Auckland is a region of New Zealand, and the largest metropolitan area, and the biggest population nucleus in the South Pacific. Although Wellington is the capital, the city of Auckland is the most important. It lies on a narrow isthmus, which separates two natural ports, Manukau, which opens to the Tasmanian Sea, and Waitemata, which opens to the Gulf of Hauraki in the Pacific Ocean, to the east. The metropolitan area of Auckland extends from the Bombay Hills to the south, and to the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, to the north.

The main features of the city are the beautiful silhouette of the bridge, the brilliant waters of the two bays, Waitemata and Manukau, and the cone of the island of Rangitoto, the last of the volcanoes of the city to erupt, only 600 years ago. Among the city’s museums are the Auckland Museum, which exhibits a complete collection of culture and of Maori objects, and the Maritime Museum at Hobson’s Wharf, which, facing the sea, explores more than a thousand years of New Zealand’s marine history. The Kelly Tarlton Underwater World & Antarctic Encounter offers one of the impressive views of the underwater world that you can see anywhere. In the Hauraki Gulf, on the shores of Auckland, lie innumerable islands, some only minutes away from the city.

The city’s climate is temperate, with warm, wet summers and mild winters. The average temperature in January and February is 23ºC, while in July it is 13ºC. The highest ever recorded temperature is a modest 30,5ºC. There are frequent rains all year round (more than 1000 mm per year), especially abundant in winter.