World City Guide

Getting There By Water

There are only two ways to get to New Zealand by water – as part of a round-the-world cruise or by crewing on somebody’s yacht, and picking up a berth in South America or Australia. Most cruise ships call at Auckland Harbour in February, stopping for a couple of days before continuing on their way. The Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand, is some 3200km (2000 miles) of lumpy water that can cut up rough at the drop of a hat. The Pacific Ocean between South America and New Zealand is also renowned for being mischievous. This probably explains why the majority of visitors prefer to fly. However, Auckland’s popularity as a cruise stop is growing and the 2003-04 season saw no less than 19 summer cruise ships make 33 visits, bringing some 55,000 visitors to the city, with a further 20 ships making 35 visits as part of the winter-cruise market.

Auckland is the ‘city of sails’ and the harbour is extremely important to the city’s economic and cultural life, which is primarily one of outdoor hedonism. The titular sails are those of an enormous number of private yachts, which compete for space with privately owned pleasure boats ranging from single-engine put-puts to luxury cruisers, upon which people sip cocktails while watching the back wash and listening to the bumble bee-like drone of jet skis hooning around.

Auckland Harbour is located in central Auckland, on the Waitemata Harbour (opposite Queen Elizabeth II Square), and is New Zealand’s maritime hub, providing shipping links to 160 ports in 73 countries. Ports of Auckland (tel: (09) 366 0055; website: www.poal.co.nz) owns and operates ports in the east and west coast of North Island, including Auckland Harbour. The main passenger sectors are the Overseas Passenger Terminal, Queens Wharf and Princes Wharf, which stand alongside each other, off Quay Street, right at the heart of Auckland Harbour. Cruise liners call at the Overseas Passenger Terminal and Queens Wharf, where facilities are numerous. Since this was the focus of the America's Cup, the whole area is awash with smart restaurants, trendy pubs and other entertainment options.

Ferry services: Ferries operated by Fullers (tel: (09) 367 9111; fax: (09) 367 9148; e-mail: enquiries@fullers.co.nz; website: www.fullers.co.nz) depart from the ferry terminal on Quay Street. Destinations are largely limited to local routes, such as Devonport, Bayswater, Birkenhead and Stanley Bay (see Getting Around). However, there are also regular services to the Hauraki Gulf Islands, particularly Great Barrier and Waiheke islands – competing with these services is the Subritzky Line (tel: 0800 478 274; e-mail: info@subritzky .co.nz; website: www.subritzky.co.nz) who also run from the wharfs of the ferry terminal on Queen Street.

Transport to the city: The waterfront area is located at the heart of the city. The public bus service (see Getting Around) stops opposite the Queen Elizabeth II Square at the Britomart Transport Interchange (a conglomeration of bus and train stations), where taxis are also readily available. The harbour is a two-minute walk up Queen Street from the Britomart Centre. The Explorer Bus, a hop-on-hop-off service (tel: (0800) 439 756 or (09) 571 3116; website: explorerbus.co.nz), runs from the ferry terminal on Quay Street every half hour from 0900-1600 (October to April), hourly for the rest of the year (see Tours of the City). Tickets are available from the driver, for NZ$30 (one day unlimited use the Explorer Bus). A useful alternative is the bright-red free Circuit Bus (tel: (09) 442 0555; website: www.stagecoach.co.nz) beginning at the Britomart Centre and traveling through the downtown area and to the University.