News and Views

Top marks for Taste Auckland Tour

When expert New Zealand-based travel agent Michael Nees visited Auckland recently, he and partner Pam hopped on board our Taste Auckland food walking tour. The only challenge we faced were their very tiny appetites as they winced about the portion sizes; "too much lamb," said Michael and "these ice creams are too big!" groaned Pam. Followed by 'this is too pretty to eat!'

Michael is the Founder and Director of Guest New Zealand, a travel agency specializing in boutique travel solutions for visitors to New Zealand and Australia. They're very selective about who they work with hand-picking local accommodation hosts and small tour activities. We love their commitment to promoting ‘slow travel’ meaning longer stays at fewer locations so visitors really get under the skin of a region or a city. Guest NZ can provide top-notch recommendations to clients because this team is often on the road experiencing new providers first-hand. 

So what did Micheal and Pam think of Taste Auckland? They loved it so much that within 24 hours, Guest NZ had published a 'guest' opinion on their blog reviewing their experience.

The team wrote:

Most international travellers to New Zealand, will arrive in the city of Auckland. And after a long flight, it is a good idea to get out and explore the city, before you get that well earned sleep.  If you love boutique tours – or a private tour for just the two of you, then Auckland walking tours with Aucky Walky is a must-do.

Liz doesn’t really see her guiding as just a job. She clearly enjoys showing off food made with love and beautiful art to people wanting to experience the real deal. The Taste Auckland Tour is a progressive lunch tour where good food and cool vibes are everything. 

To find out what Michael and Pam enjoyed most, read their full blog here.

Then join us to discover the yummy side of Auckland with a small-group guarantee. Book Taste Auckland Tour here

Please come hungry to keep your guide happy!

Disclosure: Guest NZ paid for their tour and this review is an independent and unsolicited opinion

Auckland Restaurant Month: Feed your face for $55   

This August, American Express Restaurant Month is the perfect opportunity to try something new with over 100 city restaurants presenting special lunch and dining offers. With so many amazing menus to choose from, it can be hard to know where to start, so here’s some of $55 menus we’ve shortlisted to try. Bon appetit everyone! 

Beast & Butterflies - M Social, Quay Street:    With a primo spot on Auckland’s waterfront, this hotel-based restaurant is turning heads in its first 12 months of operation, garnering rave reviews.  The Restaurant Month offer includes $55 for a 3-course dinner or $25 for a 2-course lunch.  The 3 course dinner options include market fish ceviche with beef rendang and rosemary crème brulee, grapefruit with crème fraiche.
The 2 course lunch options include market fish ceviche with ginger gel, coconut, crispy shallots and prawn & chicken laksa, tofu, egg noodles, poached egg and sambal.

Harbourside Ocean Bar Grill - Ferry Building, Quay St:   Newly revamped this classic waterfront bistro offers plush surrounds with gorgeous views across Auckland’s harbour. Harbourside Ocean Bar and Grill offers sustainably caught New Zealand seafood with an international twist. Its 2 course $55 lunch or dinner options include Atlantic scallops, grilled scampi, sundried tomatoes rouille with roasted Eastherbrook farm duck breast, confit potatoes, mandarin puree, dukkah, broccolini, madiera.

Hectors - Shortland Street:  A relative newcomer to the Auckland restaurant scene Hestor's takes pride in sourcing the majority its of produce from local farmers and suppliers within a 50 kilometre radius of the city. 
Its 3 course options for $55 include scallops on spring onion mash, peanut soy dressing with crisp slow roasted pork belly, fennel remoulade, apple croquette and coffee sticky date pudding, rich toffee sauce & salted caramel sorbet to finish.
 

Masu - Federal Street, Sky City : Enjoy contemporary Japanese-inspired food at popular Masu. Cooked over a charcoal grill you’re sure to experience a blend of culinary theatre and great food. Diners can view the chefs at the robata cooking hearth, creating food-laden skewers and slowly rotating them over hot coals.
The 3 course $55 options include kingfish sashimi with robata grilled king salmon, ginger teriyaki, blackened chilli pickled cucumber and shiro miso pavlova, roasted tamarillo, guava chilli sorbet to finish

For something a little different, sign up for Dinner by Bike hosted by Bike Auckland, one of many food events on over August. Discover Auckland’s streets and flavours with a progressive three-course dinner on wheels.  Enjoy a leisurely 8km round-trip tour of the city, with stops for entrée, main, dessert, and nightcap. The ride-by-restaurants include Miss Clawdy’s in Wynyard Quarter for a taste of the South for the appetiser course,  up the Nelson Street cycleway to 1947 Eatery for a contemporary Indian feast then dessert at Madriz in Fort Lane. Also included is a post-dinner drink overlooking the harbour on the rooftop of Parasol & Swing at the Viaduct. 

Visitors always ask us where's best to eat on our small-group Hello Auckland walking tour. Lucky locals can take advantage of world-class dining deals in Auckland this month. There are 100 restaurants awaiting your order so walk on in and sit right down.   

Auckland Streets - New Art Coming!

A dynamic city is one where vibrant street art, sculptures, graffiti and galleries thrive. Where art festivals are well attended, new works are publicly-funded and artists can make a comfortable living. Where visitors can understand a city’s culture and its people, both past and present through its imagery.

We often get asked what’s new in Auckland’s art scene or where is the city's best street art?

Given the lack of accessible art on show, we’re often apologetic about the blank walls and buildings we amble by. Jean Batten Place for example doesn’t feature a statue of our world-record setting Aviator. Michael Parakowhai’s Lighthouse on the end of Queens Wharf was largely funded by corporate donors. But change is in the wind and it’s going to inject more art in the heart of the city.

Auckland Art Gallery’s future is now secure as the council, facing a groundswell of public concern, recently passed a resolution to increase funding by $2million a year for the next 10 years. In February this year, however, the gallery’s future looked uncertain. Faced with a significant funding shortfall, our award-winning gallery introduced a $20 visitor charge, while local entry remained free. More drastic measures including staff cuts and closed days were proposed.

More good news as it’s been announced that public art will receive a $3 million boost over the next eight years from targeted Auckland Council rates*. This will finance new public art installed around the streets of central Auckland. Currently, there are 80 existing public artworks in the city centre of which 65 are in council’s public art asset collection. A further 11 major public artworks will be commissioned, most of which are of scale and significance including:

• Two major commissions as part of the exterior design of the New Zealand International Convention Centre  
• A proposed work in the Mayoral Drive underpass in Myers Park  
• A proposed work in Lower Queen Street outside the Britomart Station  
• Several commissions involving mana whenua in the Commercial Bay development
• New works in the underground stations and underpasses within the City Rail Link  
• Three major planned works for Wynyard Quarter.

This is a significant nod to Auckland’s arts community. But it will take more than just public funding to really swathe Auckland's streets in art. Private and corporate benefactors will hopefully swing in behind this new injection.
Visitors certainly enjoy our Hello Auckland Tour which features a variety of installations en route. However, we look forward to sharing the stories of Auckland through more visible artworks downtown. And celebrating the artists who create them.

*Reference: Auckland City Centre Public Art Plan
File No.: CP2018/07435

TravelMag's Auckland list

International influencer TravelMag.com recently featured 20 unique things to do in Auckland. Imagine our surprise to be featured alongside iconic Sky Tower, bird watching at Tiri Tiri Matangi and most surprisingly the Zombie Survival Challenge!  The locals love Auckland for its dynamic nightlife but who knew the city was famous for its after-life?  Read on:

"There are few better ways to get under the skin of a new city than by traversing its streets on foot, exposing yourself to its sights, scents and sounds in the open air and at ground level. Top-rated Aucky Walky Tours runs small or private group walking tours of central Auckland, inviting you to discover its legends and landmarks, as well as its Maori history, local cuisine and hidden spots (that the big groups miss). Among the highlights of its Hello Auckland tour are stylish back lanes, the city’s award-winning art gallery, serene parks and a ride uptown on the locals’ bus. Expect to walk for up to 2.5 hours and 3-4 km in total on this leisurely tour with rest stops along the way. Do this on your first day in town as you’ll get loads of useful advice for your Auckland stay."

To discover other unique Auckland experiences, read the full TravelMag feature here with the French version here. And for a unique introduction to Auckland on foot, jump on our Hello Auckland tour with a real-life professional guide. Guaranteed Zombie-free!

Discovering My City

Award-winning Travel Writer Pamela Wade recently joined our Hello Auckland walking tour. As a local Aucklander, even she was surprised at the hidden gems we revealed. Here's an extract from her independent (and unpaid) review.

"So, things I discovered about Auckland today: a dessert restaurant serving dishes that look like (incr)edible works of art; why one of the lightwells over Britomart is different from the others; that the city's former cliffs are now underfoot as reclaimed land; that Maori brought rats to New Zealand deliberately, in the "starter kits" packed into their waka; that it was their women who were best at navigation through the vast Pacific Ocean; Marbeck's Records in Queen's Arcade has been there since 1929; Imperial Lane runs through the site of Auckland's first cinema; the city had its own Great Fire in 1858; that Vulcan Lane once glowed in the firelight of blacksmiths' forges; that the Metropolis apartment building used to be the High Court.

I saw a brilliant private art work that I want to go and see again (and attempt to sneakily photograph); walked through a lovely green park in a valley just metres from Queen Street where I'd never set foot before; had street art and buildings pointed out to me that I'd never noticed; heard the reasons for why things are as they are; and began to accept that, actually, Auckland has much more to offer visitors (and residents) than just a pretty face on a sunny day.

There were history and geology, culture and nature, restaurants and shopping, gossip and opinion, all well-researched and interesting, and delivered with enthusiasm. We walked along city streets and through parks and arcades, stopped frequently, had a bus ride, and finished up at Aotea Square less than a kilometre from our starting point at the bottom of Queen Street. It was excellent.

And, if you're thinking, "Well, I could do the same for nothing with Free Walking Tours" - just consider that Liz takes a maximum of 10 people, so it's much more intimate and personal than a Free Walks experience: their groups are so big that the poor guide has to shout at them and I bet they don't get many questions answered. And since they're upfront about expecting a tip, it's actually not free at all. So do yourself a favour, and go with Liz. She has chocolate!"

We're delighted that acclaimed reviewer Pamela enjoyed our small-group Hello Auckland tour. If we can inform, surprise and entertain local Aucklanders and avid travellers, then we're on the right track. 

Image credit: Pamela Wade 

Pamela Wade:  Freelance Travel Writer and Photographer
Cathay Pacific Travel Media Awards: 
Writer of the Year 2009; Runner-Up 2012 and 2015:

Canon Media Awards: Highly Commended 2013