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AUCKLAND |
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AUCKLAND 's urban sprawl completely smothers the North Island's wasp
waist, a narrow isthmus where the island is all but severed by river
estuaries probing inland from the city's two harbours. To the west, the
shallow and silted Manukau Harbour opens out onto the Tasman Sea at a
rare break in the long string of black-sand beaches continually pounded
by heavy surf. Maori named the eastern anchorage the Waitemata Harbour
for its "sparkling waters", which constitute Auckland's deep water port
and a focus for the heart of the city. Every summer weekend the harbour
and adjoining Hauraki Gulf explode into a riot of brightly-coloured
sails.
There could hardly be a more appropriate venue for the Americas Cup ,
which was held in the Hauraki Gulf with great fanfare over the summer of
1999-2000 . Team New Zealand's emphatic victory brings the event back to
the Waitemata Harbour over the summer of 2002-2003, and with the
infrastructure now firmly in place - there seem to be pavement cafés and
trendy restaurants everywhere - Auckland seems set to consolidate its
position as New Zealand's most progressive city. Despite Auckland's
cosmopolitan bustle and harbourside setting, few fall in love with the
city on short acquaintance or stick around long enough to scratch below
the surface. Those who persist might just find themselves as
enthusiastic about the place as Aucklanders.
The City
Auckland's city centre clings to the southern shores of the Waitemata
Harbour , with Queen Street , the main drag, striking south through a
downbeat business district largely sustained by banks and insurance
companies, as the ascendant inner-city suburbs - trendy Ponsonby,
affluent Parnell and go-ahead Newmarket - continually erode its
mercantile dominance.
Queen Street meets the harbour at the Ferry Building, hub of ferry
services to the North Shore, the maritime suburb of Devonport and to the
islands of the Hauraki Gulf. One of the best ways to begin your
exploration of the city is on foot, following the Coast-to-Coast Walkway
which starts here and winds up through the city past many sights .
Skirting Albert Park , wedged between the University and the Auckland
Art Gallery , the route then veers towards The Domain , an extensive
blanket of parkland that represents Auckland's premiere green space,
laid out around the city's most-visited attraction, the Auckland Museum
. The Domain divides the city from the inner-eastern suburb of Parnell ,
ecclesiastical heart of the city with the Cathedral , one of Auckland's
oldest churches and a couple of historical houses, both associated with
clergymen. The walkway finishes beside the Manukau Harbour, after
climbing to two of Auckland's highest points, Mount Eden and its more
diverting kin, One Tree Hill with its encircling Cornwall Park .
To the east of Parnell, the harbourside Tamaki Drive runs past Kelly
Tarlton's Underwater World to the city beaches of Mission Bay and St
Heliers. West of the centre, the suburbs spread out beyond the reclaimed
basin of Freeman's Bay to Auckland's most concentrated cluster of superb
restaurants and cafés along Ponsonby Road , and out to Western Springs,
home to the Auckland Zoo and the transport museum commonly referred to
by its abbreviated name, MOTAT .
Aucklanders with time on their hands and a penchant for thundering
breakers leave the stresses of city behind and head to the surf beaches
of the West Coast but there are local spots for a more impulsive dip,
particularly compact and often-crowded coves along Tamaki Drive and the
more expansive strands on the North Shore near Takapuna . |
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