Kate made us feel very welcome and the studio is delightful being light and bright with a lovely garden view. It is also good because not a lot of stairs and is in a quiet neighbourhood. There are a couple of nice places to eat right at the end of the street as well as an organic grocers to stock up on provisions and a small superette. We walked to Ponsonby Rd, about 20min where there are a lot of shops but caught the bus back and we also caught the bus into town. The zoo is a short Uber ride away as well. We chose Grey Lynn because it is just out of the city but still central and it lived up to expectations.