4/4/2026 Waiheke Island

Morg arrived at 1000 and had a brew while we discussed our plans for the day, first plan of action was to change my clothes. His face when he arrived said it all. To be fair I was dressed kind of  for the beach so he was confused as to why we'd booked the hop on hop off bus. Clearly I wanted to hop on and hop off it, that's what they are for. What I hadn't realised is that the Kiwis regard a day at the vineyards like a day at the races and everyone really dresses up for it. My pink shorts and strapless top that was in fact a skirt I wore as a top wasn't about to cut it at the vineyards it would appear. Thankfully I have two dresses with me, one of which was appropriate. 

Also the weather wasn't exactly prime beach weather, very overcast but warm. I would have burnt to a crisp probably. I had wondered through the week why he kept asking what I wanted to do at the island, and now I know why! It's either a beach day or a vineyard day, not both!. Well how was I supposed to know? I've never been there before. I wouldn't have given a toss about going in my shorts to the vineyards because I don't actually care what i look like, but i didnt want to embarrass him. And he would have been very much embarrassed with me going as  I was. 

After I changed we called an uber and headed to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry. The tickets are open tickets from midnight Friday to 2300 on Saturday and the ferry leaves every hour. Our tickets were on the phone but it said on them they had to be exchanged at the terminal for paper tickets. We dutifully queued up with about a thousand other people only to be told that the phone tickets were all we needed. Morg was more than a little pissed off about that. The other reason he wasn't greatly amused was the length of the que for the ferry, it was HUGE. Luckily for us, thanks to the sticks, we were ushered to the front of the queue and a seated waiting area so we didn't have to stand.  I do love people watching and the prime seating gave us plenty of opportunity for that. There was a woman and a security guard dragging the biggest bag I've ever seen along between them. It was also the most impractical thing to carry just one single grab handle on the end. It looked to be pretty heavy the way they were carrying it, definitely not a bag for the solo traveller.

There is a separate line to stand in if you are a resident and the enormous bag was dropped at the front of that line. Residents get priority on the ferries. As the queue was so long there were a lot of kids getting bored so two mothers decided to break ranks and set them loose to run about in the assisted passengers area, it was all going so well until one kid inevitably fell over, and then the tears started. Noisy little bugger. Then another two started a fight, and it all went to rat shit a massive pile on. I think they'd have been better off just staying in line myself. By contrast there were three perfectly behaved children the same age just minding their own business, reading books and amusing themselves with their disabled father just looking on in disbelief at the feral ones. 

We missed the 1100 ferry but because it was so busy they put on an extra one at 1130 which we were first on. Everyone had a seat, as there is no standing allowed but we had the pick of the bunch. It loaded quickly and we set sail bang on 11.30 and my wondow seat which i thought was splendid initially didnt provide a particularly cler view of the surroundings as it was covered in se salt making the photos i took what can only be described as artistic! They were so blurry you couldnt really distinguish what some of them were. 

It was really nice to see Auckland , Kohimarama and St Heliers from the ocean, and when we passed Rangitoto Island i realised why the kayak company were unwilling for me to go on their trip, it's a bloody long way from land. Weirdly it looks a lot closer from the mainland than the dry land looks from the ocean. Puzzling. The same applied for St john island, it too was a lot further than i anticipated. However i was glad to see it closer, also relieved I hadn't taken the trip as it was a tad underwhelming. So there you go,I was saved from being wiped out  

The trip was just over 45 mins and the harbour at Waiheke Island is really pretty and there were a lot of boats today moored off the island, but Morgan said it's like that every time he's been.  When we passed the marina on the way into the city where it is usually full, it was empty. Not a single boat was moored up there, all out sailing for the holiday weekend. Not a bad life if you like boats.

We disembarked and then made our way out of the terminal to  the waiting buses, after showing our tickets we were given a wrist band to wear to save showing our tickets constantly which was a good idea. Again we boarded the bus first, and as soon as it was full we set off. There was a timetable stuck to the window which we got a photo of, but basically a full round trip of the Island takes 80 minutes with all the drop offs and pick ups and there are buses leaving every 20 minutes which is really efficient.

We didn't pick up a map in the ferry terminal which I was kicking myself about, but wasn't too worried as I was with Morg and he knows his way around. 

The island is really pretty, with narrow roads, lush greenery and vineyards everywhere. Our first stop was Mud Brick vineyard and the view just from the car park was spectacular, out over the ocean.

It had stunning lavender and rosemary hedges planted everywhere and just the most incredible smell hit my nostrils when I got off the bus. A short walk up a gravel path and we were in the vineyard itself.

We decided against doing a tour of the vineyards, opting instead to just a chilled out few hours. We were unable to have lunch there as it was booked solid so we went to the bar and ordered drinks instead. On tap they had espresso martinis, something I'd never seen before, so obviously I had one of those, it would not be my first drink of choice but for the novelty value alone I had to have one. Morg had a beer.

There are grass terraces separated with lavender and rosemary hedges and olive trees laden with olives, and we spotted two bean bag chairs with a little table in front of them and grabbed them.

The view was idyllic, ocean, vineyards and olive trees. We stayed there a good few hours. Despite the bus being hop on hop off a lot of the other vineyards have quite long walks to get to them so this was by far the best option for us. We did sample the wine and SB was delicious. What I know about wines you can write on the back of a stamp, but Si would have been in his element. He did a wine master course and knew a lot about the subject. He also used to drink quite a lot of it before it started to make him ache after a few glasses. 

The lavender bushes in front of me were alive with bees and a solitary white butterfly which I like to think was Si along for the day with us. 

I could see what Morg meant when he said people were dressed like they were at the races, I've never seen so many stiletto heels outside of a nightclub! People were done up to the nines, beautiful dresses ( well some of them were, others ,not so much) I still wouldn't have cared about rocking up in my shorts, but for Morgs sake I was glad I hadn't.

The people watching opportunities were splendiforous and we amused ourselves for hours doing just that. There was a hen party there, two of the girls were in the same dress and one looked a lot better in it than the other, Morg reckoned he would have gone home and changed. Although the chances of anyone wearing the same clothing as him at a function like that would be extremely unlikely with his unique dress sense. There was a definite yellow and blue theme to that particular hen party but one girl definitely didn't get the memo! Her coral pink floofy dress stood out in spectacular fashion, we concluded she was maid of honour. The poor girl didn't look particularly comfortable in her outfit choice either.  

We left after a few hours and jumped back on the bus. The mud brick vineyard was the only one that was really accessible to me, so we took in the stunning scenery as the bus trundled along.

One of the vineyards had a jazz and blues event over the weekend and was a ticket only event so that was closed to the general public. That was a bit of a shame as it was easily accessible for me.  

One of the vineyards had a jazz and blues event over the weekend and was a ticket only event so that was closed to the general public. That was a bit of a shame as it was easily accessible for me.  

Morg decided our next stop was at Charlie Farleys bar and restaurant which is right opposite Onetangi beach. It was buzzing, full of people, live music and just the best atmosphere. Morg and I thought it wise to order some food to soak up some of the alcohol we'd consumed and I inhaled a plate of fish and chips and he had a burger. Really good food, atmosphere and cider. And frozen pina coladas

Morg said it's very much a locals bar and as we sat there it filled up, and the way they were addressed by the staff they were obvs the local residents. As we were sat eating out food a boat on three wheels pulled up at the junction. And no I wasn’t that pissed!

I imagine at the height of summer the island is heaving. I was expecting it to be a lot busier but as Morg pointed out we'd only stopped at one vineyard and the others were likely as busy. The one he really likes is full of young people with a great DJ and epic tunes. Clearly he didn't take me to that one, as I'm too old, it was also a very long steep drive to get to it. But it was nice to see one of his favorite hangouts from a distance. 

We went for a walk along Onetangi beach, which was really pretty, a few waves and the cleanest of white beaches, even later in the day it was still busy. At the top of the path from the beach there is a sweeping brush head attached to a chain for people to brush the sand off their feet which I thought was genius. I didn't need to use it, because I was dressed for a vineyard don't you know.

The bus arrived a few minutes later and we got on and continued the rest of the  way around the island back to the ferry terminal. Again it was absolutely heaving, they were queing out the door on to the road, and it looked a bit grim to be honest. Thankfully once again we were ushered to the front of the queue and onto the waiting ferry. Talk about a bit of luck!! The only downside was the ferry was calling at Devonport on the way back which lengthened the journey a little . not a big deal but by that time we were both done and wanted to be on dry land. 

There was a little boy sitting in front of us, a cute little thing with an unusual taste in music for a kid of his age. His mum had given him her phone so he could play the music through her spotify. It was like listening to one of Simon's play lists. First up and playing loudly was Hotel California which feels to be the longest song in history when you've had a few drinks and feeling a bit emotional. Closely followed by Rod Stewart have i told you lately that i love you, (ffs, shoot me now.) Just the two of us, Bill withers which he uses to sing to me and Eric Clapton’s tears in heaven. For god sake women give your kid age appropriate music that is not going to trigger tears and snot bubbles. I subtly slipped on the  sunglasses to try and preserve the last shred of my dignity. Epic fail the kid bloody laughed at me little twat. Suddenly he wasn’t so cute and I had the urge to boot him overboard. Lucky for him the windows didn’t open.

We finally arrived back in auckland and got off the ferry, walked out oft he terminal and hailed a bolt, big price difference and way cheaper, i think ive successfully converted morgan from uber. 

The sunset was beautiful and as we drove along Tamaki drive it set over the city, a really nice end to a lovely day, apart from the trauma music on the ferry. 

We had a nice cup of tea and chocolate biscuit when we got back to the apartment and morg headed home most likely traumatised form spending another day with the mother ship. 

Much love 

Mrs Leonard

x  .