Living in Auckland is about being energised, uplifted and involved. There’s a lot going on, especially with the America’s Cup on the horizon once more. No two days are the same. Auckland’s enjoyment-driven lifestyle has been voted amongst the best in the world. In just half an hour you could be almost anywhere - sailing to an island, barbecuing by the beach, teeing off at GulfHarbour, sampling wines at a vineyard or sipping a latté at the café caravan on a wild west coast beach. Auckland’s remarkable landscape makes it easy to flick quickly from one kind of fun to another.

Down at the Viaduct Harbour you can browse the restaurants and bars. Or catch a taxi to the stylish precincts of Parnell, Ponsonby or Newmarket, where fashion and food styles compete for your attention. Local theatre and live music venues are another opportunity to discover the creativity that defines New Zealand culture. Walking expeditions let you explore Auckland at your own pace. The city parks are laced with historic trails that tell the story of Auckland’s early life. And if you take a day trip to an island, walking is often the best way to enjoy the beautiful environment.

Auckland’s lifestyle is intimately tied to the ocean. Every day yachts stream out of the Waitemata Harbour to the gulf beyond. Fast moving runabouts head for their favourite fishing spots. Windsurfers and kite-sailors launch from Mission Bay. Ferries glide past, on their way to Rangitoto, Waiheke and Great Barrier. It’s all excellent nutrition for the soul.

The Regional Growth Strategy predicts that Auckland City's population will increase to more than 400,000 by 2006 and to 475,000 by 2021. By 2050, 580,000 people could live in Auckland City compared to the 1999 population of 381,8000. Approximately 60 per cent of this growth will come from natural increase as opposed to migration.

Auckland has a healthy cultural scene, although the city generates a lot of its own literature, movies and art, which may not always make the international stage. The centre of Auckland cultural life is The Edge, a conglomeration of buildings around the junctions of Queen Street, Wellesley Street West, Albert Street and Mayoral Drive. Auckland Town Hall, Queen Street (tel: (09) 309 2677 for bookings) is an impressively renovated building, with its Great Hall said to have some of the finest acoustics in the world. Behind the Town Hall, the Aotea Centre (tel: (09) 307 5060) has main and small stages, for drama, music, ballet and opera.

Tickets for most events can be booked through Ticketek, at the Aotea Centre (tel: (09) 307 5000).

Music: The Auckland Philharmonia and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra both play at the Town Hall, and there are many other regular classical concerts here. The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra from Wellington also performs in Auckland frequently, usually at the Town Hall or the Aotea Centre. Outdoor concerts are also held regularly in summer in the Auckland Domain.

Theatre: The main venue, with various sized auditoriums, is the Aotea Centre. The beautifully restored Civic Theatre (tel: (09) 309 2677), north of the Town Hall, at the junction of Queen Street and Wellesley Street West, is used for plays and musicals. More modern rock, dance, drama and cabaret performances take place at the Sky City Theatre, corner of Federal and Victoria Streets (tel: (09) 912 6000). Local productions can be seen at the Dolphin Theatre, Spring Street, Onehunga (tel: (09) 636 7322) and the Howick Little Theatre Inc, Lloyd Elsmore Park, Howick (tel: (09) 534 1406).

Dance: Numerous local dance groups include the Auckland Dance Company, and there are regular visits from the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company, whose base is in Wellington. Most performances are given at the Aotea Centre. Black Grace is an all-male dance troupe from the Pacific Islands, while the Pounamu Maori Performance Group give regular displays of Maori song and dance at the Auckland Museum.

Film: The city has numerous cinemas, with the best listings in the daily New Zealand Herald. Most of the mainstream cinemas are along Queen Street, at the junction with Wellesley Street, including the Mid-City Cinema Centre, 239 Queen Street (tel: (09) 302 0277), and the St James Theatre, 312 Queen Street (tel: (09) 377 4241). The main arthouse cinema is the Academy, beneath the city library, 64 Lorne Street (tel: (09) 373 2761). There is also a seven-storey high IMAX screen at Force Entertainment Centre, next to Aotea Square, Queen Street (tel: (09) 979 2400).

The best-known film to come out of Auckland is Jane Campion's hit, The Piano (1993), which was filmed on the nearby west coast beaches. In complete contrast is the 1994 film made of Alan Duff's novel, Once Were Warriors, about the struggle of a poor Maori family in south Auckland.

Cultural events: Opera in the Park in February is a family-orientated concert put on at Auckland Domain. The Pasifika Festival is a festival celebrating Polynesian culture, which takes place in Western Springs each March. The Turangawaewae Regatta happens on the nearest Saturday to 17 March and is a chance to see Maori Dragon Boats in all their finery on the Waikato River, in Ngaruawahia. There are numerous small food, wine and music festivals throughout the year, especially during summer, but the year ends with Christmas in the Park, another family-orientated concert at the Auckland Domain.

Literary Notes
New Zealand rather than just Auckland has several literary figures, although few are known internationally. Perhaps the most famous are Katherine Mansfield, most noted for her short stories, and Janet Frame, whose work deals largely with the emotional crises that she herself experienced. Keri Hulme, of mixed Maori, English and Orkney descent, won the British Booker Prize for Fiction for The Bone People (1983). This experimental work draws on Maori culture and is the bestselling book ever by any living New Zealand author. It is a difficult but ultimately rewarding read.

Maurice Gee was born in Whakatane but went to university in Auckland, subsequently worked there as a teacher and later a librarian, and has set several of his novels in the city. Going West (1994) tells of two friends both born in Auckland but at opposite ends of the social scale, with the death of one prompting the other to investigate that death.