City Guide
Not just the gateway to New Zealand’s natural wonders, Auckland is also one of the most livable cities in the world. With its mix of top-notch restaurants, a thriving arts scene and quirky designers, this multicultural hub is worth a prolonged visit before you explore the rest of the country.
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Sitting on a former site of Queen’s Heads Tavern from the 1800s, this hotel oozes with history.
For the Dottie suite, inspired by the work of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.
“Peak-bagging” is a challenge hikers set themselves, of reaching all the summits in a region. Auckland, with its 48 volcanic cones, may be difficult to peak-bag, but several of its hilltops are rewarding climbs. Mount Eden, Auckland’s highest natural point, offers 360-degree views. One Tree Hill, immortalized in a U2 song, no longer has its tree, but is located in the expansive, pastoral Cornwall Park.
The waves are usually crowded at renowned surf beach Piha in the summer. By winter, fair-weather surfers have left the water, meaning that there’s plenty of room in the whitewash. This is why Piha Surf School runs lessons all year round. The school supplies surfboards and wetsuits, which keep surfers learning to hang ten toasty even on chilly days. Surfing is a vigorous workout, so you’ll raise a sweat – and, with the beach to yourself, you’ll wonder why others only venture out in the summer.
Liam Fox is self-taught but he’s definitely a real baker. On the day we visit, he has flour on his right ear. “I come from a family of bread lovers,” he says. In September 2018, Fox and his partner, Andrea Muhlhausen, moved their sandwich joint and artisan bakery from a pop-up in St Kevin’s Arcade to a shopfront on the main thoroughfare, naming it after a bohemian part of Brooklyn that reminded them of K’ Road. Fox recommends the country sourdough – it took him six months to perfect the recipe.
Chef-owner Samir Allen’s Lebanese ancestors arrived in New Zealand 130 years ago but he’s still connected to the culture – and the food. At Gemmayze St, as in Lebanon, you can simply say “jeeb” (bring) and a parade of delicious mezze – think: hummus, halloumi, scampi and shish barak (goat ravioli in yogurt sauce) – arrives at your table. Allen has a strong connection to K’ Road too – he lived here as a teenager. “The vibe is still here but there are more restaurants, more nice bars,” Allen says. “But you can still be yourself on K’ Road.”
