Owing to its sun-kissed landscapes along stretches of prime beachfronts, Auckland well- deserves its title as the City of Sails. Spread out amidst the Manukau and Waitemata‘s picturesque ports the city is a hub of natural wonder with its cascading hills, lush rainforests and volcanic mountains. Home to the proud heritage of the Maori community, Auckland is a modern day metropolis that encompasses a mainly Polynesian, Asian and South Pacific islander population.
Renowned as one of New Zealand’s most popular holiday destination the locale offers a wide range of attractions such as Rangitoto Island, Auckland War Memorial Museum, the Sky Tower, Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World as well as the iconic Auckland Harbour Bridge.
With some of the nation’s premier designer clothing outlets, Auckland is also a shopper’s paradise where one will be spoilt for choice. The trendy shop fronts along Queen Street and High Street, famed for their exclusive collections while the Ponsonby, Newmarket and Parnell boutiques are also available. Department store fanatics can hit the suburbs where Albany Westfield, St Lukes, Botany Downs and Sylvia Park are located in addition to the DFS Galleria.
Those who are looking for a bargain can do no better than Auckland’s quaint street markets where one finds not just an authentic Kiwi shopping experience but local goods galore. Dubbed Manukau’s premier attraction, Auckland’s Otara Market welcomes a staggering 5000 shoppers each Saturday with its impressive collections of art, jewellery, crafts, clothes, music and fresh produce. A fantastic display of Polynesian customs is not all that’s on offer at his bustling outdoor market as Asian, Pakeha, Pacific Island and Maori vendors line the colorful streets of the Otara Market in a melting pot of culture and vibrancy.
You can find anything from humorously captioned t-shits to conventional Tapa wear as well as quilts and pacific island handicrafts alongside CD’s, jewels and fashionable attire. Stroll along the over 250 storefronts of the Otara Market while listening to the pulsating beats of Pacific Island music and the scintillating aromas of Chinese pork buns, over-fresh rewana bread and Cook Island doughnuts.
A stunning collection of fresh flowers are also sold here while Chinese and Indian food stalls offering a myriad of scrumptious treats are also available. The finest fresh produce in Auckland also finds its way to this pleasant market where food connoisseurs are sure to find the ingredients for their next culinary masterpiece.
Having launched the career of fashion houses such as Dawn Raid Streetwear who first set up shop at the Otara Market , this meandering, ever-growing bazaar is a bargain hunter’s dream come true as the best that Auckland has to offer is for sale here at a fraction of the cost.
When it comes to luxurious Auckland hotels it is difficult to surpass The Langham Auckland. Ideally located, this comfortable Auckland hotel serves as the perfect base for holidaymakers and corporate travellers.
