Waiheke Island
There are somewhere around 20 or 30 winemakers on Waiheke Island, and I visited Stonyridge, Top Knot Hill, and Mudbrick Vineyard. Most of these producers don’t export and are small operations (3,000 - 20,000 bottles per year), but they are well set up for visitors, offering tours and/or including a restaurant at the winery. Of the wines I tasted, the two Mudbrick reds (Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blends) were my favourites.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to buy any bottles as I felt shipping costs were prohibitive for my budget and I am willing to show a bit more restraint than buying a case at one of the first vineyards I visit. There are several more to go! (As an aside, I am keeping track of all the wines I taste throughout New Zealand and Australia. Look forward to fun facts and statistics on what I taste after I return at the end of March!)
On Waiheke, we also went to a local olive oil producer, Rangihoua, for tasting. The island itself is a bit hilly, a few degrees warmer than Auckland and absolutely beautiful. There are only 8,000 permanent residents, over 1,400 of which commute to Auckland city daily on the ferry. During the peak season (January and February) the island population swells to 40,000 as it is a well known holiday destination for kiwis and a few foreigners. I stayed a bit longer after the tour to enjoy the view of the water from a café, but I was back to the Auckland Harbour by 6:30pm after a well spent day.
Coast to Coast Walk
This is a 16km (10 mile) journey from the downtown side of Auckland on the east (Pacific) side over to the west side of the city which connects up to the Tasman Sea. I didn’t start the walk until 11:30, and was hoping for a nice lunch stop along the way. However, after a few uncharted twists and turns, and upon realising that the route primarily avoids the high streets, I ended up starving on the other side of Mt. Eden at 3pm, about two thirds of the way through the trail.
I found a fantastic café, with a really nice kiwi waiter, and over a delicious chicken, brie, mushroom, avocado and tomato toastie sandwich, I read Obama’s inauguration speech. There was full front page coverage of his inauguration in the paper here today. Refreshed, I kept on moving, although my legs were starting to feel the walk by this point. Once I reached the end, all I was keen to do was find the nearest bus to head back to the hostel. The walk was a nice way to see some of the Auckland neighbourhoods and parks, but I think I am more out of shape than I was willing to admit!
Devonport
Three days in a row, I took the 10 minute ferry ride out to Devonport, which is to Auckland what Sausalito is to San Francisco. You could drive across the bridge to get there, but it is easier (and more scenic) to take the ferry when you don’t have a car. The weather was beautiful all week - blue skies and temperature in the 70s. The first two days I lay out at either the Devonport main beach or Cheltenham beach farther down the road. One of my lunch choices were green-lipped mussels in a Thai green curry sauce at Manuka, paired with a glass of Riesling. They were the largest mussels I have ever eaten!
On my second day out there I had both lunch and dinner in the town, a yummy bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato sandwich and then a grilled chicken salad. I also found a second-hand bookstore where I stocked up on my travelling library although one of my picks (because it was a staff pick and very thick) isn’t going so well. Not sure if I will drop it somewhere or press on. (Incidentally, it is “A Book of Memories” by Peter Nadas).
My third day out to Devonport was with my good friend (in London) John’s sister, Sara, and his nephew, Dartanian, who live outside Auckland. Dartanian is four and the ferry trip out was his first boat ride, which he was very excited about, as he was about the park, and the beach, and especially ice cream. It was fun to frolic around with a four year old on the see saw and in the ocean for an afternoon. I had also heard a lot about Sara and Dartanian from John, so I was pleased to be able to meet them on their home turf! This is me trying to teach Dartanian about Sauvignon Blanc.
Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta
Monday was Auckland Anniversary Day, and a holiday in the Auckland area. There were several events on to celebrate all weekend, including the Auckland Seafood Festival (which I didn’t make it to) and the regatta. I book d a ticket to go out on the water from 9am-12pm where I got to see the tug boat race (it’s a lot cooler than it sounds) and the parade of sails where all the fancy yachts strut around the harbour, including a few Americas Cup yachts.
The morning started out a tad cloudy and breezy, but by 10am it was full sun and heat. I sat on the top deck, of course, and took lots of pictures of impressive yachts and boats. On a boat is the only way I would have ever been to up close and personal to such impressive yachts in full sail, so it was pretty cool. As Brea and I have often discussed, we need more boat friends (any applicants? You do, by the way, need to have a boat or ready access to one).
Afterwards, I had lunch in Parnell and got talking to my kiwi waiter. He seemed pretty interested in where I was from in California, and started mentioning all our sports teams, which I thought was strange. Turns out his brother visited SoCal before moving to London about a year ago. Also turns out, his brother lives in London. Ok, not so strange you say? His brother lives in Wimbledon. How weird is that? Anyway, just goes to show that if you talk to someone long enough, you will find a connection.
To round out the day, I went to Mission Bay beach, just south of Auckland city, to top up my tan before starting my travels on the rest of the North island tomorrow morning. Great end to a great day and a fantastic week in Auckland!
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