Judith Bishell is waiting at Auckland airport, settles us in and takes us around town.

We have settled into Judy Bishell’s IMMACULATE home where we spread the contents of our luggage — we already realize that we have brought too many of the wrong clothes — like exploded shrapnel across every surface of one bedroom, and spread all our other stuff in another bedroom. Her house is surrounded by a brick walkway and beautiful garden. Tomato vines and passion fruit vines are espalierated against one wall.

After months of drought, Auckland is now drenched with days of steady rain so the volcanic hills and numerous wide public parks are brilliant green. Judy drives us up, down and around this hilly city to Tamaki Drive, the harbor road that leads us to Achilles Point, the southern promontory of the east harbor (its name commemorates a NZ battleship). Through intermittent rain, we see islands in the mist straight ahead and, to our left, central Aukland’s needle tower and shipyard cranes. A nude swimmer comes ashore far below us onto Ladies Bay beach.

Judy drives us north on Tamaki to Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour, site of the 2000 and 2003 Americas Cups, where yachts the size of small destroyers dwarf the 50-footers birthed next to them. Still in a drizzle, we walk across a footbridge to Wynyard Quarter, the happening new home of bars and restaurants and some interesting architecture (sample photo to come).

Toward mid-afternoon Judy drives us to Bastion’s Point where Maori fields surround the mausoleum of Michael Savage, NZ’s first Labour Prime Minister (not coincidentally also the first major official to advocate for Maori land ownership).

Judy drives us up, down and around Auckland’s many volcanic hills to her home where we dine on lamb, a Villa Maria Reserve and an Aussie 2014 Penfolds Bin 23 (see wine pages for reviews) while we watch a Tui (white spot on throat) eat pears from a tree in Judy’s garden.