Halfway around the world? No, this definitely a WHOLE world away!

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Waiheke Island is a short ferry ride from downtown Auckland through the Hauraki Gulf … the ferries we saw docking, whilst waiting to embark, were full of both commuters and tourists making the most of the very early summer heat (this is really the tail-end of spring here). The water was a beautiful turquoise colour and we were surprised with how little pollution or scum there was, even at the dockside. As the catamaran sped away from shore the view of the towers and seafront provided a marvellous backdrop for the rest of the trip. In front of us several low-lying but undulating islands came into view … probably due to the volcanic nature of the region, they all had tight, lumpy hills on them. Thirty minutes later and we disembarked at Waiheke in the midday heat and then walked twenty minutes over the hill to Oneroa town and beach.
We spent a lovely day sunbathing, playing and swimming in the water and reading in the sun. We found many unfamiliar shells, including what looked like giant mussels and revealed ourselves to be pommy tourists as W and E picked up yet another indigenous shell and exclaiming very loudly ‘OH MY GOODNESS MUMMY – LOOK AT THIS!’ As we left for the walk back to the ferry we watched the skimboarders and a beautiful black horse cantering along the shoreline – what a beautiful place to live! We opted for the nature reserve route back to the ferry terminal, surrounded by tall ferns and palms … and trying (frustrated by William’s continuing ‘OH MY GOODNESS’S) to spot the birds making all of the strange noises in the undergrowth. Beautifully timed we arrived just as the ferry was due to leave and returned to Auckland glowing and tired after a very successful day trip. Unfortunately our searches in the evening for a good place to eat disappointed and we ate poorly at a Mexican takeaway … what a shame! Thank goodness we pick up the spaceship (!) tomorrow and can look forward to three weeks of pasta, chilli and other one-pot delights! 

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Comments

[Kate & Giles]

P C
Glad to see you are all covered up and out of the mid day sun. Bit like us in Blighty; temp -4 today...! (Dare you to get the shells through the sniffer dogs at the Airport?)