Day 58, Wine on Waiheke

Day 58, Wine on Waiheke

PILOT ARRIVES

Before dawn I heard the sound of a powerboat close off our starboard side. It turned out to be the harbor pilot’s boat running along side the ms Amsterdam. A rope ladder was lowered for the harbor pilot to scramble up to board our ship.

AUCKLAND

We would be moored soon at the Auckland Cruise Terminal which is one of the best anywhere in the world due to its proximity to major points of interest.  Downtown Auckland is across the street and the ferry terminal to nearby islands is next door.

Today we are heading to Waiheke island, about 14 miles or 30-minutes away on the ferry, and home to many wineries, some beautiful scenery and shopping.

We are staying in Auckland overnight, so everyone feels a little more comfortable going further away on the first day since there is less worry about getting back to the ship in time for the typical 4:30 PM All Aboard.

WAIHEKE ISLAND

Waiheke Island is a large island, over 10 miles across. Our options for getting around are to take the Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) Bus,  use the City Bus system or rent a car.  The HOHO bus is the simplest but you could save some money if you used the city buses. The city bus system doesn’t go everywhere that the HOHO bus visits, so once you decide where you want to go you can make a better decision on transportation.  You can buy an all-day city bus pass, or the HOHO ticket in the Ferry Terminal on Waiheke Island.

I bought a package online in advance for the ferry and the HOHO.  More information HERE. A map for the HOHO system is HERE

You can find information about the Ferry HERE and the bus system HERE and HERE

I recommend getting your ferry ticket in advance online, as this will save you time, and the possibility of a line, if you wait to buy your ticket on the day of departure. There is a little bit of risk as most of these advance purchase tickets not refundable.

FERRY TO WAIHEKE

We planned to take the 9 o’clock ferry to Waiheke island so that we could be there in time for the first HOHO bus at 10 AM.  We left the ship around the 8:45 AM and while the Ferry terminal is right next to the cruise terminal, about a five minute walk away once you are outside the terminal, we cut it too close. Although we arrived exactly at the 9 AM departure time, we didn’t have a buffer for any unforeseen delays.  I would recommend leaving the ship 30 minutes prior to your desired ferry to give yourself a little more time to get lost and not be quite so rushed.

Some of the ferries stop at Devonport on the way to Waiheke island which will add about 10 minutes to the transit time.

The ferry is fast, and rides smoothly.  There is a café onboard that sells coffee and snacks.  The ferries also have WiFi, but it wasn’t very fast.

WAIHEKE ISLAND

The ferry terminal on Waikiki island has several car rental counters, a small gift shop, a small café and a company selling some tours.

The first HOHO bus left at 10 AM, but was too full to accommodate everyone in line requiring us to wait 10 minutes for the next bus to arrive. After a short wait, we boarded one of their few doubledecker buses and left the ferry terminal at 10:20 AM.  Unless you don’t mind waiting for the second HOHO bus, don’t delay joining the HOHO queue once you arrive on the island.  One benefit of being in the front of the line for the next bus was that we were able to get seats in the first row of the upper deck.  Not all buses have upper decks and while sitting in the front row upstairs was fun, we learned that the view was not worth too much effort jockeying for a better seat. 

Sometimes, in some cities, Hop on Hop off passengers stay on the bus throughout the day and making it difficult to reboard once you get off.  This was not the case today as there was always plenty of room on the bus whenever we chose to reboard.

ONETANGI

We rode the HOHO bus out to Onetangi at HOHO Stop 6A, which was the most distant point of the network.  This gave us a good sampling of the scenery and the live commentary let us know what the island had to offer.  The scenery along the way is green and pretty, but not something that you would seek out for that reason alone.  

After we got off the bus at stop 6A we walked for a quarter-mile to some steps leading up to one of the wineries. We didn’t go up the 180 steps but were curious to see where they were located.  We were a little disappointed with the lack of shopping or really anything to do here other than eat at one of the restaurants.  The beach was nice and if you were looking for a beach day, this place would be something to consider.

The buses come every 30 minutes so we planned to be back at the bus stop a few minutes before a scheduled departure.  When we hurried to get back to our original bus stop, we bypassed a bus stop that was actually closer to where we were.  If you wander from your original stop, double check that you didn’t move closer to another stop before retracing your steps.  

WILD ON WAIHEKE

Wild on Waiheke, Stop 8, was our next stop in the center of the island.  This is the winery with a big arrow sticking in the ground.  They have an archery range and laser claybird shooting which looked like fun.  More information HERE.   

There is a nice area outside to order wine tastings or food.  Susan ordered a five glass tasting of various wines while I ordered a five glass sampling of beer, each was $20 NZD.  The samples were very nice and we enjoyed spending some time here.

There are 4 other wineries in this area, so you could spent most of the day here, if you wanted to sample them all.  We originally planned on going to the museum at this stop but we learned that it was closed on Monday, the day we were there. Be sure to check the Museum hours of operation before you plan your day.  

We were back at Stop 8 with a few minutes to spare prior to the scheduled arrival time, but as it turned out the bus was about 15 minutes late. 

THE BATCH WINERY

The Batch Winery, Stop 9, is at the top of a hill with a panoramic view of the island.  The weather was a little bit too overcast to make out much scenery, but on a clear day the view would be spectacular.  The Auckland skyline was barely visible off in the distance.  This stop was part of the Holland America tour and we watched several tour groups cycle through as we relaxed here on the deck.  The groups spent a little time in a tasting area before walking out to the lawn and deck area where they stood to enjoy their wine and the view before heading back to their buses. 

We ordered a four glass wine sampling for $20 NZD which we enjoyed along with the nice weather and view.  After about 45 minutes we went back to the bus stop to head to Stop 13 at Oneroa. 

While waiting for the bus we checked out a beautiful 1957 Chevy Belair with right hand steer.

ONEROA

Back on the bus we headed back towards the stop where most of the shops and restaurants are located. Oneroa is served by Stop 13 or Stop 1 depending on your direction.   As we approached Oneroa, the HOHO bus guide operator advised us to go to a restaurant called “The Local” for the best fish and chips.  We found The Local but it was closed for remodeling, it would be a nice lunch spot to consider for your visit.  We walked across the street to the Oneroa Beach Club. They had fish and chips and looked pleasant with a covered seating area facing the sidewalk. We ordered at the counter and they delivered our fish and chips to our table on the outside patio.  

A few seagulls were watching us eat and when Susan stepped away from the table, the lead seagull screeched and suddenly another dozen appeared and they started to march toward her unfinished food.  We shooed them away, but it was funny to see them stalking us while we ate.  

After we finished eating we strolled through a few the shops looking for T shirts that said “Waiheke Island”, but we weren’t able to find any.  I poked my head in the Waiheke Wine Center which has wine available from all the wineries on the island. If you want to look for a particular wine you may be able to find it here without having to travel to the winery itself.  

BACK TO AUCKLAND

We got on the HOHO at 3:30 PM and headed back to the ferry terminal in time for the 4 o’clock ferry back to Auckland and the ms Amsterdam.  Once we were inside the Auckland cruise terminal I paused for a second to check the WiFi connection and it was fairly slow, okay for email and surfing but not much else.

We had a great day on Waiheke Island and I would recommend this to anyone looking for something different to do while in Auckland.  It’s important to do some research in advance, particularly if you are a wine aficionado as you won’t be able to visit all the wineries and you will want to visit those that will be of most interest to your preferences.

After dinner I was back in the cabin and I noticed that we could receive the WiFi from the adjacent cruise terminal.  I was able to sit out on our deck and get pretty decent WiFi. While the  connection wasn’t terrific, it was steady and I wasn’t constantly getting kicked off.