Waiheke Island, the gem of the Hauraki Gulf is only 35 minutes by ferry from Auckland New Zealand but a million miles away in pace and beauty. The Island has award winning vineyards, olive groves and pasture land, not to mention some awsome beaches. The residential areas are in small village settings each with it's own character. There is a slower pace of life than the city across the water and is a great place for a holiday or vacation and to relax and unwind. Residents rely purely on rain water and there is only one major supermarket that supports a population of about 8000 people. In Summer the poulation swells to about 30000.
We did the Explorers tour which takes you to all the major spots on the island. There is apparently 120kms of road on Waiheke. When the tour was done we were met by my boss, Nigel. He showed us around a little more and we enjoyed the rest of the day at his beautful home. After dinner we caught the ferry back over to Auckland. It was a bit scary because this time it was dark and you couldn't see a thing and the waters were quite rough. I would like to go back to get more photos because there was actually a lot more to see. Maybe next time we'll do the wine tour. It really is a stunning place!
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I have been watching the weather for a nice day to take the boat out on the weekend and finally it happened. I prepared the boat the night before, and I was determined that I was going out the next morning and nothing was going to stop me. Warren and I launched the boat off Browns Bay beach early that morning. After leaving him standing in the cold water for about ten minutes while I negotiated trying to reverse into a parking spot with the trailer, we finally made our way into the wide blue yonder. Well, the intention was to stay real close to “home”, but once I realised how easy and fun it was, we decide to shoot straight across the Gulf to Rangitoto Island. It is about 10km across – we hung around the lighthouse for a while and then went back – I was already pushing it for my first time out. Back at Browns Bay, we anchored off just outside the bay area, baited up the hooks and did some fishing and relaxing. It was wonderful. Oh, we caught about 11 fish between us, but none of them were quite big enough and had to be thrown back, as they have strict size restrictions on different fish, so we never took anything home - but hey, it was lots of fun. If you look at the photos you will see one of my great catches - it is literally impossible to catch one that small but I somehow hooked the little guy through the stomach!? Don't worry, he's fine :-)
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After the first outing on the boat I found a few issues that needed sorting out before I could take it out on the water again, so that is where the boat is at the moment. I guess that is the price you pay for buying 2nd hand? Then again, if I bought new, I could never afford it. Also, once I have paid for some fixing, the boat would still not have cost half of what a new one would, so at the end of the day its just par for the course... Pity it happened now though because today is just the most awsome day and the weather is going to be perfect the entire weekend - that does not happen often in winter.