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Shopping

Although not one of the world's great shopping cities, Auckland still has plenty to offer. Even in the world of fashion, where international designer labels may be absent, the country has its own cutting-edge designers giving shoppers the chance to see something fresh. Styles range from the simple and sophisticated to the avant-garde, with influences from Polynesia, leading to much use of vibrant colours. Good fashion outlets are mainly located in the city centre, notably the High Street. Local names include Karen Walker, Zambesi, Workshop and World. Madonna has bought Karen Walker designs.
New Zealand's fine foodstuffs may not make practical purchases, but its wine certainly does. There is a lack of fine wine merchants, although look for names such as Cloudy Bay, Montana and Martinborough Vineyards, among others. The best place to buy wine is at the cellar door, so visitors should consider taking a wine tour while in the city.
Woollen and leather goods are also good options, as well as Maori traditional crafts, and items made from greenstone. For jewellery, Fingers, 2 Kitchener Street (tel: (09) 373 3974), stocks dozens of top native designers; while for crafts generally, Compendium, 5 Lorne Street (tel: (09) 300 3212), is the best all-round store.
Shops are usually open on weekdays from 0900-1700, with late-night shopping on Friday until 2100 in some parts of central Auckland, such as Queen Street. Areas such as this, and some of the larger suburban shopping malls, will also open on Saturday 0900-1700, and some on Sunday from about 1000 until 1600.



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