Tāmaki Makaurau's very own Karangahape Road has been voted as one of the top ten coolest streets in the world.
TimeOut surveyed over 20,000 people, asking them what the coolest street in their town is, and apparently Karangahape road is skux enough to land at number six - the only road in Aotearoa to make the list.
Also known as K-Road, the street in the Auckland CBD is immensely popular in the city. Back in the 1800s, Māori used it as a travel route, so it has mad historical significance.
It's now a bustling, busy place where you can buy all kinds of foods and clothes, as well as entertain yourself day or night, with a bunch of nightclubs, bands performing, and burlesque and drag bars.
Here's what TimeOut wrote up about K-Road:
“Karangahape Road is the city’s bohemian heart and the home of a diverse and expressive community of artists, musicians, and creatives,” they wrote of the street.
“Its red-light history, coupled with more recent additions of art galleries and hip cafés in its heritage buildings, gives it plenty of character: every door leads to something very different.”
“Gay clubs, speakeasy-style bars and cabarets sit alongside thrift stores, secondhand book shops and independent record stores.”
“Adding further flourishes of colour are the street murals adorning the walls of parking lots and the steps of the historic St Kevins Arcade.”
K-Road is a deserving New Zealand representative on a list of the coolest streets. It’s been through some ups and downs, just like all of us.
It has a chequered, complex history, but it soldiers on, with hope for the future - a true inspiration.
It’s always been a bastion for the downtrodden and 'out-there' types that society may shun. Allowing all characters from around the city, and the country, to come and just have a ball of a time is what K-Road is all about.
Nowadays there are snazzy places to eat and more boujee clothes you can buy, and there’s a pumping nightlife there, with different kinds of clubs ready to be explored - what more could you want in a street?
