Jack Tame: Why Auckland's the best little city in the world

Auckland is a fabulous little city. Photo / Greg Bowker

I never have breakfast on the flight into Auckland. From LA or SF it's a 12-hour stretch (or lack, thereof), and not only is the limp, lukewarm in-flight omelette marginally appealing at best, it's an insult to the city that awaits.

A meal on the plane is a meal wasted when you're landing in Auckland. My routine doesn't change: I clear Customs. I transit. And I choose one of so many extraordinary cafes for breakfast and two flat whites.

I reckon New Zealand has the best cafes in the world. Better than France or Italy or Buenos Aires. Better than Turkey or Egypt or the US. And by sheer concentration and variety, Auckland's cafes are the very best of the best.

Nowhere in New York can you get a scone like those at Lot 23. Nowhere has the space, the light or the acai of Heaven Scent. The ginger crunch at Foxtrot Parlour haunts my dreams.

I like to walk in Auckland. I walk K Rd in the morning, as the sun pings off the footpath on the south side and all the vagabonds and rascals squint and blink and scurry away for the day.

I like to walk in the Waitaks, with the wet earth and the bellbirds. I like to walk along Piha, to climb the bluff at the end of the beach and gaze up the green and black coast.

Imagine describing Auckland to a foreigner who'd never heard her name. A sub-tropical climate with 1.5 million people; suburbs freckled by volcanic nipples, each so perfectly coned and green you'd swear it was just clever landscaping; a city with two impressive harbours, two impressive and different coasts; a city where rich, poor, suburban or central, most people are only ever a few minutes from the sea.

You'd likely explain to your foreign friend that Auckland is the Pacific capital, a city rich with Maori and Polynesian culture. There may be more Pacific Island people here than in all the islands combined and the blend and diversity of Aucklanders is unlike anywhere else on Earth.

We're spoilt. Auckland is an almighty playground, geographic and cultural. But as the city flourishes and booms it will take planning not to balls it all up. Our city must intensify. It's unsustainable to sprawl our way to Hamilton, and naive to think that every Aucklander needs to live on a quarter-acre block.

We're making progress. Britomart and Wynyard Quarter are perfect examples of good public space and will always be embraced.

But high-quality, high-density living options and public transport are essential in ensuring Auckland remains a great place to live.

I love Dorkers. I remember, when I moved north from Canterbury, a friend scoffed and said, "Enjoy your lattes, mate."

You know what? I do. And it's a great pleasure to know that one day when I land, I won't be getting back on that plane.

• Jack Tame is One News' US correspondent, and is on NewstalkZB on Saturdays 9am-midday.