Auckland is too big for its boots

The popular Rough Guide travel series has published
its verdict on New Zealand. KIP BROOK reports.

New Zealand lives up to its reputation as an adventure playground and remains unfettered by crowds, according to the latest Rough Guide to New Zealand.

But the travel guide, which will be released in Britain this month, smacks Auckland around the ears for trying to compare itself to Sydney: "Auckland's fans rank it alongside Sydney, though it fails to live up to the claim on most counts.

"Look beyond the glitzy shopfronts and there's a modest small-town feel and a measured pace, though this can seem frenetic enough compared with the rest of the country."

However, Auckland's wineries, west coast surf beaches, museum, art gallery and Parnell, Ponsonby and Devonport all get a good plug.

Some other destinations fare better - Wellington buzzes and West Coast pubs are great - but Whangarei is a "flop."

Tourists are told to stay in "vibrant" Wellington for three or four days to explore the architecture, cafe society, nightlife and harbour.

"However, Wellington lives up to its nickname of the windy city, lashed most days by air funnelled through Cook Strait."

The book says Wellington is the cultural, political and commercial capital of New Zealand, "though this is not what most Aucklanders would have you believe ... A healthy antipathy exists between the two cities, fuelled by Auckland's conviction that it should be capital."

Further north, the book labels Whangarei as a letdown, albeit with redeeming features, "not least the new riverside Town Basin, where sleek yachts are moored outside a renovated settler-style shopping and restaurant complex."

It also describes Whangarei as a perfect base from which to explore Northland's finest scenery.

The guide emphasises New Zealand as a premier adventure travel destination. "Some visitors take on New Zealand as a large-scale assault course, aiming to tackle as many adventures possible in the time available.

"What's more, everything is easily accessible, packed into a land area larger than Britain and with a population of just 3.8 million, over half of it tucked away in the three largest cities.

"Elsewhere you can travel miles through steep-hilled farmland and rarely see a soul and there are even more remote spots which it's reliably contended no human has ever visited."

Rough Guide also says New Zealand has an extraordinary enthusiasm for sports and culture.

The book recommends tourists visit New Zealand on the shoulder seasons from October to December and February to May when sights and attractions are quieter and rooms easier to come by.

It also explains the meaning of words unheard of in Europe such as: bro, chuddy, chunder, choke, greasies, handle, hang, pa, puckered, puke, skull, snarler, tangi, togs, whanau and wop-wops.

"The quality of restaurants in New Zealand is typically superb and with the current low value of the New Zealand dollar will seem wonderful value for money - especially at BYO establishments."

The book labels draught beer as "insipid and altogether a feebler relation to British-style bitter."

Rough Guide says violent crime is still "sufficiently novel" in New Zealand that it is reported with relish by the media.

"The police are still perceived as friendly, mostly incorruptible and helpful which, generally speaking, they are.

"Laws regarding alcohol consumption in New Zealand are pretty lenient. The same does not apply to drink-driving. Home grown marijuana or electric puha has a reputation for being very potent and is pretty easily available. It is however illegal.

"The general folklore has it that all marijuana supply is handled by one of two warring gangs, the Mongrel Mob or Black Power. It's worth bearing in mind that extreme violence erupts between them from time to time and it's best to avoid members of either group."

On sightseeing, the Bay of Islands is singled out as one of the brightest stars in New Zealand's tourism firmament, luring thousands to its beautiful coastal scenery.

Rough Guide says Queenstown offers the best selection of restaurants and accommodation outside Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch - even though new hotels have jeopardised its small-town appeal.

The book says that although the West Coast is renowned for its untamed coastal isolation, turbulent rivers, lush bushland and crystal lakes, travellers might be more struck by other features.

"Overall your fondest memories of the West Coast might well be chance encounters one evening in the pub, rather than the sights."

Christchurch is tagged as a "lively melting pot of cultures" and Dunedin's university scene gets a mention, as does the city's long, sheltered harbour and rich variety of wildlife.

Hamilton contains "little of lasting interest to visitors," while Palmerston North has an "embarrassment of shops and inordinate number of car parks."

Napier has the world's finest collection of small-scale Art Deco buildings and a "barrel-load" of excellent wineries, while Oamaru was listed as one of New Zealand's more alluring and undersold provincial cities.

- NZPA