Waiheke Island

I have heard about this place for years but all I did was wondering.  Just that and nothing else.  Well, it was just too much effort travelling from Wellington.  I know, it is an excuse more than anything.  If I really so eagerly wanted to visit the island, I would have leaped over any hurdle coming my way.  Same principal to all the things we do in life EVERYDAY.

Waiheke, a small, quiet and peaceful island 45 minutes ferry ride from Auckland is a popular spot in summer.  Accommodations normally booked out months in advance leading to Christmas/New Year.  It is famous for its beaches, vineyards and of course tranquil setting.  A perfect fit for a typical kiwi summer holiday, you know, BBQ, wine tasting, good food over million dollar view.

 Waiting for the departure

My coffee fix for the morning

We opted for just a day trip to celebrate my mom’s birthday.  We arrived into Waiheke at around 10am, and headed straight to their Saturday market, Ostend Market.

We hung around for 45 minutes and decided to have a scenic drive around to kill sometime before our highlight of the trip - lunch at the famous Mudbrick Restaurant & Vineyard which I will talk more about in my next post.

After lunch we had couple of hours up our sleeves till our ferry arrived, so we drove around exploring the island and even stopped at a playground for some playtime fix.  LOL

 All everyone needs is LOVE

 Spot our car! LOLOL

 A boat house!