Waiheke Island

* If you are reading this in e-mail format, you can click on the title and see it in a web browser.

Today we decided on a bit of a change from the urban excursions of the last couple of days. Fortified with a morning dose of Starbucks coffee we walked to the harbour and boarded a ferry for Waiheke Island, one of the larger islands in the Huraki Gulf.

It was about a 45 minute ride on a high speed ferry and a beautiful sunny day. We arrived at Waiheke Island a bit before 11:00 am.

Included in our ferry trip was unlimited use of the local busses. This was handy for getting around the island which is about 25 km long. We decided to start out at Onetangi Beach about mid-way along the island. A beautiful sand beach with an anchorage at one end for cruising boats.

There were two wineries nearby so we set out on a bit of a hike in search of them. Again, a volcanic island with steep climbs but lovely views. Reminded me of Tortola. Some beautiful plants lining the road.

We finally found the Obsidian Winery at the bottom of a dusty laneway. Nothing much more than a Quonset hut and an outdoor tasting area but the wine was fantastic (and expensive). We were the only guests and had a lovely talk with the young lady from Colorado that was serving the tastings.

There was a trail through the vineyard that connected it to Miro Vineyard, definitely an upscale operation with restaurant but again, an outdoor tasting area.

Monte the Moose really liked the Pinot Gris!

They had an interesting warning on the label of the red blend.

We walked the road and about 400 stairs down to the beach and waded in the warm water (we didn't bring our togs).

We hopped the bus back to Oneroa Village and spent some more time resting in the shade of a tree at the beach. Another popular spot for visiting pleasure boats with about 30 boats anchored just off the beach.

After walking the main street looking in the shops, we stopped for a cold beer then decided to go for an early supper before taking the ferry back to Auckland. Some nice scenery on the way back.

While we were downtown, we went to the NZ equivalent of Walmart and picked up a chilly bin for our road trip that begins tomorrow. We have a washing machine in the apartment so Chris is refreshing the clothes inventory while I am pushing out today's blog.

Kiwi "Words of the Day" - Togs - bathing suit or if you are from the UK, your swimming costume.
Chilly Bin - a picnic cooler