I recently placed a last minute order with Auckland Flowers for Easter delivery. I am overseas and…read morewas a little apprehensive. Not only were they extremely professional and responsive, but the flower arrangement they produced was absolutely stunning. Lisa was a delight to work with and I cannot recommend the company more highly for quality of product and professional service.

At Taste it's all about the kitchen. It's well stocked; everything from Scanpan pots and pans,…read moredesigner glassware, a big range of Maxwell and Williams to quirky aprons and oven mitts. They have a great baking section, with loads of decoration tools. They also do a brilliant range of kiwi cookbooks. Because it is designer, it is on the pricier side, but I've always found it perfect for gifts. They also do a great gourmet food range of sauces and dips. My Uncle loved the Tamarillo jelly we gave him for Christmas; he used it for pork glazing, yummo! It's a large, well laid out store...the kind you just pop into but then manage to spend 30mins browsing in.

I'd completely forgotten it was Valentines Day when a strange red car came down my driveway. A…read morefriendly lady popped out holding a gorgeous bunch of flowers, and guess what? THEY WERE FOR ME! My resourceful boyfriend in the UK had been in touch with the Bloom Saloon, and over the phone had organized the delivery. 17 million brownie points right there. The flowers were lovely; fresh and fragrant roses and hydrangeas. I was pretty impressed, particularly on the busiest day of their year, the Bloom Saloon had personally delivered (and we live remotely up a gravel road). Having been into their store since, they really do have a stunning selection of blooms and cool little gifts. Highly recommended!

The store sign says Japanese souvenirs and gifts but there's definitely more to this store than…read morethat. I am a huge trinket and ornament person and if I had infinite funds to spend on junk my house would be filled with... well, crap. Cool crap that is. The kind of dinky stuff you find in this shop. Quaint little ornaments, cool wall hangings and some cool Kiwiana stuff. The prices are pretty inexpensive. I know there are some places where you pay an arm and a leg for some plain wood thing to hang on the wall but here everything seems pretty tame. Besides that though there's nothing particularly special about this place but it's definitely worth a nosy if you're wondering past.

Great gift shop with so much packed in to this small store. The owners are friendly & willing to…read moreorder in stock if you have something special in mind. Lots of handcrafted knicknacks, signs, ornaments, along with all the typical kiwi souveniers. Definitely give this place a go if you need ideas for gifts.

I visited the paint shop in Mitre 10 two days ago. The young…read moreblond lady with a smile said" good morning SIR how can I help you. Normally you are addressed as "mate". As a elder person I appreciate the respect and kindness she treated me with. May you prosper in Mitre 10. Good on you young lady.

This is a massive Mitre 10 Mega shop, so it offers an amazing range of products and services. It…read morehas a bit of an awkward entrance at the moment, though I think this might be temporary becouse it is undergoing construction or something like that. At this mega store you can get absolutely everything that you need for your home. If you are wanting to build, repair, restore or create something for the home or even garden then you can get everything you need here. And becouse this store is fairly new it means that their product range is very current, and that they are offering the newest of everything that Mitre 10 has available. The staff are very friendly and efficient, they will let you be on your way but are always on your case to see if you are all sorted for what you came in for, not in a pushy way though which is nice.

On site at the Matakana Country Park, The Craft Co-op is an adorable little store filled with hand…read morecrafted treasures. The hard work of over 70 people from around New Zealand is sold here and you can find loads of art, pottery, knitting and wood work. It's all individually created and unique, perfect for gifts. Its ideal shopping for special souvenirs, as it's not too tacky. They also have an excellent range of natural cosmetics and locally made soaps; the proper chunky kind with dried flowers poking out the side. They have an adorable kid's corner, with colourful clothes and costumes and a really nice range of kid's beaded jewellery. The Craft Co-op is perfect for Nanas; take her in there and afterwards have tea and a scone at the Speckled Hen café, perfect!

We were driving to Tawharanui Regional Park and noticed the sculptures peeking out from inside a…read moregarden and decided we must stop in. We are so glad that we did. We found a lovely art gallery that even includes pieces from Chihuly that led to a couple of beautiful gardens adjacent to the gallery. Beyond this there is yet another larger sculpture garden with meandering paths that sometimes led to aviaries as well as other small animal areas (such as rabbits). They will be having a couple of "native" pigs join the property soon as they just arrived today. We met the owners, Anthony and Sandra Grant as she arrived on property with their new pets. Between our visit to the gallery and the larger sculpture garden, we stopped by for a wine tasting and met Tina who was generous and informative sharing about the wines grown on their estate. The Gallery Syrah and Bordeaux Blend were our favorites. Much appreciation is extended to Tina for her kindness and hospitality! After the sculpture garden, we ventured over to their restaurant, Rothko. Unfortunately for us, the restaurant was fully booked with reservations. Fortunately for us, they had seating at the picnic tables outside and they served wine and small bites. Overall, we had a very pleasant experience and will definitely be back!

Fabulous collection if (mostly) modern art sculptures set in beautifully manicured gardens and chic…read moreindoor galleries. One hour from auckland cbd... we were tourists, renting a city hop car (very reasonable and convenient)... 1 hour to get there and 3 hours in the setting, well worth the time and expense!

Lovely rural Sunday market. Lots of young children and lots and lots of dogs! Great place to pick…read moreup some unique local art, funky clothes, an array of potted plants and herbs and timber furniture. Pity about the lack of free range eggs, I looked and I looked but to no avail. This was my first time at this market, so maybe they just sell out quickly or I just wasn't looking hard enough. The market was also very popular despite the rainfall, I think I saw a sign that said it runs on the first Sunday of every month. I was also very happy to see one of my favourite Auckland market stalls present - 'House of Harem', with Aeryn selling her famous harem pants, silk skirts, glittery bags and all the other usual gorgeous things.

On every first Sunday of the month starting at 10am- this one is a huge rural market and well worth…read morea browse. Got a bit overwhelming with the number of stalls scattered across the reserve- felt like there were just too many places to see and not enough time. But having said that- lots of colourful, pretty, interesting things to look at as you go around. Beautiful stalls in both the indoor hall and outside. Great friendly stallholders with their home-made talent whether in their able to grow fresh produces and plants, make arts and crafts, sew clothing, create jewellery, bake breads and cook food etc. Cool as dogs are allowed on the Village Green. Great folk music on the steps up to the Coatesville Settlers Hall and parking off the side streets and allocated park spaces further down the road. Definitely child friendly and a good family day out weekend activity. A gorgeous setting when the weather is good and the field is dry- must see.