From volcanic views to secret pies: finding Auckland's deep soul in just four days

Mount Eden - Maungawhau - has not erupted for 28,000 years, my guide Ceillhe Sperath tells me, sensing my trepidation. It is bitterly cold, but I ask if we can stay 10 minutes longer, transfixed by the feeling of freedom and the depth of view. The path is crowded, but all noise is lost in the void below us. It is almost silent. Remarkably, it is just 15 minutes from my hotel.

I'm on a private half-day tour through Auckland city with TIME Unlimited Tours, visiting such sites as Auckland Domain, the gorgeous Tamaki Drive leading to Mission Bay and the All Blacks Experience. Tours can be customised according to what each client hopes to see, Ceillhe tells me - my interests are prioritised on our five-hour "girls trip".

At the top of Takaparawhau, or Bastion Point, Ceillhe encourages me to sit for a while. To, quite literally, smell the flowers. Snapdragons and bees abound at my feet. The subtle gear change makes Auckland appealing as a long weekend destination. Just a few hours to get here, and the same language, food and, for the most part, road rules, will follow you over the Tasman.

But the pace of this North Island city is slower than home, in part because Maori culture is deeply embedded in day-to-day life. "Everyone has a mountain," Ceillhe says. It is a way of orienting and introducing yourself. I'm rejuvenated by the interconnectedness of people and place here; that theme guides my time here, meeting clever people driven by their passions.

"You're going to love this place. It's very special," Ciellhe says as we pull up to Blue Rose Cafe in the outer suburb of Sandringham. Pies and pastries line the window display shelves, but there's little else about the exterior to make one stop. The secret, I realise, is that this is a distinctly local joint. The boil-up pie is sensational. It's succulent with a flaky crust and pairs perfectly with the island plate, which includes pork belly, ika mata (a dish made mostly of raw fish) and taro. Owner Robbie Kainuku runs the cafe with partner Lenny Stevens, whose iwi, or tribe, is Ngati Porou. Robbie has mastered this pie recipe, and the vibe of a good time too: staff are dancing in the kitchen, children are running through the shop.

Auckland's rhythm becomes clearer on my second day as I take the 40-minute ride on the Fuller360 ferry to Waiheke Island. It is a gentle journey, with several tiny islands to look at on the way. I am picked up by Steve Robinson of Ananda Tours, who has lived on the island for 20 years with about 9000 other permanent residents. That Steve loves the island is clear in each olive grove he points out, each intergenerational sheep farm we stop at. During conversations in tiny convenience stores and at stops for wine and whisky, everyone knows him. I feel welcomed to the island by extension.

A career writing music for film and television has made Steve well-equipped to chat with the island's creatives. Timmy Smith, a jewellery and tea maker, understands the importance of place more than most. I thumb her intricate silversmithing, inspired by her Te Upokorehe and Whakatohea iwi, as she explains the hundreds of bottles of sand that decorate the shelves of her shop. Grains from beaches near and far, driveways, and the deep red hues of Australian deserts are stored in vials after she has created artworks for clients, embedding sand from places of significance in stunning pieces of jewellery, starting at about $70. "Every piece has a story. That's what's special," Timmy says. She also makes iced tea - my favourite is the hibiscus flavour - and she ties a pack in lavender-soaked string for me to bring home.

Further up the island, huge cliffs give way to crystal clear waters and the rolling hills beyond. The house of Claude and Gabriella Lewenz, nestled within these hills, is perhaps the stand out of my trip. Overlooking the coastline, the exterior of the Italianate-style home is bathed in burnt yellow. A central courtyard is its focal point, along with a huge, open-plan kitchen. An abstract painter, Gabriella, originally from Greece and here via New York, thinks in light. The natural beauty of Waiheke inspires much of her practice. She moves from the studio with all its doors open out to the large cottage garden, where she shows me seedlings, planted in May for spring, and tiny new leaves on a lemon tree. We rub lavender between our fingers as we walk.

"I used to be a very monochromatic painter back in New York and colour just started to come into my palette when I moved [to Waiheke]," Gabriella says. "You have to learn how to work colour. Colour is light." Gabriella has lived on the island for nearly 30 years. I later ask Steve if that makes her a local. "I think so," he says. "I think 25 years does."

Though I am hopelessly full from the food and drink of Waiheke (I recommend Soho family vineyards and the Dyad Peat and Port from Waiheke Whisky), I find another stomach once back on the mainland. Auckland is oozing with upmarket food options. Kingi, located in the Britomart precinct, offers an array of sustainable seafood. The squid ink tagliatelle is buttery, slightly spicy, and ever so fresh. At Our Land Bar in the Cordis hotel, where I am staying, I enjoy fish pie and whisky cocktails with local manuka honey.

But it is the taste from dishes at MASU by Nic Watt that I wish could linger in my mouth forever. The Japanese-style menu takes the best of Auckland's seafood and produce to an elevated level. I particularly enjoy the yaki burokkorini (grilled broccolini, almond miso and shichimi), kani maki roll (soft shell crab, avocado, mango, coriander, takuan and mayonnaise), and the chef's special octopus. Dishes are served on stones, ice-filled plates and intricate china. Cocktails are a production in themselves.

A musician plays the violin softly, as if only for himself, as I leave the restaurant. I am struck by how this city feels just like home and entirely new all at once. I decide the best way to get a final look at it is through walking. I move through Ponsonby - known for upmarket boutiques and op-shopping - to Domain Wintergardens and along the viaduct before settling into a bath at Cordis. Though I am tired, I am stunned by how much I have seen in four days.

The writer was a guest of Tataki Auckland Unlimited