Auckland is a city of skyscrapers and cedar masts, a place where the high-gloss world of international business meets the cobalt embrace of the Hauraki Gulf. And it’s the next stop on our around-the world adventure.

New Zealand’s seasons are famously temperamental. Technically, the calendar says summer, but the air begs to differ. It’s a hoodie-and-shorts kind of weather.

It’s been a minute

We made a few changes to our newsletter. We’ve merged Elliott Advocacy and Elliott Confidential into a single newsletter called Elliott Confidential. Our Substack newsletter (the one you’re reading) will exclusively feature our podcast. You can also subscribe to our new YouTube channel.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

The jacarandas are in full, explosive bloom, painting the streets in a hazy lilac that makes the city feel like an impressionist painting. But there’s still that sharp, Antarctic-derived chill in the morning that reminds you that you’re on an island at the edge of the world.

Jacarandas blooming near our apartment in Auckland. It’s lavender overload!

We spent the mornings wandering the Viaduct Harbor, where luxury yachts the size of small destroyers bob in the harbor, their hulls polished to a mirror finish. But Auckland has a funny way of checking its own ego. Just as you’re admiring an overpriced vessel, you hit the Wynyard Crossing. This pedestrian bridge is the city’s favorite comedy of errors—it always seems to be broken for repairs.

A sailboat in the Hauraki Gulf. This one did not compete in the Grand Prix.

The waterfront isn’t just for the elite, though. Beneath the shadow of the masts, you’ll find the real Auckland. Local kids on rental scooters weave through the tourists, their portable speakers blaring a mix of Pasifika hip-hop and chart-toppers. This is the stage for the Sailing Grand Prix, an event that has transformed the harbor into a high-stakes, wind-powered arena. It’s fast, it’s loud, and it’s surprisingly gritty for a sport usually associated with blue blazers and gin-and-tonics.

Aren with his prized kumara sourdough bread from Amano. Wait until you see what his brother does with this bread in the podcast.

If Auckland has a spiritual home, it might be the bread oven at Amano. Travel, for us, is defined by the quest for the perfect loaf, and we found it in their kumara sourdough. Kumara is the native New Zealand sweet potato, and when it’s folded into a fermented dough, something magical happens. The crust is dark and caramelized, while the inside is soft, purple-hued, and slightly sweet. We usually try to avoid processed carbs, but for this bread, we would fly another 18 hours.

Jet lag is the tax you pay for visiting Auckland, and we were deep in the red. Our salvation was the Espresso Workshop in Britomart. New Zealanders take their coffee with a religious intensity, and the “long black” here is a sacrament. I ordered a triple-shot that smelled like old leather and dark chocolate. I told Iden that if this didn’t wake me up, I’d likely need CPR. Luckily, it did the trick, jolting me back to life.

There’s a beautiful slowness to Auckland, especially during the summer holidays. Of course, that tempo extends to the infrastructure—we arrived just as the entire train network shut down for renovations. But even in the disruption, there’s progress. The “tap-to-pay” system is a dream for travelers. No more hunting for “AT Hop” cards; you just tap your credit card and hop on a bus. It’s a preview of a frictionless future in a city that still values its heritage.

No, wait. This is how we’ll always remember Auckland. It’s just missing a few hobbits.

This is our third visit in three years, and people often ask why we keep coming back to the same harbor. The answer is in the podcast: it’s the way the light hits the water in the afternoon, the smell of the sourdough, and the feeling that you’re always just one boat ride away from an adventure.

But the clock is ticking on our stay. Next, we’re heading south to Wellington to see if the coffee there can truly compete with Auckland’s best. Stay tuned.

We’d love to hear your comments. As always, we’ll read them on a future podcast.

Leave a comment

Sailboats, sourdough, and the salty soul of…