The Region
Auckland is misunderstood by most visitors, and quietly a gem. At its centre sit a vibrant food scene and the finest Polynesian museum in the world; to the east, the Hauraki Gulf scatters into islands — Rangitoto’s volcano, Waiheke’s vineyards and galleries; to the west, the black-sand surf coast where The Piano was filmed, an hour from the city and wild as anywhere in the country.
Most journeys give Auckland a night at each end. Ours tend to give it a proper day or two, because the city rewards the same treatment as everywhere else we work: the right person, the right water, the right table.
01
A Moment We Design
Dawn at Bastion Point
A dawn karakia with Dane Tumahai, Ngāti Whātua kaumātua and a direct descendant of the chiefs who founded Tāmaki Makaurau, as the sun comes up over the harbour his ancestors named. There is no better first morning in New Zealand, and no way to book it except through a relationship.
02
A Moment We Design
The black-sand coast
West of the city, the Waitākere rainforest falls onto iron-sand beaches, with Piha’s Lion Rock standing sentinel over surf that has humbled generations. Sir Edmund Hillary trained on these rainforest hikes; they remain, improbably, an hour from a flat white.
03
A Moment We Design
Waiheke by water
Man O’ War grows its vines on a thousand hectares of Waiheke’s eastern end. A winding road will get you there, but boat or helicopter is the way to arrive — and, of course, how we bring you. A tasting at the water’s edge, a swim off the jetty, and the city’s towers just visible across the Gulf, entirely beside the point.
When To Come
The season is part of the design
The Gulf is at its best from December to April: warm water, settled sailing weather, and long evenings on the island vineyards.
The city itself is a year-round proposition: the food scene doesn’t hibernate, the museum is at its quietest in winter, and the west coast is at its most cinematic in a July storm.
A Journey That Lingers Here
From the Gulf to the High Country
Fourteen days that begin with four nights aboard a private superyacht in the Hauraki Gulf — fishing, diving and beaches without footprints — before the helicopters head south.
Explore From the Gulf to the High CountryDesign your journey
Tell us what pulled at you here. We'll design the journey around it, with the right people waiting when the helicopter lands.
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