One of our days in Auckland was spent in the company of two bright and delightful young women, Melissa Crockett and Michelle Roberts of Potiki Tours. They create tours which provide visitors urban, cultural and active adventures through their unique perspective as Maori descendants in the modern culture. The first part of the day was spent exploring the Ponsonby Road area of the city, certainly one of the trendiest and most vibrant parts of town. Melissa has a strong arts background, so we began with visits to a couple of the many art galleries in the area and viewed the work of contemporary New Zealand artists and some intriguing craft and design art as well. From there we began our stroll of a mile or so down Ponsonby Road. Melissa lived in the area for several years as it was morphing from a rather run-down section of town into its present-day identity as a gentrified but lively and eclectic scene. She provided us with some of the history of Auckland and this area in particular while pointing out some of the impressive historic buildings (including the Ponsonby Post Office which is now a great pub with the original architecture intact). For shoppers, Ponsonby offers a bit of everything. From high-end boutiques featuring internationally recognized New Zealand designers to an independent record shop offering vintage vinyl and the latest CDs, from home design and cookware to bookshops and jewelry stores, one can find just about anything here to fit a broad range of budgets and interests. But this is not just some touristy shopping district or rarefied enclave. Part of the Ponsonby appeal is that it is also clearly a place where the locals live, work and shop, too. There were corner markets, delis, dry cleaners and coffee shops sprinkled all up and down the street. And one certainly needn’t worry about going hungry here. Melissa and Bianca were constantly pointing out both the well-known and the more anonymous-but-nevertheless-great eateries on both sides of the street. I liked the fact that Burger Fuel, offering a wide range of food for every lifestyle — vegetarian, gluten-free, etc. — coexisted with Murder Burger (the name says it all — all meat, no veggie burgers here – served up with an irreverent sense of humor; check out their website!) just a few blocks up. Restaurants covered every ethnic niche imaginable; and hot nightspots, casual coffee joints, delectable bakeries and a chocolatier were pointed out to us as well. The short remainder of my stay in Auckland did not afford me the opportunity to personally check out any of those (except, of course, for Devonport Chocolates), but we did enjoy a three-course lunch specially prepared for us at Sidart. This fine-dining restaurant, which seats only about 40 diners, boasts a small balcony with a view of downtown Auckland and the Sky Tower. Chef Sid Sahrawat presented a lovely meal, and it was easy to see why he and his restaurants (he also heads the larger and highly regarded The Grove here) are thought of so well. This insider’s tour of Ponsonby was only the first half of our time spent with Potiki Tours. Our special afternoon meeting with a Maori artist in tomorrow’s blog. — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor