Honeymoon; Part 2

The Rest of Day 1: Oct 13, 2010

So we were hungry, and thought it would be no big deal to grab something we could eat on the ferry once we got down to the harbor. We thought wrong. Somehow it escaped us that the Kiwis are thoroughly English, and were only able to find some rather expensive and dry scones at one of the coffee shops that inhabit the area. Most of these types of shops only serve coffee and tea, with food being so secondary on the menu that you will have a hard time finding any. No matter. We bought some fuel and ran off to catch the ferry to Waiheke Island for our first adventure. Wine tasting!

Refreshments before the boat ride

We're on a boat!

Yeah, we're also childish too

It was overcast, drizzling on and off, and cool outside but I had already booked the island wine tour before we left for the trip so we were going to make the best of it! I was amped-up and completely excited to see everything so I naturally started running around the boat once we pulled away from the dock. Just had to get photos!

Ferry terminals at Auckland Harbor

View of the bay

Josh was content to pose for pictures from his seat, at least at first...

 

I was PUMPED!

More harbor and some cargo cranes

I think this was an island

 By the time I came back around to take another photo of Josh, he was slightly less amused, but still willing to try to smile...

Notice that the smile is not as big as before

I jumped around in the seat behind Josh for a bit, but got kind of cold leaning over the side of the railing

I took one last photo of Josh, then decided to put the camera away after I saw the look on his face

"I want to throw you and your camera overboard right now but there are witnesses"

Ok, he didn't actually say that. But I knew that was what the look meant. In his defense, I think I actually took 3 or 4 shots trying to get the lighting right, but I don't think I was being that annoying...

When we got to Waiheke, we jumped on a tour bus and were on our way to the first winery of the day, Mudbrick Vineyard! The grounds, building, and the views at this one were my favorite. They had a popular restaurant, and were constantly booked for weddings and I can see why!

View of some of the vines and garden on the way in, it was rainin' ;)

Outdoor seating area off of the tasting room

This was on the roof of the tasting room, totally neat idea and gorgeous views!

The other view from the roof!

Having a great time at Mudbrick!

Josh really liked the little herb gardens they had all over

All of the wineries on the island are small boutique wineries, with Mudbrick being no exception. We liked all of the wines that we tasted, and enjoyed talking to the server there about everything to do with the winery and the island itself. They grow french grapes that are hand-picked and plunged, and basket pressed. We also found out that the herb gardens were utilized in the food prepared in the restaurant, which was pretty cool. I was slightly embarrassed to learn that shiraz is the same as syrah, only different in that Aussies and Kiwis call their version a "shiraz", with practically everyone else using "syrah". The server was very knowledgeable, and we were having such a good time that the tour guide had to usher us out so we could move on!

Next up was Ridgeview Estate. This is the highest winery on the island, which meant that they grew slightly different grapes here that are more suited to the climate at that elevation and open (wind-exposed) location. We tasted some nice, refreshing wines and noshed on a delicious bread and dip platter while we chatted with the other people on the tour. The views from the estate were very pretty, but could not quite compare with the stunning landscaping that enhanced the view at Mudbrick.

Catching up to the rest of the group after a potty break

I loved the tree between these vines!

Took advantage of the perfect placement of the wine glasses :)

You can look down on a lot of the island from here

The tasting room, it was a bit chilly outside

Cheers!

I liked the last one that we tried enough to buy a bottle. I can't remember what it was for the life of me though because we drank the wine before we got back ha ha! Oh well, it was good, whatever it was.

The last winery on the tour was Te Whau Vineyard. This place was out on the point overlooking Te Whau Bay, and Auckland on the mainland. The views were spectacular here as well, which had me snapping quite a few photos before we even got inside.

On the path out to the tasting room and restaurant

You can see the vineyard as you pull up

Happy man

These grapes are hand harvested, pressed by feet (the owners daughters!) on the top floor, and gravity fed into the fermentation tanks in the basement.

Overlooking Putiki Bay

This place has the biggest selection of wines served on Waiheke, and also bottles its own vintage wine called The Point. We tasted the 2005 and 2007 vintages consisting of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec. Each one was delicious in its own way, but I liked the 2007 vintage the best and took home a bottle to save for our 20th anniversary (if we can wait that long)! The owner was an eccentric man with these santa-like spectacles with a half-circle cut out of the top. I really wanted to take a picture of him, or ask to try on his glasses, but that would have been rude. I tried to find a photo on their website to show you, but it is unsatisfyingly small. Oh well. Here is their site if you care to learn about sustainable vinticulture, its quite interesting.

After the other people on the tour were dropped off at the ferry, the driver was nice enough to drop us off at the entrance to Stoneyridge Vineyard. We were in the mood to taste some more wine, and this place had been recommended by more than one person. It had a long uphill driveway surrounded by vineyards and we had a nice time looking around while we walked. On the way up, we noticed cars leaving at high speeds and began to wonder if these were the employees racing off after the place had closed. When we got to the top, we saw that it was indeed closed for the day. A woman nearby told us to knock on the door, but we didn't want to be rude and started back down the hill. She then asked if we at least wanted a ride back down the driveway and we hopped in. This lady was a local, and a really nice person because she then asked where we intended to go after this? We thought dinner sounded good because it was getting close to 6 and she said "I'll take you to this great place out by the beach. It's on my way home!" The restaurant was Charley Farleys and the food was delicious! You also couldn't beat the view from Onetangi Beach!

Literally across the street from Charley Farleys

Naturally, I got excited to check out the beach after we ate and dragged Josh down there for some photos even though he was worried about catching the bus

Cheeese!

I was having fun taking photos of our rings in the sand, not too bad for an amateur, I think.

We made it onto the bus, despite Josh's worrying, and took the ferry back to Auckland. We had a fun and very busy first day!

Happy Josh just ate lamb for dinner