ethnic tourism

Stepping out of Auckland’s modern airport, it did not take long to see that sailing is this city’s great passion. A large canvas sail was emblazoned with the sign “City of Sails”, and two yachts were mounted on top of the awning that faced the other side of the approach road.

And sailing is certainly uppermost in the mind of most ‘Kiwis’, as New Zealanders call themselves. Auckland boasts the largest number of sail boats in proportion to population for any city in the world, and the two magnificent harbours between which this city is situated certainly provide ideal conditions for this internationally loved sport.
To compete against the world’s best for the America’s Cup and achieve the ultimate award, demonstrates to what extent sailing is in the blood of every New Zealander. The Polynesians who made their epic voyage from Tahiti in open canoes were brilliant sailors, and the early European settlers also had to voyage half way around the world to reach their new home. Today’s sailing skills are a continuation of yesterday’s traditions.

The Harbour and Hauraki Gulf.
With water, water everywhere, why should the America’s Cup contenders have all the fun? We started by exploring Auckland’s two glittering harbours by taking a ‘coffee cruise’ on the first day, following this by taking a lunch cruise and a dinner cruise to historic Devonport at other times. If you enjoy sailing, you will love these ferry cruises also.

Beyond the harbour is the Hauraki Gulf. With over 20 islands as destinations, we chose the 35 minute cruise to Waiheke with its fantastic beaches and native forest reserves, cafes, vineyards and art shops. But if the getting there plays a big part in your travelling, it is possible to hire a kayak and paddle over.

Rangitoto Island, with its weird rock formations and strange, primeval vegetation is another popular destination. Though it is only half an hour from central Auckland, it offers an environment of extremes. Since this volcano was only pushed up from the sea 600 years ago, there has been no time for soil to form. Yet the island is covered with thick vegetation of the type that is usually found in primeval rainforest canopies. We were completely enchanted by our walk to the top of the volcano on Rangitoto Island, and this was followed by a trip through a cave of lava. Our guide explained that two species brought from Australia - the kangaroo-like wallaby and the possum - had begun to endanger the fragile environment and vegetation, but that these two pests were being successfully eradicated.

There is so much sight-seeing to do around the harbour! We took a relaxing two hour cruise to Great Barrier Island and its magnificent kauri forests, through which walking tracks led us to picturesque dams and secluded natural hot-springs. Another trip took us to Tiritiri Matangi Island, called Tiri, which will delight naturalists and conservationists. It is home to around a dozen species of endangered birds including the rare Takahe, as well as the lizards and insects that live in a specially planted three-million-native-tree sanctuary.

Back in the Auckland Harbour another surprise awaited us at Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World. Here hungry sharks, rays and moray eels swim over and past as we stood safely in a giant underwater perspex tube. We could also see King and Gentoo penguins in their authentic environment of ice and snow specially created for them.
But Auckland is not just the great outdoors!

Weekend Markets
Every Sunday morning the Takapuna Market opens at 6am in the Takapuna carpark, and the Browns Bay Market is in Anzac Road from 9am. But we preferred the world’s largest Polynesian market, the Otara Market, which is held every Saturday morning. For those in the know, this is a perfect place to pick up some wonderful Polynesian artefacts and New Zealand handicrafts.

Arts and Culture
Culture-vultures will find Auckland a delight also. The city’s art gallery has the country’s largest collection of works including works by well known masters, Linauer and Goldie. Studio galleries are also plentiful. Take a stroll along Lorne Street or High Street in Auckland, and try the Uxbridge Art Gallery in Holwick, and the Lopdell House in Titirangi. .

The world-class Auckland War Memorial Museum in the domain should not be missed, and vintage vehicle fans will enjoy MOTAT with its recreated colonial village. Rare vintage cars are shown at the Monterey Park Museum, and boat lovers will enjoy the flotilla of restored and historic vessels at the New Zealand Maritime -Museum on Hobson wharf.

Thrill Seekers
New Zealander’s pride themselves that their country is the adventure capital of the world, and with some justification. Skydiving, wilderness experiences, tall ship sailing, bungy-jumping, caving, ballooning, walking and hiking in conservation parks that surround the city are all tremendous experiences. And if that’s not enough, there are also wild surf beaches, enchanting waterfalls, and ancients forests all within 20 minutes drive of the city centre. Auckland has it all, and few cities of this size can match the variety and quality of what is offered here.

Great Food
Even two decades ago, New Zealand’s cuisine was fresh, but often deadly-dull. Today the opposite is the case. Tourism and rising standards have turned New Zealand into a gourmet adventure that cannot fail to impress. We could not help being knocked out by the exceptionally high standard of many of the restaurants we visited, and this applied equally to Pacific Rim cuisine, continental and oriental style food. Whether we dined harbour side, or Downtown in
fashionable brasseries, the standard was tremendous! There is now an Aladdin’s Cave of restaurant choices at Auckland’s culinary precincts such as Mission Bay, Parnell, Karangahape Road and Ponsonby Road, all of which are lined with restaurants and bars that offer an outstanding variety of dining experiences.
Hotels, too, have leapt into world standard. We stayed at the Auckland Sheraton and found the accommodation, service and cuisine about as good as it can get. Several other top hotels in this city are also world class, and the small boutique lodges of New Zealand, led by the international group known as “SLH” (Small Luxury Hotels) are of a standard that is consistently ‘Par Excellence’.

And New Zealand’s Wonderful Wines
In the last few years, New Zealand wines, led by Cabernet Sauvignons that many critics consider to be the best in the world, have taken the international market by storm. The best wine regions are around Marlborough and Napier, but there are quite a few wineries around Auckland also. I prefer the wines of the other two regions, but that is a matter of personal taste.

Vineyards welcome visitors to taste the vintages that are taking the world by storm. The Henderson Valley and Waitakere area are popular destinations to enjoy the best of the local vintages in the tasting rooms before retiring to one of the spacious restaurants to enjoy lunch.

Auckland’s food and wine festivals are wonderful showcases of local produce. The Dragon Boat Festival in February each year celebrates Asian food, and the Potato, Onion and Grape Festival held mid-March is more of a fun-filled down-to-earth experience. The Waitakere Spring Wine Festival and the Devonport Food and Wine Festival are some of the other events that keep up the culinary momentum in Auckland throughout the year.

This is a city well worth visiting today, but even a century ago, Rudyard Kipling wrote in The Song of the Cities (1893):

Last, loneliest, loveliest, exquisite, apart

On us, on us the unswerving season smiles.

Who wonder `mid our fern why men depart To seek the Happy Isles!

Download zip format of these pictures through this link below:
Download Here