On the same struggle <| sep |> That ' s not what I ' m saying at all . I grew up in the Central Plateau too , and spent a fair bit of time in the Ureweras , and have seen my fair share of nice landscapes . But my previous flat in Auckland was 15 minutes from the motorway , yet situated amongst some of the nicest bush I ' ve seen . We were on 10 acres of mostly regenerating bush , with the property bordering a whole lot more mature bush , with some very mature kauri gracing us with their presence there . I ' d wake up to the sound of tuis every morning , along with kereru and kaka regularly making an appearance , and it felt like you were nowhere near a city , despite being so close . I could also walk out my back door and walk to some fantastic waterfalls , with some nice walks around . But even before that , I was living on the shore , and the suburb I was in was beautifully green , comparable to any nice suburb in Taupo , hearing moreporks at night , and close to some relatively nice beaches . It was a great place to live . That ' s the thing with Auckland , you never have to go far to get some nice scenery . I love all the parks and volcanic cones through the city , but if you push a bit further , it has some amazing locations . The west coast beaches especially have a particular appeal to me . I think I ' ll probably end up back around the bay of plenty some day , or maybe even south island , but right now , there ' s nowhere in NZ I ' d rather be .