Waiheke Island, New Zealand
My best friend and I spent 18 days road-tripping around New Zealand and let me just say if New Zealand is not on your bucket list, please add it! The trip was better than imagined - INSANE views, delicious food, kind people, and very affordable (at least coming from someone used to San Diego prices). We started the trip by taking a ferry ride to Waiheke Island off the coast of Auckland. The ferry ride was about an hour and very pleasant even for someone who gets seasick. We spent 2 nights here and I think it was the perfect amount of time to explore.
I highly recommend staying in the airbnb we stayed at for some gorgeous views, incredibly kind hosts, and a cute furry friend. When I was doing my research and planning this trip I found that it’s super common to find outdoor bathtubs in New Zealand. We visited the island during dry season and the island gets all its water from rain water, so we didn’t use the tub, but I imagine it’d be quite serene.
After settling into our airbnb we headed out to explore. Our place was walking distance to some beaches, shops, and restaurants, but the public bus system was super easy to navigate for longer distances. We checked out a few beaches and towns - Oneroa, Onetangi, and Surfdale. Onetangi was my favorite beach - I’m a sucker for cliffside ocean views! And Oneroa was my favorite town for eating and shopping!
Although Waiheke is a small island (less than 40 square miles), the island has over 30 vineyards scattered throughout, so obviously we had to try one! We decided to go with Batch Winery and it did not disappoint! One thing about me is I rarely drink and almost all alcohol gives me a migraine, but the quality of this wine was so good that I felt just the right amount of tipsy and no headache at all the next day. The employee was so kind and let me sample a bunch of the wines because I couldn’t decide. Usually I’m a sweet wine drinker, but I chose merlot and it hit the spot.
This was only the first leg of our trip, but it set such a good precedent for the amazing trip to come. Stay tuned and subscribe to see what else we did during our time across the world!