Waiheke Island

On our first day in New Zealand, we took a ferry ride to Waiheke Island. Waiheke Island is an island in the Hauraki Gulf of NZ. It is filled with untapped natural beauties like forests and sparkling white sand beaches. On the ferry ride to the island, we saw ancient volcanic islands and jagged cliffs – it felt almost alien, because nothing is volcanic like that in the east coast of the US.

Once we arrived at the port, we took a walk through a forest trail on our way to the island village. In the forest, we could see giant palm trees and orange flowers. One thing I found interesting was the amount of rat traps in the forest. But the most amazing thing we saw was the tui bird. Its bird calls were so strange; warbly, throaty and gruff. When they catch the light just right, they look green and blue. It is incredible. One other incredible thing about the island was that there is almost zero litter anywhere. Once we made it to the village, we ate lunch at a great restaurant called Wai Kitchen. From the balcony, we could see a giant volcano coming up out of the sparkling blue water. After we ate, we made our way down to one of the beautiful white sand beaches, where we swam in the relaxing, cool water. After we were done swimming, we saw a stingray in the water! After following it along the shore for a while, we climbed over some rocks and found a little secret cove where we sat on the sand and looked out at the water. Sam and I did some fun layout practices with the frisbee in the water as well. Once we were done at the beach, we hiked up a volcanic mountain to a scenic vineyard. The vineyard had beautiful views, and huge mosaics with beautiful poetry on them.

After seeing the vineyard we made our way back to the ferry and headed home. One thing I found interesting about the island: The houses are very modest. Not poorly maintained, just smaller. I think there is a different philosophy on life there – people are more about living their lives and enjoying themselves and less about trying to move up in social standing or class. In the US, this is more valued. It was a great first day in New Zealand.