Waiheke Island 🇳🇿 🏝️

Visual summary of this post: 🇳🇿  🚉 ⛴️ 🏝️ 🚍 🩴🚍 ⛴️ 🚉 🚍 ✈️ 🇦🇺

Kia ora 🦋 

Monday, April 29 - The halfway point in my trip! I left home 29 days ago and I will be home in 29 days 🙂

I enjoyed my last morning with the Walkers at John & Margaret Benn’s house in Henderson, West Auckland. 

Ariana, Mike, and I did an online yoga class together

Mike & Emma walked me to the Train Station in Henderson, where I boarded a train to Britomart in downtown Auckland. 

From there it was a short walk to the Ferry Station, where I caught the ferry to Waiheke Island.  

I got to buy a mincemeat pie for lunch at the Ferry station. (I was told this is very typical Kiwi favorite!)

Waiheke Island on the top right

Arrived safely on Waiheke Island, but it’s rainy

Nice views on the bus ride to Onetangi 

Very pastoral

Waiheke has a lot of vineyards and wineries

The bus I took dropped me off at 4th Street, leaving a ½ mile walk, which was challenging with my heavy suitcase. (Thank God, and Marcos, that the suitcase has good  wheels! - I borrowed the suitcase from Marcos.) Getting up the hill to the house was also tricky with the suitcase, but the view afforded by the steep hill made it well worth the effort!

Even the key to this house is enchanting!

I stayed alone from Monday afternoon until Tuesday afternoon at Mike Walker’s mom’s house at 113 The Strand. She was not there because she was visiting the South Island. This place is amazing! The Strand winds right along Onetangi beach, which is breathtaking!

The view from the upper deck (in one direction)

In the other direction

The bathroom

Dining Room and Living Room

I went for a walk (and a swim) on the beach, in spite of the drizzly weather, and was rewarded with a double rainbow! The water was not too cold. I think it’s warmer than the ocean water at home.

Some nice tide pools

Onetangi is kind of isolated (not a lot of city lights) so nice stars!

On Tuesday morning, I awoke to this amazing view!

Later I took a hike, which included climbing 178 stairs

The stairs from the top

More vineyards

I found a Foursquare market and bought some food for lunch, and a Hokey Pokey ice cream bar.

They say you can only get Hokey Pokey ice cream in New Zealand.

This day was beautiful, sunny and warm (which is why I was wearing shorts for the first time since I left home)! So the views were even more stunning!

The Strand

I went swimming again, which was much more pleasant with the warmer day.

Alas, I had to leave my Island Paradise! I walked a block to the bus stop (went to the closer stop this time) for the ride back to the ferry station.

I think this would be a great place to be a bus driver!

I got there just in time for the 2:00 ferry back to Auckland

A beautiful building at the Ferry Station

This building is the entrance to the Ferry Station

From the Ferry I rode a train and then another bus to the Auckland airport for my 7:55 p.m. flight

Sydney from the sky

Unrelated extra: I am amused by the different words they use in New Zealand and Australia on road signs:

Give Way to JESUS!