Waiheke Island

The weather today was supposed to be a bit better, so I decided to take advantage of the "sun" and do a day trip to Waiheke island, one of the many islands scattered in an archipelago around Auckland. Waiheke is known for its beaches, cliffs and wineries, and offers a number of tours to see all three. Instead of paying $100 to join a tour, I decided it would be a great idea to rent a bike to explore the island on my own. Unfortunately, I forgot to take into account that like most land masses around Auckland, Waiheke is a volcanic mass with a TON of hills. And apparently I'm out of shape on hills. The views from the top of the island made it all worth it though, some pictures below. I also made it to the oldest winery on the island (there are now over 70 on the small island) and was lucky enough to jump into a tasting session with a group tour that had just arrived. The wine was some of the best I had tasted, I really wish I was able to bring some home or buy it in the states... But they don't even sell it anywhere off the island. The vineyard was located on a big hill overlooking one of the many marinas with some of the best views I saw all day (pictures below).

After about four hours of biking around and no lunch, I grabbed a steak pie (super popular here.. And super delicious) and caught the ferry back, going through the beautiful islands again. The boat ride reminded me a lot of the archipelago outside of Stockholm, and the islands looked like they could be right out of Scotland, so this place is pretty much ideal for me :).