Today I want to share about one of the highlights of my trip to New Zealand – Waiheke Island!
Do you like wine?
Do you like islands?
Do you like unbelievable views?
Then, my friend, Waiheke Island is the place for you. Even if you don’t think you like those things…. you should go anyway.
While there are plenty of guides about what to do in Auckland, I found very little about Waiheke Island. But after a little digging, and asking around to friends who have been, I discovered that Waiheke island was going to be a favorite!
Waiheke is an island off the coast of Auckland, and takes about 30 minutes on the ferry to get there. We were able to purchase discounted tickets through GrabOne, which is similar to Groupon, which made our price $22 round trip instead of $36. However, the full fare is still worth every single penny! You can purchase them at the ferry terminal or online. The ferry leaves about once an hour so you can easily plan your trip there and back from Downtown Auckland.
You can hire a car or take the bus. The ferry from downtown Auckland will drop you off at the Matiatia pier, which is on the Western side of the island. From there, we took a bus down Church Bay Road and saw some of these gorgeous views of the harbor. We also could have easily walked (which we found out later and walked back to the harbor).
We stopped at three wineries. Jurassic Ridge, Mudbrick, and Cable Bay. There are dozens of wineries on this island, but these all came highly recommended!
Mudbrick was a favorite of mine, because their food menu was just as amazing as their wine menu. After a generous tasting at the counter, we ordered a glass of the country’s famed Sauvignon Blanc and some appetizers to share. It was AMAZING.
YUM. Seriously, it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Delicious breads & dips, perfect shrimp, salads, cheese and olives…. amazing. Tapas are my favorite way to eat! Not to mention we were on this gorgeous patio with the world’s most perfect breeze sweeping by. I couldn’t have asked for a better day with my two favorite people!
Cable Bay was a 5 minutes walk away from Mudbrick, and after that food, wine and view – we didn’t think anything else could hold a candle to our little wine paradise. THEN we arrived at Cable Bay.
We only stayed at Cable Bay for about an hour, but their view was one for the books. They had luxury bean bags on this beautiful lawn and were happy to bring you food and wine to your little cozy spot. We drank wine and fell asleep in the sun. Are you dying to visit Waiheke yet?!
We were sun kissed, full, and happy when we left 🙂 There are so many awesome vineyards on this island, I really hope we can go back for a long weekend sometime (because of course I’m already planning my return to New Zealand). A day trip was a great sample of all Waiheke’s beauty and splendor!
Have you ever been to Waiheke before? Any vineyards I need to hit up next time?
xo
Wow, I always love your blogs, but this one made me feel like I was really there. Great pictures! Bean bags and wine, woot woot, sounds amazing!
Thanks, Denise! 🙂 It was so beautiful there…. hard to take a bad picture! And throw in the wine, it really was heaven.