36 hours in Auckland

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HIDDEN TREATS: Auckland has a lot to offer.

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Immersing yourself in all Auckland has to offer can lead to unexpected surprises.

Friday, 8.30AM: "You've  been working hard and need  a break," says Must Be Obeyed. "We're all packed."  Resistance to MBO is useless  and 30 minutes into the  magical mystery tour we  check in to the Crowne Plaza  Auckland in downtown  Albert St. What a sweet spot!  It's right in the middle of  everything, has just been  refurbished and my bed  (with a choice of four types  of pillow) looks very inviting.  There's no time to rest  though because the ferry to  Waiheke leaves at 10am. I  hustle down to the Fullers  terminal feeling like a tourist  in my own town. Odd feeling,  but good.

10.45am: I usually hate guided tours but this one is great. Ananda Tours' immaculate mini-bus is very comfy and the driver's commentary is knowledgeable, with no crummy jokes. We head east across the island, which has changed impressively from being a hippie haven - who knew, for instance, that there are now customised food and wine tours? First stop is extra virgin olive oil producer Rangihoua Estate, where we look out at the groves, inspect an Italian pressing machine and sample award-winning oils. My favourite is Picuala, which tastes of watercress and apples and tomatoes.

11.45am: "The grapes for the '08 chardonnay were picked from a vineyard at the bottom of the hill," says Tony Forsyth of Te Whau Vineyard, gesturing out from the deck of his acclaimed restaurant at a landscape that might have been painted by Brueghel. (No sign of Icarus but the vines are certainly there.) We're here for a tasting and the chardonnay, The Point Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec '06 and Te Whau Syrah '08 are all reminders of what really superb wines taste like.

1.30m: Lunch at Cable Bay Vineyards. I order half a dozen Te Matuku Bay oysters (plump, sweet, oceanic, yummy) which are farmed at the eastern end of the island. After a glass of Cable Bay Rose (made from merlot grapes) I sip away at a Cable Bay Gewurztraminer '08 with a terrine of free- range chicken, foie gras, prune and leek. The restaurant's handsome, dark-plastered spaces are filled this Friday lunchtime with diners tucking into springtime asparagus and I think how incredibly inviting the restaurant must also be in midwinter when the sou'westerlies are howling. I'll drink to that.

7pm: Molecular gastronomy cocktails - or "techno-emotional" as the preferred term now is - are all the rage at the Crowne Plaza's Aria Lobby Bar on Friday nights. I watch as the barman first makes me an apple martini and then a peach martini, each with little pearls of apple or peach "caviar" - this is fun! MBO steers me off to dinner at the Crowne Plaza's Aria Restaurant before techno-emotional turns into tired and emotional. After perfectly cooked "blue" Angus Pure steak and frites matched with Hardy's Oomoo Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, I hit the four pillows in my comfy bed.

Saturday, 9.30am: I eat lightly (good pastries selection!) at the Crowne Plaza's breakfast buffet because MBO has let slip what's coming. I have a deathly fear of heights and even a visit to the observation deck of the Sky Tower to photograph MBO doing alarming things gives me the cold shivers. MBO does a funny little victory dance after completing the Sky Jump and then, securely tethered on a narrow aerial ledge 192m up the tower, does the Sky Walk. My photos come out shaky. Oh well.

12.30pm: I am in Europe - or a very clever evocation of it. Elliott Stables Epicurean Village, a quick zip down in the lift to Elliot St from the hotel, is an elegant collection of food and beverage outlets, with everything from specialist whisky and chocolate shops to sushi, bruschetta, French crepes and tapas cafes. We finally decide on big bowls of green- lipped mussels served in a fragrant broth at El Faro - and since we're in "Spain", Estrella Damm beer.

2pm: MBO disappears off to a matinee of Mamma Mia! at the nearby Aotea Centre and since I've already seen the show in Melbourne I do some reading on the chaise longue in my room and hit the four pillows for a nana nap.

6pm: More drinks in the Crowne Plaza's lobby bar and then into a cab to Soul Bar and Bistro at Viaduct Harbour. I now have a new favourite restaurant! Soul is packed tonight, with Madonna's Celebration album pumping away on the sound system, adding to the happy buzz. We tuck into a dozen oysters, this time from Mahurangi, followed by chargrilled big-eye tuna and then orange creme brulee with plenty of Peregrine '08 Pinot Gris. Tomorrow morning, after another snooze with the four pillows, it's back to reality - but with a new perspective on my home town. Who knew?

Fact file

Where to stay: Crowne Plaza Auckland,  128 Albert St,  www.crowneplaza.co.nz What to do: Ananda Tours, Waiheke  Island,  www.ananda.co.nz  Rangihoua Estate, 1  Gordons Rd, Rocky Bay,  Waiheke Island,  www.rangihoua.co.nz Te Whau Vineyard, 218 Te  Whau Drive, Waiheke  Island, www.tewhau.com Cable Bay Vineyards, 12  Nick Johnstone Drive,  Waiheke Island,  www.cablebayvineyards.co.nz Sky Jump and Sky Walk,  Sky Tower,  www.skyjump.co.nz,  www.skywalk.co.nz Elliott Stables, 39-41  Elliott St,  www.elliottstables.co.nz Soul Bar & Bistro,  Viaduct Harbour,  www.soulbar.co.nz How to get to Waiheke: Fullers, www.fullers.co.nz

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