AWOL’s Guide To The Real Auckland

Henry Oliver is a freelance writer based in Auckland. He…

The Suburbs

Dominion Road has the best concentration of cheap eating in Auckland. Go to San Bao (708 Dominion Road) for Sichuan anything, Eden Noodles (105 Dominion Road) for hand-cut noodles, Barilla (571 Dominion Road) for dumplings, and Spicy House (557 Dominion Road) for the chili-fried chicken.

Devonport is a quiet suburb on the North Shore. If you’re into antiques, secondhand books, and nice, calm beaches, take the 10-minute ferry from downtown. While you’re there, climb North Head and walk through the military tunnels that are cut into the hill.

St Heliers Bay is a beach suburb to the east of the city (past busy Mission Bay and quieter Kohimarama). There’s good food, the same ice cream I raved about in Takapuna, a park for the kids and places where you can hire bicycles and rise around the bays. Once you’re done, get a beer at one of the handful of bars that lookout onto the harbour.

Up next: Take A Day Trip Here

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Henry Oliver

Henry Oliver is a freelance writer based in Auckland. He is currently deputy editor at Idealog magazine and is the popular music critic for North & South. In former lives, he has been a musician, a bar proprietor, and an intellectual property lawyer.