Dec 29 - Waiheke Island

The Waitomo trip was postponed one day while we were in the canyon and we didn't check email so we got up at 5:30 a.m. to hike up to the bus.  Damn!  Could have slept in.

Oh well, it's an adventure.  Lee left Chris a message the change in itinerary and asked about a visit to Waiheke Island.  Chris said to come on - they would be catching a late ferry to Auckland to take their boat out for a few days, but they could show us around.

We caught the 9 a.m. ferry and had a stop in Devonport where we watched the people fishing off the Devonport pier.  The gear is different, twice as tall as some of the fishermen. 

Devonport Fishing...

And a catch!

The rest of the ride to Waiheke is very pretty.  We went by Rangitoto Island - the "youngest island in the Hauraki Gulf and the newest and largest in the Auckland Volcanic Field ", per the Fuller's Rangitoto brochure. 

Rangitoto

We had a strange "mechanical" on the ferry - the boat cut speed dramatically, they announced there was a problem they were trying to fix, then 5-10 minutes later they announced the problem "seems" to be fixed.  Really?  Actually, I think I want the report from the guy who had the duct tape and did the 'repair'.


There were some pretty views on the way to Waiheke. 

Chris met us and took us on a "tiki tour" ( (New Zealand slang) 1. a sight-seeing journey with no particular destination in mind. 2. taking the scenic route to a destination.) of Waiheke on the way to his home.  It is incredibly beautiful!

One view from the deck.

We met Hilary and chatted on the deck for a bit and then we went to one of their favorite wineries. 

Mudbrick Winery has a wonderful Sauvignon Blanc that we tried and with a cheese platter (Yippee - more of the fabulous New Zealand cheeses).  The view from Mudbrick is so nice that many weddings are held on the grounds.

View from the Mudbrick Winery.

Waiheke also has olive groves and the island's olive oil is very good.  We could use another week - at least - just to finish seeing the North Island's treasures!

We took the ferry back to Auckland with Chris and his family and headed to the "Food Store" for dinner.   We expected more.  The food looked good, but it was rather blah.  The service was very slow.