Auckland, NZ

-I'm in a city that stands on the edge of an island facing boldly towards the south Pacific Ocean.

Its sublime location inspires a "head outdoors and enjoy life" atmosphere that prevails all 12 months of the year.

Oh!

And yet.

it delivers an urban experience that you would expect from a major city, with diverse flavors that speak to generations to over a millennia and always with the purpose to make the best of every day.

From beautiful walks in the park to world-class surfing at nearby beaches, I'm in Auckland, New Zealand.

[ Upbeat tune plays ] I'm Samantha Brown and I've traveled all over this world.

And I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and, most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.

That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my places to love.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" is made possible by... -We believe watching the world go by isn't enough.

That's why we climb... ♪♪ ...pedal... and journey beyond the beaten path, on storied rivers, with a goal of making sure that every mile traveled turns into another memory.

You can find out more at amawaterways.com.

-To travel is to live, and at AAA, we've been passionate about travel for over 100 years.

That's why we created AAA Vacations, member travel experiences around the world.

Learn more at AAA.com/LiveTV.

♪♪ -All the untamed beauty of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, experienced on a journey by rail.

♪♪ Rocky Mountaineer, proud sponsor of "Places to Love."

-Auckland is known as the "City of Sails," with one in four Aucklanders owning a boat, which is pretty impressive, since it's the largest city in New Zealand, with a population of a million and a half -- that's a lot of boats!

So much of the action of this city is centered on its harbors, and by that, I mean this action.

-[ Indistinct shouting ] -Oh, wow.

-[ Speaking indistinctly ] -[ Laughs ] [ Indistinct conversations ] ♪♪ -So, we're halfway.

-[ Grunting ] Whew!

I'm heading out into the harbor with Explore Group, where you can experience spectacular views, as well as the hands-on thrill of sailing in a city known for it.

As impressive as the views is this 50-foot monohull with a crew of five and one very special member.

-Well, I'm Peter Lester, and I started sailing when I was 5 years of age down in Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand, and I've been really privileged to have sailed in the America's Cup twice, and now I'm a commentator for Television New Zealand.

-So, when a visitor comes to Auckland, it's so important to get on the water... -Oh, yeah.

-...not just to experience the city from a different perspective, a watery perspective, but also to understand a sport that is literally in your blood.

-Yeah, yeah, and have a taste -- have a taste, and you come out on the Waitemata and... -Taste?

I think I just had the whole entrée right here.

-[ Laughs ] -Oh, my gosh.

[ Laughs ] [ Birds calling ] So, New Zealand, right now -- you are the holders of the America's Cup.

-Correct.

-How many nations have held the cup?

-America held it for 132 years.

-Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

-[ Laughs ] -Sorry.

I'm a little proud.

I'm from New York.

-Well, there you go.

-So, you know... -New York Yacht Club.

But, yeah, America, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland, and New Zealand's been competing in the Cup since 1986.

-What does that mean for this nation and for this city right here?

-When you have a small population, you can actually influence the population very quickly, and they fell in love with the America's Cup.

-So New Zealand has it now, and that means what?

-If you win the Cup, you determine the rules.

The stakes are high.

You win the America's Cup, the economic return, the value of having that right to run the America's Cup is massive.

New Zealand has always, in the America's Cup, been quite creative because of the isolation.

Get on.

Get it done.

Do it our way.

Certainly, in my mind, that's why they won in 2017.

-Title or no, in my mind, Auckland and its beautiful harbor is the place to set sail.

♪♪ -So, you split it open down the middle like that, and I can give you one.

-Ah.

-So, this is the hummus we make.

-Mmm!

-It's got paprika-infused olive oil and crispy chickpeas.

-Lovely.

-Basically, this is kind of your spoon.

You probably already know how to do this.

-Oh.

No.

-You can throw it over.

-Actually, I didn't know that.

-And then... -Okay.

-Hummus is like a meal in itself in Lebanon.

-Oh, my gosh.

-[ Chuckles ] -Yours is velvety smooth.

-It's not really a dip, as people see it, for us.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's more you would just have a plate of hummus and bread.

I'm Samir Allen, and I'm a Lebanese New Zealander.

My people came to New Zealand 130 years ago from a small village in Lebanon called "Bsharri," and Gemmayze Street restaurant is the story of their journey.

[ Sizzling ] -So, Gemmayze Street -- where is that?

-Gemmayze Street is a street in Beirut.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's also an area.

They call it "Gemmayze" -- lots of street art everywhere, people performing on the street, bars, really cool restaurants, so downtown Beirut is very beautiful and classy and like Paris.

-Mm-hmm.

-But then.

Gemmayze Street is like their cool -- where everyone goes to hang out and have a cool -- have a good time.

-So your father was... -My father is Kiwi.

-Your mother is Lebanese.

-Yes.

I basically grew up in Dunedin with my Lebanese side.

My dad's family lived in Auckland.

We saw them quite often.

Is that alright?

-What is that?

That is so good!

[ Both laugh ] -That one there?

-Yeah.

-So, this is like a Lebanese potato salad, which is full of lemon and herbs and radishes and potatoes.

Oh, here we go.

-Oh, my goodness.

Oh.

-Thank you, Daria.

-Oh, wow.

-So we get some hot food now.

So, this is our jeeb menu.

This is our savory part of the jeeb menu.

-"Jeeb" -- what does that mean?

-"Jeeb" -- it just means "bring" in Arabic.

-"Bring," okay.

-I went to a dinner with a big group of my extended family in Lebanon, and my uncle who took us out -- he just kind of went to the waiter, "Jeeb?"

And food just arrived.

There was no menu.

There was menus you can choose, but you know you're going to get hummus, fattoush, tabbouleh.

You're going to get roasted cauliflower.

You're going to get chicken, some sort of shish.

You'll get falafel.

-They'll keep coming.

-The table just goes like this.

-Yeah, okay.

-You know, and it's like... -[ Laughs ] You really do marry the Lebanese with the -- with the New Zealand ingredients.

These seem to pair and meld perfectly together.

-It's food of my nana and my aunties and my mom and everyone with the cooking of my New Zealand training and restaurants kind of vibe, so it's like half of each of me.

-Mm-hmm.

-And it's really... Yeah, so that's why there's photos of my family all over the wall.

It's just showing our history, and we have been here a long time, and we, you know, we're part of New Zealand.

♪♪ -[ Speaking native language ] I'm a descendant of Te Waiohua, and Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland, is my home.

I'm a guide, and I share our stories and our place in terms of our history and our narratives here that make Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland, a rich place to visit.

-When did your people first come to Auckland, first settle here?

-The story that I was told, that we have actually been here for over 1,000 years.

-I met Paora at Auckland Domain, a park that sits above the city, where he gives a tour unlike any other, one that's good for history and your soul.

♪♪ So, where I see a beautiful park and soccer fields, you see a different perspective.

You see where your ancestors not only once were, but you actually see your ancestors amongst us.

-That's right -- we believe that, actually, the environment is us, and we are the environment, and it starts from our creation story, which is around the Sky Father, the Earth Mother, that, once upon a time, they were in each other's warm embrace.

-Mm-hmm.

-And in between their warm embrace and darkness lived their many children, and we believe their children are the personification of the natural environment -- the winds, volcanoes.

We have the sea.

We have the trees and the birds.

They're all personifications of certain deities, so we're born with an inherited mauri, which is life force, and we believe that we are the youngest descendants, living descendants of the Sky Father and Earth Mother, and that with our own intention and purpose and our own mauri, we can actually channel in on the vibration of those life forces of the natural environment.

♪♪ -Right here, we have a very important life force with you and your history and the history of your people in this land.

-Yes, so this tree here is a totara tree, which is a native tree of Aotearoa, New Zealand, and this particular tree was planted by a lady called Princess Te Puia, who was an esteemed leader not only for her people, but for all Maori.

Now, she planted this tree in 1940 to commemorate our ancestors, our loved ones that, once upon a time, lived and thrived in these areas.

-What do you feel like the Maori lesson is for our civilization that we could still learn from?

-We have to remember that, as people, we are sacred, and our environment is sacred, so it's about humbling ourselves to nature and just remembering that, when the environment is unwell, we as humans are unwell, so I believe we need to go back to the values of caring for our Earth, caring for our environment, because when we do that, we actually care for ourselves as humans.

♪♪ ♪♪ -So, what are you doing now?

-I'm squeezing the active ingredient out of the kava powder, and this bag here, it's a very fine strainer so that it will separate out the kavalactones from the rest of the root matter that's in the powder.

-I'm enjoying a little kava and conversation at Four Shells, Auckland City's first kava bar, with owners Todd and Anau Henry.

What is kava?

-It's made from the root of a plant that's -- it was first cultivated in Vanuatu 3,000 years ago, and it's moved across the Pacific from there, so the roots typically are dried and then pounded, pulverized into a powder.

-Oh, wow.

Nice, okay.

Anau, who was born in Tonga and grew up in Auckland, drinks kava in the most traditional way, all at once.

She makes it look easy.

It's not.

-Wow.

That was really tasty.

[ Laughs ] -Wow, so, this goes down really smooth... -Mm-mm.

-...very earthy taste... -Mm.

-And now we feel the effects... -Mm-hmm.

-...which are pretty immediate.

-Mm-hmm.

-Like, I feel my -- my tongue is really numb right now.

-Mm.

-Oh.

Now I feel it in my toes, but drinking kava, I am not under the influence of any drug, alcohol... -Mnh-mnh.

-...nothing, so it's just natural.

This is just a natural feeling.

-Let the kava speak.

-"Let the kava speak."

Living in a big city, there's a lot of feelings of isolation and stress.

Is that another reason of just saying, "Hey, there is another way other than getting caffeinated like this," or than drinking alcohol at night to just kind of put you in a very different state?

-Mm.

-This is somewhere in between.

-It's a space where community is important, connecting with people and feeling like you're part of something.

-Mm-hmm.

Kava has always been a part of Anau's life, a passion that was passed down from her father.

-Having grown up in kava, I love the kava smell.

It just reminds me of childhood, but, also, it reminds me of where I come from, the Tongan community, and it's that idea of me drinking the land that I was born in and that tie back to Tonga.

That's really -- Yeah, it's really something special for me.

-Four Shells refers to just how many coconut shells of kava you should drink to really feel its great vibes.

Okay, just one more.

♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ [ Laughter ] ♪♪ -Oh!

-[ Laughs ] [ Laughs ] -I'm joining the female Rugby League team the Warriors to gain a little more insight, not to mention bruising, into the frenzy behind this sport, and taking time out from drilling me into the turf is Captain Georgia Hale and teammate Kathleen Wharton.

-Kath, when did you start?

-I'm a bit of a dinosaur, so I've been playing a lot longer than Georgia, for about 15 years now.

-This is my fifth season, so I started when I was 18.

-And this is a profession -- You are a professional team.

-Semi-professional at the moment, so we still juggle work, are mothers, you know, still having kids around the clock and everything.

-Wait.

Some of you are mothers?

-Most of our team are mothers, so... -Oh, my gosh.

-Yeah.

There's a lot of sacrifices that girls make to play this game.

When I started playing, there was, yeah, no grades for young girls, and now there is grades for 12s, 14s, 16s, and 18s, so girls can play from the age of 4 right through to our age, so... -The age of 4?

-4, yeah, so cute.

-[ Laughs ] -They play under 6s.

-So, already, you know what my skill level will be with Rugby League if you've seen a 4-year-old play.

One thing I've always wanted to do was be in a scrum.

Like, this whole world that we don't see -- what goes on?

-We basically bind.

We form a scrum.

Ball goes in.

Ball comes out.

It's your ball.

-The person who feeds the fullback -- halfback... -Halfback.

-...feeds it.

-Feeds.

Then collects it from under my legs.

-Comes around.

-Yeah, and picks it up, passes it out to be caught.

-So the same ball I just let go, I'm picking up?

-Kick it there.

[ Laughs ] -Oh!

-[ Laughs ] -Alright.

[ Applause ] Who are the women that make up your team?

-Oh, there's a huge mix of, yeah, different ladies, Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Maori.

-Whoa.

-English, yeah, Cook Islands.

-Cook Islands.

-Yeah.

Everyone brings, you know, a different kind of part to our team, which makes us, I think, a really strong unit.

-Yay!

-You've got rugby, and then there's Rugby League.

-Yeah.

-Are there major differences between the two?

-[ Laughs ] We think yes, but, you know, kind of the same looking footie, but, yeah, a little bit different.

-Much more harder, more... -Physical.

-...more violent.

-Yeah.

♪♪ [ Laughter ] -Sorry!

-[ Speaking indistinctly ] [ Applause ] -Teach her a dropkick.

-You going to try it like 18-all?

-Yeah.

-You can drop-kick it over the post, and it's a point.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -What?!

-Oh!

-Oh!

[ Laughter ] -Take two.

♪♪ [ Laughter ] ♪♪ -Watching rugby, it is just this -- this rough and ready sport, but there's got to be a community and a culture behind it.

-Most definitely, the relationships and bonds that you make are lifetime, and I think, for me, that's the main reason I'm stayed within the sport.

I've made friends that are now family, and we've raised our kids together on the side of the football field, and so the community and the culture in terms of our relationships with each other is probably one of the top things why a lot of our women come back.

-And for one brief moment of Rugby League glory... ♪♪ [ All cheer ] [ Cheers and applause ] ...I was a part of that female community, too.

-[ Laughs ] -Did you catch it?

-Whoo-hoo-hoo!

♪♪ -With Auckland spread across an extinct volcano field, it creates hilly neighborhoods of homes that lead to main thoroughfares of local shops and restaurants.

It is a beautiful sunny day, and I'm heading for an ice cream -- at least, I think I'm heading for an ice cream.

-It's not food.

-What's not food?

-What we do.

It's not food.

-You're not doing food here?

-It's not food.

-It's art.

-I don't know what it is.

♪♪ ♪♪ So, we're going to start from... -That one.

-Alright.

-This one is called "Aotearoa Garden," so it's what is available at the moment in season.

It's beetroot, ginger, and orange.

♪♪ -Oh, my goodness!

-My name is Giapo.

-I am Annarosa.

-12 years ago, we wanted to change how people experience ice cream, and this place was born.

-When you walk into an ice cream shop anywhere in the world, it is familiar.

We see the ice cream flavors on the board.

We see all the flavors in the freezer.

Your experience here -- nothing is familiar.

-We start from the point that we are not selling ice cream, and the people that come here are looking for something that they haven't had anywhere else.

-So I order it, and it's not assembled in front of me.

You actually have a kitchen in the back.

-You're ordering off from the menu, and then the job is left to the chefs in the kitchen that they put it together.

-And you call them chefs.

-They are chefs.

-They are chefs.

-I didn't realize that these were your flavors, even though it says "flavors," because none of the words really remind me of flavors of ice creams.

Even the menu items themselves -- completely different.

-We are coming with another narrative that does not see flavors as the center of the universe of the ice cream world.

-Mm-hmm.

-But we see imagination and ingenuity, two main things and ingredients to take center stage.

-Oh!

-Oh!

-Where does your inspiration come from?

-I think it's clear that what we want to do is change the function of ice cream, so you don't use any more of the ice cream just because you want to lick it.

You don't use this one because you want to lick it, right?

-Yeah.

-There is a big frame here.

It fits a different purpose, to take a photo with your ice cream.

-Uh-huh.

-[ Laughs ] -Having an ice cream scoop on a cone, I didn't think it needed to be improved upon.

But improvement really isn't the point.

What Giapo and Annarosa are doing is taking something we all know and love and giving us an unexpected experience that proves, deliciously, how anything is possible.

[ Laughter ] ♪♪ Even though the natural surrounds of Auckland are quite lovely, getting out of the city and up the coastline will satisfy another part of the wanderlust.

♪♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] Driving here from Auckland, they said, you know, "It's going to take an hour to get there," so you're like, "Oh, an hour outside of the city -- that's not bad," and then the road here and getting here, I mean, this is a really remote place.

-Yeah.

-Do you feel that here, living here?

-Yeah.

No.

It's special.

It's like coming through a time tunnel or something to get here.

-Yes.

Do you consider Auckland the big city?

-Yeah, in New Zealand, it's definitely the big city.

-Mommy didn't forgot about it.

-That's okay.

You guys have to just wait outside for a little bit, okay, and then we're going to go surfing shortly.

All right?

-Do they surf?

-Yeah.

Yeah.

They kind of come and train with us.

-How long have they surfed?

-Aw, since they were little.

-So, when you grow up in Piha, when do you start surfing?

-I'm Gabi Paul, and I've been surfing Piha since I was 5.

-[ Laughs ] -Yeah.

-That's amazing to me.

Oh, my gosh.

-There's not much else there to occupy your time in this small town.

-Yeah.

-I've got photos of my kids surfing in nappies.

-Oh, my gosh.

-Yeah.

-Because when you're young, that young, you're not just learning a sport -- you're going up against an ocean.

-The waves here are good.

They actually wash you into the bay, so you don't disappear off out to sea.

-You teach surfing?

-Yep.

-You surf, compete in surfing, as well?

-Yes.

-And, Gabi, you surf.

-Yeah.

-How old are you?

-I'm 18, just turned 18, yeah.

-And you started surfing when you were 5.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Gabi has represented New Zealand twice in last 2 years, so it's been a blast.

-You represent your country?

-Yeah.

Yeah.

That's why I was in France, and last year, I was in China representing New Zealand for longboarding and won the national title for that this year.

-Why do you love to surf?

♪♪ This is amazing.

You've got a black sand beach.

-Yes.

-Right?

And that's Lion's Head?

-That's Lion Rock.

-Lion Rock.

-Yep.

-Now, being down here right at the water surface... -Yeah.

-...it is really intimidating.

[ Waves crashing ] -For anyone else, I would assume so, but this is pretty normal for me.

It's pretty comforting, really.

Yeah.

-This is comfort.

-Yeah.

-This is totally in your comfort zone.

-Yeah, totally.

-I'm totally out of mine.

So, I know that any good surfer, when they get to a beach, watches the waves first.

-Yeah.

-So I'm going to watch the waves for a little while, and then I just want to maybe see you do a few.

-Yeah.

I'll try and catch a few.

-Yeah, exactly.

-Give you an idea.

-I'll learn from you.

-Yeah, for sure.

-Yeah, that sounds good.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Phil, the surfing teacher, assured me I could get up on a board.

I found the possibility of surfing Piha an irresistible challenge, encouraged even more by a group of exceptional 9-year-olds.

♪♪ ♪♪ -When you're out on the water, there's no rules.

There's no one blowing whistles at you.

There's no lines.

There's no... You're just suddenly free, and you go into a meditation, and you start thinking your own thoughts, and there's a freedom of thought that you develop that I think's particularly healthy.

♪♪ -Whoo!

♪♪ -When you visit Auckland, you'll get great beaches, great landscapes.

The music scene is awesome, and the food is great, and the people are lovely.

-I love Auckland because there are so many different stories just like mine of different cultures arriving to a small, little island.

It's super friendly, super welcoming.

As a traveler, you're going to experience all of that here.

-Oh!

-If you come to New Zealand, you will feel straightaway that there are two things that are different from any other country in the world -- imagination and ingenuity.

-Our values base, they're actually that everybody is sacred, and that's how we will care and respect you as our visitors.

-To me, Auckland, the Waitemata Harbour, the Hauraki Gulf -- they really are special places.

You're very safe here.

The harbor is very usable.

It's clean.

If you get a chance, come down and join us.

-When you get to enjoy people's ancient traditions and modern creativity, when food tells you the history of a place and person, when a country's largest city is big not only in population but in its scope of personal experiences, that is when we share a love of travel, and that's why Auckland, New Zealand, is a place to love.

-For more information about this and other episodes, destination guides, or links to follow me on social media, log on to placestolove.com.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" was made possible by... -We believe watching the world go by isn't enough.

That's why we climb... ♪♪ ...pedal... and journey beyond the beaten path, on storied rivers, with a goal of making sure that every mile traveled turns into another memory.

You can find out more at amawaterways.com.

-To travel is to live, and at AAA, we've been passionate about travel for over 100 years.

That's why we created AAA Vacations, member travel experiences around the world.

Learn more at AAA.com/LiveTV.

♪♪ -All the untamed beauty of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, experienced on a journey by rail.

♪♪ Rocky Mountaineer, proud sponsor of "Places to Love."

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪