathtaking views share

space with great coffee shops and cafés

offering international cuisine. Shoppers

will enjoy the combination of well-known

international brands and local fashion

designers such as Karen Walker, Kate

Sylvester, Trelise Cooper and Zambesi.

The upwardly mobile inner-city suburb

of Ponsonby owes its charm to rows of

pretty Victorian houses and an array of

boutiques, restaurants and bars running

the length of Ponsonby Road. Ponsonby

Central (ponsonbycentral.co.nz) is a new

complex whose centrepiece is an organic

market surrounded by diverse eating

spots, a butcher and a baker. There’s no

candlestick maker but it does have its own

radio station. And a fortune-teller.

One block up from Queen Street, the

CBD’s main thoroughfare, runs High

Street, which features a collection of

fashion boutiques particularly for men.

Get a good haircut at Maloney’s Barber

Shop (maloneys.co.nz) and visit Barkers

(barkersonline.co.nz) for formal menswear.

After a three year revamp the Auckland

Art Gallery (aucklandartgallery.com)

reopened in 2011 with a new light-filled

glass-and-wood atrium and an expanded

collection of artworks. Highlights include

local Maori art and works by Picasso,

Cézanne, Gauguin and Matisse.

HOUSEANDLEISURE.CO.ZA HL OCTOBER 2015 121

LEISURE TRAVEL

1015_HL_120_125_Travel_NZ_RFO.indd 121 2015/09/04 9:57 AM