We had a spectacularly wonderful weekend. Departing Auckland on the 6:30 ferry (a passenger ferry, the car ferry leaves from another port up the coast), we arrived on Waiheeeeeeeeke shortly after 7pm. Forgetting that we had fully loaded backpacks on, we chose to forego the $2 bus fare in favour of walking the 4km to the hostel that we had yet to book into. About 1km from our destination we discovered that it was not an easy place to find, particularly in the approaching darkness and called a cab, which cost us $5. The math doesn’t add up, but no matter.

So we got a place to sleep… there were no beds left, but thankfully Sherilyn was kind enough to share her tent. Her 1-man (not 2-woman) tent. It was cozy! It was a beautiful little hostel we were at – out in the woods with an outdoor pool and hot tub (neither of which I made it into, boooooo me) and a huge back deck which encouraged the free flow of wine and chat among fellow travellers. It appeared as though we arrived just in time to join in the “Canada takes Waiheke Weekend”, with half the hostels occupants being fellow canucks.

Saturday was a perfectly lazy day. A big breakfast (banana & bacon pancakes – unbelievably good) at the Lazy Lounge and some wandering through downtown Onerua (all four shops or so), a little hike in some rocky terrain (I think we found Middle Earth) and we were both ready for a nice nap on the beach for the afternoon. Life is rough. Saturday continued with a great supper, some local beer (Baroona, very nice & light) and more of what Waiheke is known for – sitting back with a bottle of wine! We made a friend Susan who is a trained viticulturist (wine maker/vineyard expert) and learned loads about the whole process and industry.

Don’t think I’m a wino – it’s a request on Waiheke that you drink beverages other than water as much as possible because all of their water is from rainwater – no groundwater wells. Cool eh? There’s only about 7000 permanent inhabitants on the whole island, almost all falling into 1 of 2 categories: hippies or richy rich with 4 other homes. There seems to be a real harmony of the 2 lifestyles which was best exemplified by the Lazy Lounge I thought. It’s a restaurant/lounge with a mishmash of furnishings but with beautiful food (many veggie options) and gourmet coffees. Sunday there was a “band” (singer, shakers and jembays) on the back deck with a large crowd finding their groove.

So yeah, back to our adventures. Sunday we went all out. Most of you wouldn’t know this but I am petrified of motorcycles. Can’t really think of anything I am more scared of. Don’t know why, especially since Dad has had so many, but I’ve never been on one and they frighten me. Against all better judgement, fears and aneurysms my body tried to give me, Sunday Sherilyn & rented scooters. Not quite a motorcycle mamma, but a big step. And, once I got remotely comfortable on it, they were an absolute BLAST! We had SO much fun!! We cruised around the island (preferring back roads!) and headed over to see some more of the stunning coastline.

Sherilyn, being more experienced with scooters, got a new peppy one, whereas I was given an oh-look-at-the-terror-on-her-face-give-her-the-oldest-we-don’t-care-if-she-crashes model. It suited me fine; I didn’t really want to go over 30 anyway (yes, that’s km) but when it came to hills we had a problem. As in Sherilyn would get to the top, have a look around, go for a walk, grab a coffee, read the paper and still no me as I was less than halfway there, laughing hysterically at myself trying to Fred Flinstone the damn thing up the hill. I didn’t make it. There was only one hill that I absolutely had to get up in order to get the bike back to the rental place and it was even more of a challenge since I flooded it. (Embarrassed yet Dad?) Sherilyn jumpstarted (told you she was the pro) and away we went, flying back into town at 35km an hour. Luckily we were only 3km away!
But wait – the fun doesn’t stop there! Once we got the bikes back we made a mad dash to the kayak shed to meet Ross, our guide for the afternoon. We lucked in and it was just the 2 of us (in a 2-man kayak) and Ross for the afternoon. He was so cool (cool bananas as he would say) and interspersed telling us about the land and rocks and sea with life philosophies. Not what I expected in a kayak guide to say the least, but we had such a great time. We were on the water for almost 3 hours and it was just the ultimate relaxing and peaceful experience (brought my blood pressure back down after the scootering!).

Back to the lazy Lounge for supper and we were homeward bound. It was a perfect day that was soooooooooo fun and full of new stuff. Now to plan the next adventure!