Getting Wild on Waiheke

The bus we took on our tour

For our first traveling weekend we decided to take it easy and go up to Auckland and take a ferry to Waiheke Island for a tour and a bit of wine and beer tasting:) We were by my host mum to bring sunblock and hats because the sun gets hot here and it did! It was such a beautiful day we even got some color in our cheeks which was a nice departure form the cold we had come here with. We got up early to make the hour train into Auckland. Once in Auckland we had a little bit of time for some coffee and walking around. The ferry made it to the Island where we then had to find our tour bus. Our tour driver Tracy was hilarious and reminded us of Megan from Bridesmaids which made the afternoon even better!

Entrance to Stonyridge Vineyard

Our first stop on the tour was at Stonyridge Vineyard where we were greeted with a glass of white wine and a very nice Australian man. He told us a little bit about the land and the wine process. Then we got to sit down to a delicious lunch. I had a chicken quiche, salad, cheese, crackers, and a tasting of red wine. We met some very nice people from all over that were very interested in our upcoming election and also about who we were.

     

Vineyards we saw along our trip





We then stopped at Rangihoua Estate which grows olives and makes their own olive oil. We got to see a little bit of the process and then were able to  sample some of their award winning olive oil. She said that they are ranked in the top 20 of olive oil makers in world pretty cool. She also told us that if we are buying olive oil to be good it needs to be bought in a dark container not clear and stored somewhere dark not out on the counter top so for any of you doing this STOP! ha The olive oil was definitely very interesting. Before she told us what we would taste like grass and apple I really wasn't sure what to expect. It definitely wasn't anything like I had tasted back home it was very fresh and it did taste like grass. We also sampled a dip spread which was yummy.


The third stop was one of our top two was called Wild on Waiheke and right away it lived up to its name there were people doing archery and laser shooting. It seemed like such a fun place. Here we got the chance to sample two wines and three different beers. We were excited for the beer because they said it was brewed right there and they took so much pride in it. They also make their own rum by a man who has ancestors that were pirates on the island. We didn't try this because it was very very strong and we could smell it just from talking to people!

We are here to partyyyy!

    

Our fourth and final stop which was probably our favorite was Mudbrick Vineyard! This place had the wine but the view was worth the whole trip. When we arrived we were given some white wine. Then we had a little bit of a climb up to the top of the hill. Our incentive was more wine! Once we got to the top it was incredible it didn't even seem real. I was on an island in New Zealand drinking wine it doesn't get better than that! We made our way down to the bottom and got another glass of wine along with a sample of their sparkling wine which were both delicious. We had to hurry to get back on the bus with Megan (or Tracy) and were dropped off to make our ferry back to Auckland. Once back we walked around a bit and go on the train to Swanson. We were so lucky to make it home in time for Hocus Pocus our favorite Halloween movie which my host family had no idea about so it was fun to see it for the first time through their eyes!

Below are the views from Mudbrick too beautiful to describe!

Well that is all for now I have been planning my week of lessons all day today it should be an exciting week until next time.

Cheers! (Literally)