Jim Eagles: Sharing our sense of place

One of the great things about having friends or relations from overseas coming to stay is that you get a chance to show them New Zealand.

In part that's because this is a beautiful country and it's a source of great pride to see the enthusiastic response of tourists to sights we sometimes take for granted.

But it's also because taking visitors around provides a good excuse for catching up with all your special places, including some that locals may not like to admit to enjoying.

For instance, how often do you go to the Auckland Museum? I tend to take its majestic presence for granted. But whenever I take people there I never cease to be amazed by how good it is.

Similarly, although Kiwis often sneer at Rotorua, I continue to find the place fascinating. I lived in Rotorua for a year some time back, and I must have taken a dozen groups of visitors there over the years, but I still like going back.

The thermal area at Whakarewarewa with its bubbling pools and seething springs is always incredible, I never fail to be stirred by a Maori concert party and I can't help enjoying the hangi meals they churn out for tourists.

On top of that, if I do act as tour guide, I can guarantee to astound visitors by showing them the Lake Tarawera outlet, where the river disappears underground and then emerges out of the side of a cliff.

However, when foreigners come calling these days, especially if it's just a day-trip, I mostly show off my home town of Devonport.

A good start is a walk up the top of North Head, Maunga-a-Uika, to see the beautiful Waitemata Harbour, preferably on a day when there are plenty of yachts around.

As a bonus you can also drag your guests down into the tunnels to enjoy the mysterious caverns, the giant disappearing gun, the legends of hidden planes and, depending on the visitors, maybe a bit of scaring in the dark.

Devonport also offers some real gems:

* A walk on Cheltenham Beach (foreigners mostly love our beaches).

* A pint at the Masonic Hotel and maybe another at New Zealand's oldest cricket club, North Shore, at one of the loveliest grounds, Devonport Domain, if it's a summer Saturday.

* A stroll along the seafront, with a pause at the site of the first public hanging of a pakeha, where I can prattle on about how it involved a quadruple murder for which my great-great-grandfather was at one stage a suspect.

* A visit to the intriguing Navy Museum.

* A wander through Devonport's great book and antique shops which, somewhat to my surprise, many overseas visitors find appealing.

If the visitors have more than a day then there are several options depending on what interests them.

* At least one trip on the harbour, to Tiritiri Matangi to see the fabulous birdlife, or Rangitoto's volcanic crater or Waiheke with its beaches, wineries and the chance for a fantastic lunch at Te Whau Vineyard.

* The museum.

* Just a ferry ride away from Devonport is the Viaduct Basin, with its memories of the America's Cup, exciting cafes and the Maritime Museum, though I prefer to avoid Auckland's rather shabby city centre.

* A trip out to Wenderholm or Long Bay Regional Parks to see more magnificent beaches.

Of course if you're playing host for an extended period you do need to look a bit beyond Auckland.

One good option which foreign tourists often miss is a loop through Northland taking in some of my favourite places in the world: Mighty Tane Mahuta in the Waipoua Forest, the view of the coast from the South Head of the Hokianga Harbour and the beauty of the Bay of Islands.

Alternatively you can get some of the same effect by nipping across to the Waitakere Ranges, to Karekare or Piha, to see beautiful bush, wild empty beaches and magnificent rolling surf, with maybe a visit to a vineyard or two on the way home.

After that, well, I always advise visitors to go to the South Island, but I'm afraid they have to do that on their own ... I've got to get back to work.