Auckland Is an Ode to British Past

AUCKLAND, New Zealand —  No former English colonial outpost displays its heritage quicker or with more force than this neat and flowery city on a fertile isthmus of the country’s North Island.

Driving in from the airport, one is struck immediately by the number of small, single-family homes, each up to its windowsills in a “cottage garden” of rainbow blooms that’s typical of houses in the English countryside.

Brittania may no longer rule the waves, but nobody has yet informed the locals, who own more boats per capita than any city on earth. They blanket Waitemata Harbor and the bays north and south along the coast like sheep on a meadow, and the country has more than 7 million sheep, 20-plus for each Kiwi.

Getting here: Fly Air New Zealand, Qantas, Continental or United, the last with a change in San Francisco. An advance-purchase, round-trip fare costs about $1,116.

How long/how much? Give Auckland at least two days, more if you take in the sublime beauties of the Coromandel Peninsula or a day-trip to Rotorua. Auckland isn’t the super bargain it was a few years ago, but food and lodging costs are still on the moderate side.

A few fast facts: The New Zealand dollar was recently worth 62 cents. Seasons are upside down here, with February through April the best time to visit. And put aside 16 New Zealand dollars for your departure tax.

Getting settled in: Auckland City Travelodge (96 Quay St.; $127 double) has one of the town’s best locations, right on the bay near plenty of good shops.

It’s a high-rise, with contemporary bedrooms looking out on the water or toward the town and hills on the other side. Travelodge has the usual big-hotel amenities, as well as an eye-catching display of shells and tiles on a lobby wall, plus two restaurants and a bar.

De Brett (Shortland and High streets; $76 double) is another good downtown location. De Brett’s restaurant and several bars are popular gathering places for city business types, but the desk service certainly could be more helpful and attentive. Still, it’s excellent value for the location and comforts.

Parkland (8 Customs St.; $152 double), formerly the South Pacific, was once the town’s best, but still has plenty going for it. From the seventh floor up, the views are spectacular, and the top-floor Meridian Restaurant is the place for evening dancing and dinner.

The ground-floor’s old-fashioned brasserie is an authentic study in dark wood and etched glass, right off Paris’ Left Bank. Upstairs, bedrooms offer every possible comfort.

Regional food and drink: New Zealanders eat tons and tons of lamb and beef, usually prepared in a straightforward way as grills or “joints.” The animals are fed on green grass, so the meat has considerably more flavor than the pen-fed variety.

Since everyone lives within a hour or so of the water, menus abound in an astonishing variety of seafood. Try the green-lipped mussels, rock and Coromandel oysters, tender scallops, gigantic prawns, orange roughy, John Dory, lemon sole and scads of fresh salmon.

A traditional Maori meal is the festive Hangi, sometimes served at country hotels: pork, lamb, beef and vegetables steamed for 10 hours in a pit. The version we had was rather tasteless after all that steam.

New Zealand wines, particularly the Chardonnays and Sauvignon blancs, are fine, but the reds don’t always measure up. Local Steinlager beer goes down by the gallons in pubs and restaurants.

Good local dining: The Harbourside Seafood Bar & Grill (Quay Street) is in the original Old Ferry Building. It’s a simple and no-nonsense stop for the city’s movers and shakers seeking superb seafood.

We had a John Dory fillet grilled with shiitake mushrooms and a mustard hollandaise, and sampled the delicious baked baby squid stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, tomato and chili. Both were $11.50, other seafood are less.

Metropole (223 Parnell Road) is just about the trendiest place in town, right at the heart of the equally trendy Parnell Village shopping district.

Decor is again simple, with windows opening to the street and its passing parade. They serve a great black-bean soup with avocado, and the rabbit with mustard, wine, cream and spinach gnocchi is very popular. Main dishes run from $9 to $11.

Cin Cin (Quay Street) has a pizza oven by the door and an imaginative menu of dishes that span the globe. You’ll find half a dozen pizzas and calzonis, ratatouille, Thai chicken, sausage and sauerkraut, local shellfish and other exotica at reasonable prices. Cin Cin is always crowded, so service can be desultory at times.

Going first-class: The Regent (Albert Street; $173-$202 double) is the city’s showplace and rightly so. Everything, from a marvelous mid-town location to the jasmine tea in your room on arrival to a roof-top pool bordering on the spectacular.

Step from the lobby bar into the Longchamp dining room and enjoy some of the country’s best treatment of New Zealand’s food. Longchamp’s atmosphere is all soothing elegance and intimacy.

On your own: To get a quick feel for Auckland and its watery surroundings, take a harbor cruise or travel to a nearby island on one of the boats moored along Quay Street.

Just a 20-minute drive from town is the West Auckland wine country, where more than a dozen estates produce some of the country’s best. Have a go at tasting the Coopers Creek Chardonnay, an award winner from New Zealand’s best small vineyard.

For more information: Call the New Zealand Tourist & Publicity Office at (800) 388-KIWI, or write 10960 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1530, Los Angeles 90024 for an 80-page booklet on New Zealand, including Auckland with city map and activities.