City of Sails — volcanoes underfoot, Māori culture, Pacific Rim food, and Waiheke wine by ferry
Auckland sits on a narrow volcanic isthmus between two harbours — the Waitemata to the north (Pacific Ocean side) and the Manukau to the south (Tasman Sea side) — and on a volcanic field of 53 cones, the most recent eruption 700 years ago. It is home to the world's largest urban Polynesian population, with more than a third of residents identifying as Pacific Islander or Māori — a demographic depth that drives one of the most genuinely diverse food scenes in the Southern Hemisphere: hangi (earth-oven cooking), Pacific seafood, Māori hāngī bread, Korean, Japanese, and Waiheke Island wine (35 m…
Auckland (Tāmaki Makaurau in Māori — 'the place desired by many') had been a major Māori centre of settlement for centuries before European contact; its fertile volcanic soil and dual harbour position made it the most strategic location in the northern North Island. British Governor William Hobson designated it New Zealand's first capital in 1840, the year the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in the Bay of Islands. The capital moved to Wellington in 1865, but Auckland continued growing to become home to close to 40% of New Zealand's entire population — an unusual urban concentration even by Paci…