Waiheke Island

On our second day in New Zealand, we headed out to Waiheke Island. This is only a 3o min ferry ride from the CBD and is called the "Island of Wine". Check out the view from the ferry when we looked back at Auckland! Beautiful!

Everyone mentioned this is a must do and it has tons of activities! Wine tours, hiking trails, beaches, and many more!

We love taking the ferry!

Once we arrived, we got on the hop on, hop off bus called the Island Hopper to take a tour of the island. This gave us the freedom to do what we wanted!

Look how fun the Hopper was!

Our first stop... Oneroa Beach and the community around it!

Oneroa is a quaint beachside community with fun shops and cafes. But the beach is what caught our eye!

It was beautiful, untouched and peaceful! What a way to start the day!

Our second stop was a winery - Te Whau is know for its 300 degree views of the water and they did not disappoint.

Amazing views. On talking with the winery guy, we found out he and his wife bought the place over 20 years ago as a second career. What a way to retire!

The winery owner started us out with a tasting of their signature wine - The Point, a cabernet merlot blend. We tried three different vintages and got to taste the difference between each year - even though they were made with the same type of grapes.

It was great to try them all and Jeff and I even had different favorites! Jeff preferred the '09 and I liked the '08.

From there we were off to another Winery. This was called Wild on Waiheke and included a winery, brewery and outdoor activities!

Since this was a break from the wine, we decided to try all the beers too!

Don't worry - we shared this tray!

We found a great new cider and even a great Hefeweizen.

As I mentioned before, they had several outdoor activities from giant chess to archery. The idea of archery and drinking didn't sound like a good combination so we decided to pass on the games! Too dangerous for us!

After tasting some of the wines and a hearty lunch, we were back on the bus to find our next stop. By this point it was getting later, so we decided to hit another beach!

Onetangi is one of the favorite beaches for the locals so we had to stop there! After seeing it, I know why!! Beautiful sand and a great coastline!

The water was crystal clear - perfect day for the beach!

After enjoying the beach we were back on the bus to find the ferry again. On the bus back, we had a few more stops before we made it to our final destination. They driver let us hop off at this point to take some pictures. It was the best view of the day! You can see the clear water, white sand and in the distance is Auckland city!

I was mesmerized! Jeff even had to call out to me from the bus so they wouldn't leave me out there staring at the view! Oops!

Once back on the ferry, the sun was out in full effect! We were camera crazy snapping every island and ship as we rode back to Auckland.

Here are a few of our favorites on the ride back!

We easily could have spent our entire time in New Zealand out on Waiheke Island! It is a must if you go to Auckland!