High Street

High Street. I guess it’s the «shopping mecca» of Central Auckland. However, it always seems a little run down to me — as cardboard and rubbish pie up, waiting for the council to send down the guy on his green bike to first of all assess the damage, then radio back for backup. At least, I imagine that’s how the system works — because sometimes those rubbish piles can get pretty high.
There is a cool little square here — Freyberg Square, named after General Bernard Freyberg, who oversaw the Greek Fiasco in World War 2. So there is a certain element of irony if you get a souvlaki and come up here and eat it. Quite often someone will pour dishwashing liquid in the fountain and bubbles stream all across the square which can be pretty funny, especially if a couple has arrived all decked out in their wedding attire.
There are heaps of bars and clubs on high street, with Rakinos being a cut above the rest and well worth a stop off at — either in the day for a meal, or in the night for a suprisingly eventful boogie.

Queen Street’s successful older sister. Where Queen Street has become an uninteresting line up of chain stores, High Street offers a higher end shopping experience, private merchants with designer clothes, from street ware, to elegant casual, to evening ware, to business attire. Dotted with more coffee and food stops than are probably necessary, it has everything you need for an afternoon of shopping, window shopping, or maybe just people watching. I recommend parking at the south end, it sux having to walk up hill back to your car when you are finished, you know?

I love the vibe on High Street — I was living in Auckland for three years before I discovered it. I wish somebody would have told me earlier that it’s much more interesting than Queen Street. If you like people spotting, you could try the Esquires Coffee shop opposite the Veronica Maine shop. You can chill here with a coffee and nobody really notices. The highlight of the street is unquestionably Unity Books, the best bookstore in the city. I also like the high end charity shop, Trade Aid — there’s some great gift ideas here and it’s all for a good cause. There’s a lot of women’s boutiques and shoe stores but I can’t really comment on them. My sisters are coming to visit me later on in the year and I am looking forward to taking them shopping on this street.

If you’re into shopping, you can happily spend an afternoon trawling High Street.
Think of it as a mini outdoor boutique mall, if you get what I mean — lots of little designer shops and independent retailers selling local and imported brands, with plenty of cafes, bars, restaurants and takeaway places to eat at along the way.
My favourite places on High Street have to be the wonderful Unity Books and the incomparable City Designers Market. Also not to be missed are Tatty’s, Mentatz, and on a nice day, a chill out by the fountain and the dude with the bird on his head in Freyberg Square… check out my High Street list for more details.

High St is one of the better places in Auckland to shop. Running parallel to Queen St, High St is relatively free of chain stores, and instead reflects some of New Zealand’s better known designers. Interspersed between these locally owned stores are small imported designer shops that are a delight to discover.
Whenever I am in town I make sure to have a wander down High St and tend to spend a lot of time in Ruby Boutique and Peter Alexander — they spray some sort of delicious fragrance at the entrance of the store and it entices people inside. Sneaky, but effective.
On Fridays just beside Freyberg Square is a pop-​up store where up-​and-​coming local fashion designers sell their creations. It’s definitely worth making a stop there and picking up one of a kind garments!