Waiheke

Ferry Across Hauraki Gulf

Monday morning Jeremy gave us a ride into Auckland on his way to work. We stopped by New Zealand Telecom to pick up a cell phone and then headed down to the wharf to grab the ferry. We loaded up our backpacks and got our tickets and climbed up on the top deck to get a view of the different islands in the gulf along the way. We passed Rangitoto Island which one of the last volcanoes to erupt in New Zealand. It's now a preserve and you are limited to day trips or very limited overnight camping we hope to get back and see it sometime.

After arriving on the island, we took a bus to our hostel and settled in. There we met another Canadian from B.C , an American and a gal from the U.K.
Since the sun was out we decided to hit up the beach and have a picnic. It was very enjoyable!

Day 2 on the Island

We caught a ride into town and tramped (hiked) around the north east part of the island. It was absolutely stunning! At one point it felt as

The Fuller's Ferry to Waiheke

Carla asked for tickets to Waikiki, that would have been cool if that worked out.

though we were lost in the rain forest- then just around the bend was the road! After that we decided to continue on our trail and hiked up this huge hill only to find out that we had a long ways to go to head back to our hostel. Luckily, a couple from Onetangi Bay gave us a ride as they were heading that way.
Once back at the hostel we hung out with all the folks and called it a night

Day 3

We both woke up with shin splints and aching feet so we decided instead of walking so much that we would buy a day buss pass. We headed to Onetangi Bay and checked out the beach. The sand was very white and the water crashed into the rocks.

Since New Zealand is famous for its wines, we were told that this island has some good wineries. So we headed up to check out a winery after climbing 200 stairs. I had the camera out taking pictures along the way as the view was very spectacular. However, after we climbed the stairs, I was very warm with all my layers as it was quite

Our New NZ Cell... oops Mobile

cool by the ocean and somehow, the camera flew out of my unzipped bag and dropped to the ground and cracked! And we have an Olympus Tough camera that supposedly can take a 5 foot drop and the camera only dropped 3 feet.

Then we got the top of another hill only realizing the winery was closed for renovations. So we caught a bus and went to Stonyridge Winery and taste tested 3 wines. We later found out that this place is rated the top 10 places to visit for wine in the world!! After our wine tasting we headed back to the hostel, had supper and chatted with a Canadian couple from Ottawa and found out that they didn't know was a paralyzer was!

Last Day

That night it rained and the wind got up and we didn't sleep that well. We packed up and headed back to Auckland. The ferry ride back was very bumpy with the waves and I was holding my stomach all the way!

Once back in Auckland, we took the free city bus to the library where we vegged out and caught up with emails. Then we walked

The Auckland Hilton

Carla wanted to stay here when we were first planning the trip. The price tripled a week before we arrived!

to the Auckland War Museum. Along the way, we went to a pancake corner where they sold Korean pancakes for 2 dollars. They had ham and cheese, ham and bacon right in them and they were tasty. (would have taken a picutre of the food but our camera is broken 😞 )

After a long walk to the Museum, we unloaded our bags and walked around the Museum. It was very cool learning about the pacific island history. Then Jeremy came and picked us up and headed back to his house.

Additional photos below

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