One of the great Saturday mornings within reach of Auckland, and one the locals treat as a ritual. Hire a car through our partner SIXT and head north - just under an hour from the CBD, the road delivers you into wine country before you've finished your coffee.

Arrive at the Matakana Village Farmers' Market before 9am if you can. It runs every Saturday from 8am until 1pm, rain or shine, and it's a genuine zero-waste foodie market… the kind that has been feeding Aucklanders' weekend appetites for years. The stalls pull together Whangaripo Valley buffalo cheese, handcrafted Sicilian delicacies, organic garlic, boutique olive oils, Swiss chocolates, and some of the best Vietnamese spring rolls you'll find outside the city - all set to live music beside the river. 

Pick up provisions, then wander the village itself: the Matakana Cinema is an arthouse institution, and the boutiques along the main strip are worth browsing.

From Matakana, it's a six-minute drive east to Ōmaha. Four kilometres of glittering white quartz sand, clear water, and panoramic views stretching to Te Hauturu-o-Toi (Little Barrier Island) - this is where Auckland's in-the-know crowd summers. The medley of retro-chic baches and modern holiday homes gives it a character you won't find at more polished beach resorts. Walk the full length of the beach, swim between the flags (weather dependent!), or grab a table at the Omaha Beach Café & Eatery with your market spoils. At low tide, the rock pools at the southern end are worth a detour.

If time allows on the way back, pull in at Brick Bay - a working vineyard with a 2km sculpture trail winding through native bush alive with kahikatea, nikau palms, and tūī, showcasing large-scale works by New Zealand's leading contemporary artists. The Glass House restaurant cantilevers over a shimmering lake and is one of the better lunch spots in the region - book ahead. Or stop at the Sculptureum, where three sculpture gardens and six galleries span over 800 works from local and international artists, anchored by a 14-acre award-winning vineyard and the Rothko restaurant.

This is the one the locals keep for themselves. Hire a car through our partner SIXT and head west - 45 minutes from the CBD through the ancient Waitākere Ranges, the road opens onto Piha's black-sand beach, flanked by dramatic basalt cliffs and backed by native bush. Swim between the flags (if you dare this winter), walk up to Lion Rock for the view, and stop at the Piha Store for a flat white on the way back. It's unlike anywhere else on earth.