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Round & About the City & South

*Te Taura Herenga o Te Ao**

Over 70 per cent of visitors to New Zealand arrive at Auckland Airport in Manukau. Manukau is ‘Where New Zealand Welcomes the World*’.

The City area is the location for many of Manukau’s main visitor attractions including the Auckland Botanic Gardens in Manurewa - over 10,000 plants and 65 hectares of parkland. The Botanic Gardens are a delight to visit at any time of the year.

Just a 3 minute drive from the airport will take you to Butterfly Creek with its tropical butterfly house – and right next door is Treasure Island Adventure Golf.

A 10 minute drive north takes you to the magnificent setting of Villa Maria Winery and Vineyard Park. Tours of the winery take place daily at 11am and 3pm.

But one of Manukau’s best loved attractions has to be Rainbow’s End. Opened in 1982, it is still New Zealand’s only theme park and a firm family favourite. It has appeal even if you don’t have children! Rainbow’s End is pure New Zealand – give it a go - have some fun!

Opposite Rainbow’s End is TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre - Manukau’s new iconic entertainment and meeting complex. The venue is built and themed in the shape of a waka, celebrating the journeying of peoples to Manukau.
The stories of these journeys are depicted in the intricate carvings of Pou Kapūa standing adjacent to TelstraClear Pacific.

Manukau Central is the most ethnically diverse area of Manukau. Around 50 per cent of the population are of either Māori or Pacific Island descent but many other cultures are represented.

Around March each year, the world’s largest schools’ cultural performing arts festival takes place with performances from Māori, Cook Islands, Niue, Samoan and Tongan groups competing for top honours. Recently Indian, Korean, Chinese and Sri Lankan performances have been introduced.

The real multicultural melting pot is early Saturday mornings at the Otara markets. Thought to be the largest Māori and Polynesian market in the world, the stalls overflow with exotic fruit, vegetables and everyday goods.

At the other end of the scale from Otara Markets is the sophistication of Botany Town Centre; a major New Zealand’s retail development - a synthesis of town planning, landscape and retail design – a hub of over 150 stores with entertainment – and with New Zealand’s most luxurious movie multiplex at Berkeley Cinemas.