Waiheke...!

Took the vehicular ferry across to the nearby island of Waiheke this week. famous for it's wines and as place to get married-(easy now!). We rented a little bach for a couple of nights, just 10 minutes from the Onetangi beach. Unfortunately the weather forecast for the entire trip was rain; and lots of it!

Still the weather seemed to have other ideas and the day we arrived the sun made regular appearances through the white cloud. Rising early to catch the ferry we only had time for a small brekky and so grabbed a bite and (obligatory) coffee at a café overlooking what was to be our local beach for the next couple of days.

Wow. What a beach. White sand, clear waters and about 1km long with hardly a soul on it. After our brunch we took a stroll along the beach and climbed to a view point at one end. Around this time the sun was really making its presence felt and so into the water we went. Yes, that's WE, Amanda taking her first dip in the NZ sea (once suitably attired of course!)

After our dip we headed up to the bach to relax before dinner. Lovely little place, quite rustic and set amongst the native nikau trees, atop a steep drive and isolated from all our neighbours by the dense foliage. The bach itself was was full of decorative little touches inside and out, with a well stocked spice /oil rack ready for any aspiring cook and even a (nice)guitar

It was however, noisy, very noisy! While our nearest human neighbours could not be heard, the bach was subjected to the constant din of cicadas.

Following another stroll along the beach we had dinner at a place called Charlie Farley's (name mean anything to anyone? Amanda is convinced she has heard it before). Friendly place and great food.

Up early(ish) the following day to make use of a FREE barbecue station adjacent to the beach, which we had spotted on one of our strolls. BBQ steak for breakfast while looking out over the beach to sea, nice huh :0)

Followed this by some exploring of the island and a little wine tasting a the Passage Rock vineyard. Rich tried red's while Amanda stuck to the whites and a sparkling Rosé.

Waiheke is famous for wines made from the Syrah grape grown there (Shiraz) and the reserve was indeed pretty tasty, although with Rich still being unemployed a bit to pricey. Opted instead for a Cabernet Sauvignon. Can highly recommend a bottle of the "Sisters" too; the only reason Rich did not grab a bottle of this is that it was obtainable on the mainland and the "Cab" is not.

Unfortunately the weather had started to live up to the forecast and got steadily worse during the day; culminating in drenching us on the walk to dinner. Nothing another plate of awesome food and wine at Charlies could not fix however.

Day of deaparture it rained all day so did not do too much. Did however manage to find a jar of Waiheke Tamarind Chutney. The bach had a jar in the larder and it's damn tasty stuff!

All in all a lovely place, incredibly picturesque, chock full of vineyards, white sand beaches and twisty roads with barely a thing on them. We will be back...