Auckland is the largest metropolitan area in New Zealand, with a population of over 1 million in the greater urban area. It is located in the northern half of the North Island, on a narrow isthmus of land that joins the Northland peninsula to the rest of the North Island. It is composed of four separate cities, Manukau city in the south, Waitakere city in the west, North Shore city in the north and Auckland city itself, on and around the isthmus. The wider local government area which includes rural areas, small towns and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf is Auckland Region.
Districts
Understand
Auckland is often known as the "City of Sails" for the large number of yachts that grace the Waitemata Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf. It could also be known as the "City of Volcanoes". Much of its natural character comes from the fact that it is built on the Auckland Volcanic Field which consists of about 48 volcanoes. All of the volcanoes are individually extinct but the volcanic field as a whole is not.
Auckland is the largest city in Polynesia. For some Polynesian island nations, there are more expatriates living in Auckland than in their homeland. Auckland's rich Pacific cultural mix is celebrated at festivals and sporting matches.
Auckland rates well in quality-of-life polls consistently rating in the top 5 of the major polls
Get in
The Auckland International Airport, New Zealand's largest airport, is located in the southern suburb of Mangere on the shores of the Manukau Harbour. Transport from the airport to central Auckland and suburbs includes buses, shuttles and taxis. The bus to central Auckland is called Airbus and the adult fare is $15. Other bus services run to the suburbs. Approximate prices for one person in a shuttle to various destinations are: central Auckland $26, Papatoetoe $29, Manurewa $26, Howick $42, Takapuna $35, Henderson $41. The taxi fare to central Auckland is between about $50 and $65.
Get around
There are a variety of ways to get around including bus, train, ferry, taxi, shuttle and hiring your own car. You can use the MAXX website to find ways to get round Auckland using public transport. MAXX also has a text messaging service which can be used to find out the time of the next bus, ferry or train or to find the quickest way to get to your destination using public transport.
Auckland is a very car dependant city and for most tourists used to more extensive systems, frustrations can mount. It may be more prudent to hire a car if you wish to do a lot of cross city travel though roads frequently become heavily congested and driving standards can be poor.
By bus
Bus is the most preferred method of public transport in Auckland, carrying over 50 million passenger trips a year. Buses to popular destinations are often regular (usually every 5-15mins). For example Kelly Tarltons and Mission Bay have buses (numbers 745-769) running at least every 15 minutes Monday to Saturdays though much less frequently Sundays. However buses are not always reliable, especially during peak hours. Delays of up to 15 minutes are common on certain routes. Buses are also a slow way to travel long distances. If possible consider taking a train or ferry instead.
By train
Travel by train is a good option if you are near a train line, but there are only three lines so many suburbs are not served. While the train service has had a bad history due to under-investment, it has been improving in recent years due to increased investment in train carriages and the upgrading of many of the 36 train stations. An annual patronage increase of 30% was achieved in 2005, bringing total patronage to over 5 million passengers a year for the first time since the 1960s.
There are three lines: the Eastern, Southern and Western Lines. Services on the Southern line run from Britomart station in downtown Auckland south to Papakura, with a few services on to Pukekohe. The Southern Line runs roughly parallel to the Southern Motorway and indeed runs right beside the motorway through part of Auckland City. The Eastern Line is a short line that runs from Britomart through four stations in the east of Auckland City before joining the Southern line just before Westfield station. Services on the Eastern line also continue to Papakura and Pukekohe. The Western line runs from Britomart west to Waitakere Station. There are no train services on the North Shore or in the eastern suburbs of Manukau City.
The Southern and Eastern Lines have the most frequent and reliable services. Trains on these lines combined run every 10 minutes on-peak, 15 minutes off-peak and 30 minutes evenings and weekends. Approximately 80-90% of these services run on-time. The Western Line suffers from somewhat unreliable and less frequent services, and is currently undergoing development to improve frequencies and reliability. Trains on this line runs every 15-20 minutes on-peak, every 37 minutes off-peak and every 30 minutes weekends. Approxmently 60-70% of these trains run on-time.
By car
The Auckland roading network experiences severe congestion at rush hour. The geography of Auckland constrains the network to a limited number of routes. Studies have shown that Auckland has one of the most comprehensive roading networks of any city in the world relative to its size, but lack of investment in public transport means the city is largely dependent on the private automobile. It is often easier and cheaper to hire a car instead of using taxis, simply because the city is so large and spread out. Taxi fares may be NZ$50 - NZ$100 from the airport to a city location, about the same as it costs to hire a car per day.
See
Do
Buy
Fashion:
Auckland is home to many established and up-and-coming local designers. Check out Karen Walker on O'Connell St in the city centre which is also the location of the excellent MYHART concept store, stocking avant-garde New Zealand label Lonely Hearts Club, as well as Australian designers Tina Kalivas, Josh Goot, and Gail Sorronda.
High Street, parallel to O'Connell St, has local designer stores as well as international brands. Look out for womenswear in Kate Sylvester, Ruby, Moochi, Ricochet, and the WORLD Luxury Store, stocking the eponymous label as well as cult items from international brands. For menswear, visit Little Brother, Crane Brothers, and WORLD Man. For New Zealand and international brands, see Workshop, Brave, Browns and Fabric, along with Ashley Ardrey for shoes. Little High Street arcade is a must-see for Tango's brand of upscale vintage, and Smoove for cheap downtown wear.
Mala Brajkovic - rock and roll womenswear favoured by Auckland's hipsters - is found on Vulcan Lane (off High St), along with the WORLD Beauty Store, a haven for international brands such as Diptyque, Aesop, and Demeter.
Before leaving the CBD, don't miss Made on Customs St West (parallel to Quay St, near to the Britomart transport centre). A favourite of Auckland fashionistas, stocking international and New Zealand labels. The Aotea Square markets (Queen Street) are held on Fridays and Saturdays and often feature original designers in addition to the usual market fare.
Ponsonby is another area favoured by Auckland shoppers. On Ponsonby Rd, find womenswear in Sera Lily, Miss Crabb, Hepburn, Jaimie, IsaKelle, and various other great stores, including Sybella for shoes. K' Rd, a local abbreviation of Karangahape Rd, has excellent cultural stores such as Third Eye (Indian), Buana Satu (Polynesian), vintage stores like Fast and Loose and Vixen (St Kevin's Arcade), designer stores like Girl and Vicky Sudarath (both St Kevin's Arcade) and Adrian Hailwood. Across the road from St Kevin's, find Illicit and Misery, mecca for Auckland's tattooed population (many who get tattoo's from Dermographic, also in Ponsonby.
Newmarket has outposts of the many stores listed above, as well as a few others. Nuffield St is home to Lucy Boshier (a local designer), Trelise Cooper Kids (upscale kids clothing from the New Zealand designer), and Superette (predominantly Australian designers). Look to Teed St for Drop Dead Gorgeous - Auckland's premier designer location, with Stella McCartney, Chloe, and 3.1 Phillip Lim in store, and Muse (international labels such as Diane von Furstenburg, James Perse, and Rebecca Taylor. Unity Collection stocks directional New Zealand labels like Jimmy D and Cybele.
Eat
For Kosher food, the Auckland Jewish Community Centre, which include the Aucland Hebrew Congregation has a kosher shop it is located on Greys Avenue, Auckland CBD (Right next door to the Duxton Hotel) and is open every day except monday + saturday. it has a wide varietion of kosher products.
There are some good cheap food courts about. Try next to the Queens' Arcade at the bottom of Queen st for a variety of Asian food for lunch (slightly hidden entrance). The Ponsonby International food court has the cheapest eats in this somewhat pricey neighbourhood.
Drink
Sleep
Budget
Splurge
Stay safe
Auckland is generally a fairly safe place to visit.
Be vigilant as you would in any other cities in the world, and with a little bit of common sense you will be safe.
The local emergency contact number is 111 for all Police, Fire and St John Ambulances, from a mobile phone, the numbers 111, 112, 911 and 999 will all work too.
Friday and Saturday nights can be dangerous on the road due to the high rate of drink driving and "boy racer" culture. Excessive speed, poor vehicle maintenance and bad driving attitudes can result in fatal crashes and care should be exercised.
Areas to be vigilant around:
Fort Street: The centre of Auckland's red light district.
Karangahape Road (K Rd): A large number of pubs and clubs exist on this road, however, care should be taken late at night as assaults and theft can occur.
Lower Queen Street: Only at nighttime - this is very much "Downtown", and is practically deserted after dark. A lot of homeless people sleep around this area, they won't hurt you, and if you do have to go here at nighttime, walk quickly or in a group and you'll generally be fine.
The 2006 Census also provides information about the multilinguality of the region. Accordingly, 867,825 people in the Auckland Region spoke one language only, while 274,863 spoke two, and 57,051 could converse in three or more languages. together with crime. Nonetheless, Auckland currently ranks 5th in a survey of the quality of life of the world's top 55 cities.
In 2006, Auckland placed 23rd on the UBS list of the world's richest cities.
Leisure
Auckland is popularly known as the "City of Sails" because the harbour is often dotted with hundreds of yachts and has more per capita than any other city in the world. Viaduct Basin hosted two America's Cup challenges, and its cafes, restaurants, and clubs add to Auckland's vibrant nightlife.
High Street, Queen Street, Ponsonby Road, and Karangahape Road are also very popular with urban socialites. Newmarket and Parnell are upmarket shopping areas, while Otara's and Avondale's famous fleamarkets and Victoria Park Market offer a colourful alternative shopping experience. Newer shopping centre-type developments in the Auckland area tend to be outside of the older city centres, with Sylvia Park (Sylvia Park, Auckland City), Botany Town Centre (Howick, Manukau City) and Westfield Albany (under construction as of 2007) (Albany, North Shore City) being the three largest.
The Auckland Town Hall and Aotea Centre host conferences and cultural events such as theatre, kapa haka, and opera. Many national treasures are displayed at the Auckland Art Gallery, such as the work of Colin McCahon.
Auckland also boasts a world-class symphonic ensemble in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, considered one of the finest in Australasia.
Other significant cultural artefacts reside at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, the National Maritime Museum, and the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT). Exotic creatures can be observed at the Auckland Zoo and Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World. Movies and rock concerts (notably, the "Big Day Out") are also well patronised.
Parks and nature
Auckland Domain is one of the largest parks within the city, situated close to the CBD and having a good view of the Gulf and of Rangitoto island. Smaller parks also close to the city centre are Albert Park, Myers Park, Western Park and Victoria Park.
While most volcanic cones in the Auckland Volcanic Field have been affected by quarrying, many of the remaining cones are now ensconced within parks, and retain a somewhat more natural character than the surrounding city. Prehistoric earthworks and historic fortifications feature in several of these parks, including Mount Eden, North Head and One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie).
Other parks around the city are in Western Springs, which has a large park bordering on the MOTAT museum and the Auckland Zoo. The Auckland Botanic Gardens are located further south in Manurewa.
Ferries provide transport to parks and nature reserves at Devonport, Waiheke Island and Rangitoto Island. The Waitakere Ranges Regional Park to the west of Auckland offers beautiful and relatively unspoiled bush territory, as do the Hunua Ranges to the south.
Sport
Locations
Auckland has its fair share of rugby and cricket grounds, and venues for motorsports, tennis, badminton, netball, swimming, soccer, rugby league, and many other sports.
Waitemata Harbour has popular swimming beaches at Mission Bay, Devonport, Takapuna, Long Bay and Maraetai, and the west coast has popular surf spots such as Piha and Muriwai. Many Auckland beaches are patrolled by surf lifesaving clubs, which are part of Surf Life Saving Northern Region.
With the sheltered Waitemata Harbour at its doorstep, Auckland is a mecca for everything nautical, and almost every week sees some nautical event taking place in the 'City of Sails'. There are also a large number of sailing clubs in Auckland.
Main teams
:Main article: The Blues
The Auckland rugby franchise The Blues, formerly known as the 'Auckland Blues' is one of the more successful of New Zealand's five Super 14 franchises. Many All Blacks have also come from Auckland.
Cricket also has a strong following in Auckland. The Auckland cricket franchise, the Auckland Aces won the State Shield Trophy against the Otago Volts in February 2007. The Aces had narrowly lost against the Canterbury Wizards the previous year.
Major events
Popular annual sporting events include:
Employment
Every business day, many professional and other service workers commute from all points of the region to downtown Auckland, often enduring long commuting times, drawn by and making Auckland City one of the best-earning cities in New Zealand. The median personal income (per working person, per year) was NZ$44,304 (approx US$30,000) for the region, with CBD jobs often earning more (2005). The median personal income (for all persons older than 15 years of age, per year) was NZ$22,300 (2001), behind only North Shore City (also part of the Greater Auckland area) and Wellington. While office workers still account for a large part of Auckland's commuters, large office developments in other parts of the city, for example in Takapuna or Albany, both North Shore City, are slowly becoming more common, reducing concentration on the Auckland CBD somewhat.
Most major international corporations have an Auckland office, as the city is seen as the economic capital of the nation - although firms increasingly run their New Zealand operations from Australia. The most expensive office space is around lower Queen Street and the Viaduct Basin. A large proportion of the technical and trades workforce is based in the industrial zones of South Auckland.
The largest commercial and industrial areas of Greater Auckland are in the southeast of Auckland City as well as in the western parts of Manukau City, mostly in the areas oriented towards the Manukau Harbour and the Tamaki River estuary.
Education
Auckland has a number of important educational institutions, including some of the largest universities in the country. Auckland is also known to be a major centre of overseas language education, with large numbers of foreign students (particularly East Asians) coming to the city for several months or years to learn English or study at universities - although numbers New Zealand-wide have dropped substantially since peaking in 2003. As of 2007, there are around 50 NZQA certified schools and institutes teaching English in the Auckland area.
Auckland has a multitude of primary and secondary schools, with the Auckland (Boys') Grammar School, Mount Albert Grammar School, Auckland Girls' Grammar School and the Epsom Girls' Grammar School being amongst the most famous.
Amongst the most important tertiary educational institutes are the University of Auckland, Unitec New Zealand, Auckland University of Technology, Massey University and the Manukau Institute of Technology.
Housing
Housing varies considerably between some suburbs having state owned housing in the lower income neighbourhoods, to palatial waterfront estates. The most common residence of Aucklanders is a bungalow on a "quarter acre" (1,000 m²), with the resulting large urban sprawl and reliance on motor vehicles. The regional council is trying to curb this trend, with housing density strategies such as more townhouses and apartments, and prohibiting subdivision of properties on the city fringes.
In some areas, the Victorian villas are being increasingly torn down to make way for large plaster mansions with tennis courts and swimming pools. The rampant demolition of the older properties is being combated by the Auckland City Council passing laws that cover heritage suburbs or streets. Auckland has been described as having 'the most extensive range of timbered housing with its classical details and mouldings in the world', many of them Victorian-Edwardian style houses.
Transport
Vehicle transport
Auckland is highly dependent on private vehicles as the main form of transportation, to a level unusual for such a large city. This results in substantial traffic congestion during peak times, especially for New Zealand levels, though comparable to many other cities worldwide.
With public transport usage declining heavily during the second half of the 20th century, and increased spending on roads and motorways, New Zealand (and specifically Auckland) now has the second-highest vehicle ownership rate in the world, with around 578 vehicles per 1000 people. This focus has been partly due to the low population density of the Auckland region (compared to most cities in Europe and Asia), and is further accentuated by the comparatively long travel distances on the isthmus. This results in public transport being less cost-effective compared to denser urban centres.
Partly as a result, Auckland suffers from associated problems such as chronic traffic congestion on the main routes, and vehicle-induced air pollution. Recent studies show that New Zealanders take fewer than 2% of all journeys by bus and only 1% of journeys by rail. Organisations such as the Campaign for Better Transport and the Auckland Regional Council advocate, among other measures, for better provision of rail services to improve public transport use percentages. Other groups such as Climaction and the Residents Action Movement have held protests demanding a free public transport system.
Road network
The State Highway network connects the cities located in the Auckland urban area, the most frequently travelled being the Northern, Southern, Northwestern and Southwestern Motorways. The Auckland Harbour Bridge (Northern Motorway) is the main connection to North Shore City.
The Central Motorway Junction, also called 'Spaghetti Junction' for its complexity, forms the intersection between the two major motorways of Auckland (State Highway 1 and State Highway 16), and also provides various accesses from these routes to the city centre. It is located in a series of gullies and cuttings forming a semicircle around the southern end of the CBD. The Western Ring Route, a wide-area bypass of the Central Motorway Junction through southern Auckland, is currently under construction, though the completion of the project may easily be a decade away.
Two of the longest arterial roads within Greater Auckland are Great North Road and Great South Road - the main connections in those directions before the construction of the State Highway network.
Commercial shipping
Aucklands ports are the largest of the country, and a large part of both inbound and outbound New Zealand commerce travels through them, mostly via the facilities located to the northeast of the Auckland City CBD. Freight usually arrives / is distributed from the port via road, though the port facilities also have rail access. Auckland is also a major cruise ship stopver point, with the ships usually tying up at Princes Wharf.
Other travel modes
Public transport use is still very light in terms of the modal share, and remains widely unpopular and expensive in spite of recent increases in ridership and funding.
Famous sites
The following is a list of tourist attractions and landmarks in the Auckland metropolitan area:
Attractions & Buildings
Landmarks & Nature
References
External links
