The sun rises over the Auckland skyline. Photo / Jason Oxenham
As Wellington's marketing team claim the capital is a better city than Auckland, Travel Editor (and Hurricanes-supporting Aucklander) Winston Aldworth looks at the pair from a tourism perspective.
WEATHER
Wellington: It's true: You can't beat Wellington on a good day! It's the other 364 days of the year that are problematic.
4/10
Auckland: Nestled on the edge of the subtropics and the sub-Antarctic, Auckland gets its fair share of squalls, but it can reasonably claim to have easier winters, better summers and fewer screaming weatherbombs. 7/10
Verdict: Easy points for the Queen City. AUCKLAND
MUSEUMS
Wellington: Te Papa – likened to a pinball arcade, the national museum still gets it just right for the big events and exhibitions. 8/10
Auckland: A more classical environment, but still with modern flourishes and a noisy pit for the kids. More could be made of the city's links with Polynesia and how come there's not a vast room of Sir Edmund Hillary artefacts? 6/10
Verdict: Very much a case of old school versus new school, with the new taking the edge. WELLINGTON
MAUNGA
Wellington: Mt Victoria offers nice views, but there's not much else. 7/10
Auckland: From Mt Eden, to Maungakiekie, Mt Albert and beyond – the big town has the bigger views and the recent emphasis on walking up the slopes is a fabulous development. 9/10
Verdict: Points to the north. AUCKLAND
WEIRD TOURIST ODDITY
Wellington: The cable car serves no discernable purpose (yet people still ride the thing). It's a clanking reminder not so much of Wellington's rich urban heritage, as their eagerness to cling to urban heritage. 6/10
Auckland: The Sky Tower is, by the standard of weird buildings sitting on top of ugly casinos, kind of beautiful. It also has the X-factor of being the thing you subconsciously look for as your plane nears home at the end of a long trip. Nice restaurants around it, too. 8/10
Verdict: A towering victory. AUCKLAND
BEACHES
Wellington: Oriental Parade and the misleadingly titled Scorching Bay are pretty enough, and local surfers like Lyall Bay. But with icy chill in the waters, this is never going to be a capital strong suit. 5/10
Auckland: This should be an easy one for Auckland – with gems like Cheltenham and Pt Chevalier near the CBD, and Piha an hour's drive away. But when beautiful beaches are so easily fouled by raw poo leaking into the ocean, points are lost. 7/10
Verdict: Auckland, hindered by its incontinence problem, should have won by more. AUCKLAND
RESTAURANTS
Wellington: The annual Wellington on a Plate festival does a great job of promoting the capital's culinary charms. It's long been a treasure trove for lovers of good Malaysian food. 8/10
Auckland: Viva restaurant reviewer Jesse Mulligan says: "No New Zealand city can compare with Auckland's size, talent, and economic heft. But a handful of Wellington restaurants are as good as anything further north (or indeed overseas). I'd take Wellington for a week, Auckland for a lifetime of good eating." 9/10
Verdict: A victory to dine out on for the northern capital. AUCKLAND
CAFES
Wellington: If Wellingtonians didn't invent the flat white, they certainly invented the art of claiming they invented the flat white. 9/10
Auckland: There is gold to be found among the cafes of Auckland - the city was recently named as one of the three greatest coffee towns in the world by Lonely Planet. But there are some too-hot-flat-white shockers, as well. 8/10
Verdict: This is one where, over many generations, the rough weather of Wellington has given the city's inhabitants the edge. You'd rather be inside perfecting a good coffee than outside chasing your umbrella. WELLINGTON
AIRPORTS
Wellington: A beautiful building, shame we can't fly longhaul from there. 6/10
Auckland: The rebuild drags on and the traffic can be a nightmare, but at least proper planes can land here and there are nice harbour views. 6/10
Verdict: Honours even, in a category Auckland should dominate. DRAW
THE HOBBIT FACTOR
Wellington: Infested with Tolkien-themed merchandise. 3/10
Auckland: One of the few places in New Zealand that is mercifully free of Hobbiternalia. 8/10
Verdict: No nasty hobbitses here. AUCKLAND
HOTELS
Wellington: They've got a QT hotel and the new Sofitel is nice, but they're short of a proper five-star pad. 6/10
Auckland: There are some nice properties here, but the big city is still short of beds and there are too many commercial digs, not enough boutique. 6/10
Verdict: A mixed bag. DRAW
SPORT
Wellington: Close to town but the wrong shape for rugby, the Cake Tin is, nonetheless, a gazillion times better than watching anything at Eden Park. 7/10
Auckland: This is the only population in the world daft enough to turn down an offer to have a waterfront stadium paid for by taxpayers from everywhere else. The only redeeming feature of Eden Park is that the All Blacks don't know how to lose there. 3/10
Verdict: Full credit to the opposition. WELLINGTON
BEER
Wellington: If you like beer, get on a plane and fly to Wellington immediately. 10/10
Auckland: You've come a long way in the craft beer stakes, Auckland. But there's still a long way to go. 6/10
Verdict: Craft beer is still not quite a thing people travel for (compared with, say, wine), meaning the capital city's beer scene still feels suitable boutique and tucked away. We love it. WELLINGTON
TOTAL SCORE: 83-79. Nice try southerners, Auckland still has the edge.
