Auckland in 3 days

Waiheke Island (the most popular day trip from Auckland — a 35-minute car ferry from the Downtown Ferry Terminal in the Viaduct: the 92 sq km island in the Hauraki Gulf (the inner harbor of Auckland): the most striking feature of Waiheke is its abrupt transformation from Auckland's largest urban satellite island (8,000 permanent residents) to a Mediterranean-feeling landscape of vineyards, olive groves, sandy beaches and pohutukawa-lined bays. The island is best known for its premium wines (the Waiheke Bordeaux-blend Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot, grown in the warm, dry micro-climate that the island enjoys (significantly warmer and drier than the Auckland mainland), and the Rosé made from the same varieties).

Mudbrick Vineyard (Church Bay Road, Waiheke — the winery with the finest view and the most acclaimed restaurant on the island: the terrace above the Hauraki Gulf with the Auckland CBD visible 35km away, the vineyard in the foreground (the vines of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot planted in the Bordeaux tradition in the warm Waiheke clay-loam soils), and the Mudbrick Restaurant (the tasting menu using vegetables from the kitchen garden, lamb and beef from the island farms, and the Mudbrick wines). The Mudbrick Bordeaux blend is the most prized wine produced in New Zealand outside the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and Hawke's Bay Syrah.

Onetangi Beach (the longest and most beautiful beach on Waiheke Island — 2km of white sand on the northern coast (facing the Hauraki Gulf): the beach is famous for the clear, warm-ish water (the Gulf is warmer than the ocean beaches of the Auckland mainland, swimmable comfortably from November to March), the shell-strewn sand and the pohutukawa trees (the New Zealand Christmas tree — the pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) blooms in crimson flowers from December to January, the most characteristic tree of the New Zealand coastal landscape, ancient gnarled trees that hang over the cliffs and beaches throughout Waiheke).

Sidart (283 Ponsonby Road — the most acclaimed fine dining restaurant in Auckland, chef Sid Sahrawat's contemporary New Zealand cuisine: a tasting menu that uses the full range of New Zealand ingredients (the Otago lamb, the Hauraki Gulf snapper, the Canterbury beef, the Marlborough scallops, the Ohakune carrot (the most prized carrot-growing region in New Zealand), the manuka honey (the monofloral honey from the manuka bush (Leptospermum scoparium) — the most internationally recognized New Zealand food product, with significant antibacterial properties)).

Maungawhau (Mount Eden — the 196m volcanic cone directly south of the Auckland CBD, the highest natural point in Auckland and the most easily accessible of the 53 volcanic cones of the Auckland volcanic field: the summit crater (the bowl-shaped depression at the top — the perfectly formed summit crater of the extinct volcano, 50m deep and 170m across, entirely grass-covered — is a sacred site for Māori (the mountain is the home of the ancestor Maungawhau) and the climb is on the surrounding slopes only, not inside the crater). The 360° view from the summit: the Auckland CBD skyscrapers to the north, the Manukau Harbour to the south, the Waitemata Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf (with Rangitoto Island in the distance) to the east, and the Waitakere Ranges (the native bush and black sand beaches of the West Coast) to the west.

Auckland Harbour Bridge (the 1959 eight-lane road bridge spanning the Waitemata Harbour from the CBD to the North Shore — the most iconic structure in Auckland: the bridge bungee experience (AJ Hackett Bungy — the original commercial bungee jump company, founded by New Zealanders Henry van Asch and AJ Hackett who made the first modern commercial bungee jump from the Auckland Harbour Bridge in 1987 (the year after their famous illegal jump from the Eiffel Tower) — the jump from the underside of the bridge, 40m above the Waitemata Harbour). Also: the Auckland Harbour Bridge Climb (the guided bridge climb to the top of the arch — the finest view of the Auckland CBD and Waitemata Harbour from the 64m summit of the arch).

Cazador (854 Dominion Road, Mt Eden — the most distinctive restaurant in Auckland: the husband-and-wife small restaurant that serves New Zealand wild game (the venison, the wild boar, the rabbit, the hare — all hunted wild in the New Zealand bush) with natural wines (the New Zealand natural wine movement is the most dynamic in the Southern Hemisphere: the skin-contact Pinot Gris from Central Otago, the volcanic-soil Chardonnay from Gisborne, the Syrah from Hawke's Bay). The Cazador restaurant is small (20 seats), frequently full and one of the most acclaimed in Auckland.

Māori hangi (the traditional Māori earth-oven feast — the hangi (pronounced "hung-ee"): the food (lamb, chicken, potato, kumara (the Māori sweet potato — introduced to New Zealand from Polynesia by the first Māori migrants around 700 years ago, now the most important traditional Māori crop)) is wrapped in leaves, placed in baskets and lowered into the hangi (a pit containing hot volcanic rocks), covered with soil and left to steam for 3–4 hours. The distinctive hangi flavor (the earth-steam-mineral taste from the volcanic rock) is unlike any other cooking method. Accompanied by the kapa haka performance (the Māori performing arts: the haka (the war dance and greeting performed by the All Blacks before every rugby match), the poi (the weighted balls on string swung in patterns by women performers), and the waiata (traditional songs)).