Panmure is a middle-low income suburb in Auckland (the largest city in New Zealand). It is very much on the border of Manakau and at the time of writing is one of the last Auckland areas to become "upmarket".
As a visitor the highlights would be :
* The Panmure Lagoon with an exercise circuit- great for walking around. The lagoon itself is very estuary like and often more like a mud flat. No one would ever swim there - however on a fine day with the sun out you could almost call it picturesque.
* This flows out to the Tamaki river - which is more a tidal extension of the sea. Nonetheless, there is a little Marina here and with the odd boat tied up it is pleasant enough for a walk.
* Finally there is Mt Wellington (not to be confused with the nearby suburb "Mt Wellington"), the most recent eruption of a volcano on the Auckland isthmus (around 9000 years ago). This is a quick climb for a good view of the city - ruined only slightly by the quarry on the side opposite Panmure.
* The Stone Cottage which is an turn of the century building turned into a museum.
But, the area is mainly residential and not really a tourist attraction The shopping strip is DOWN market. On the Ellerslie side near the roundabout there is a collection of massage parlours but these are quiet (from the exterior at least) and non threatening. Further down there are the usual collection of $2 shops, take away bars, instant finance stores, laundrettes and Indian dairies. On the nightlife side there is McInties a darker establishment possibly the inspiration for Jake the Muss (!), the Mt Wellington RSA (site of a triple murder not so long ago) and further down there is the corner pub (the Panmure Bourbon and Beefsteak bar joined to the "Turf" bar) and which is unfortunately depressingly quiet save for the tv in the corner and pool tables. On the plus side there is a surprising variety of cheap good quality restaurants - Indian, Chinese, Italian, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and Kiwi (well fish and chips :-) as well as all the main brands of fast food.
My favourites are the Italian restaurant Papa Luigis, which seems to be like an extension of a family kitchen - the Pasta Carbonara is cheap and excellent and the staff are friendly (almost flirtatious or maybe that is my imagination). Also Chicos makes awesome fish n chips. Finally there is the old European couple in the bottle store near the roundabout who look like they have been there for the last 50 years - they scarcely notice the odd customer while watching the Coronation Street that seems to be permanently playing on their tv - after 3 years of regular custom I don't think I have seen the women smile or said more than 5 words at a time to them.
Anyway, all I can say is the area has real character with nothing artificial - I love it but only with the kind of love you can acquire after years of getting to know someone. To me its like an old comfortable shoe or what people say of their partner of 30 years.