Day 30 Tuesday, February 13, 2024, Waiheke Island

Overnight in Port All Aboard 07:30 Departure 20:00

We decided on a visit to Waiheke Island with Bev and Glenn to go wine tasting at three vineyards. They are renowned for their wineries and a short 45-minute ferry ride from Auckland. Glenn and I walked to the Ferry Building to purchase an all-inclusive ticket for the ferry to the island and the hop on hop off bus with stops at the wineries. The ticket agent suggested we go to the furthest and make our way back. We started at Stonyridge, then Batch Winery with the last stop being Cable Bay near the ferry terminal.

We showed up for our 10:00 ferry and found that the queue line was very long. Once the ferry arrived the line began to move but unfortunately the 10:00 ferry quickly filled up before we could get on. An announcement indicated the ferry was filled and the next ferry would be 11:00. Oh no a one-hour delay but quickly Fullers Ferries put another ferry on the route due to the number of people still in the queue. Let's just say BC Ferries would not do this even if they had notice.

Arriving at Stonyridge we made our up the road to sample the standard tasting. These included Fallen Angel Rose 2023 from Central Otago, Stonyridge Reserve Viognier 2023 from Waikheke Island and Stonyridge Reserve Pinot Noir 2020 from Martinborough.

I sampled the first two but passed on the Pinot Noir. The samples were accompanied by cheese and crackers which we purchased. Now it was time to walk back down to the road to get the bus. As we walked we could see the bus so we began to run but it looked like we would not make it. At this time a gentleman in his jeep yelled to get into his jeep and he would bring us down the road and the bus.

Unfortunately, the bus left before we could get there and so this kind local asked which winery we were going to and would drive us to the Batch Winery. On the way Glenn who was in the front seat asked what he did at the winery. His response is I am the CEO of Stonyridge Winery, but I will still take you to my competitor lol. This gives you a flavor of how friendly kiwis are.

We decided on lunch before the wine tasting. After lunch and the tasting, we needed to queue up for the hop on hop off bus. As we climbed on the bus the driver yelled that the bus is full - no more so I was thankfully the last one on. There must have been at least 20 to 30 people still waiting in the queue.

The hop on hop off bus stopped at Mudbrick where several passengers left but the driver was not able to accommodate the people still waiting for a bus.

Now it is on to Cable Bay but the bus is completely full, so we make the decision to bypass the winery and return by ferry to Auckland with a stop in Devonport.

Two days is certainly not enough to explore Auckland or the surrounding area. It is a big city. Three stops three thumbs up on New Zealand.

We are now on our way to Port of Rotorua 141 nautical miles away.