Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Waiheke Island (again, this time on Mazu) March 18 - 25th


 
Yea! We are back in the water again. After many delays, umpteen dollars and cyclone Lusi, Mazu made it back in the water. We were so glad to have our home floating again. I turned on the freezer and fridge (items we could not use while out of the water as we have a “keeled-cooled” system) and it appeared that all systems were a go. Unfortunately the next morning I noticed that the fridge was no longer cool. Darn we forgot that it was on the frits before we left.  A refrigeration company was called and a service man (Ross, who also is a fishing expert and gave me lots of advice on fishing)  figured out the issue and we soon were up and cooling again. A run to the store for provisions and we were ready to go.

Our first shake down  cruise was  to Waiheke Island. We decide to motor so we could concentrate on the ins and outs of our new chart-plotter; soon we are nicely tucked into a nice anchorage on the west side of Onetangie Bay. We celebrate with a couple of cold beers and enjoy the sunset and burgers off the grill, now we are really living again.

The next day I am anxious to try out my new fishing lures, I want to catch a snapper which I hear are everywhere here, we get a late start and miss the prime fishing time, no fish, but we get a nice dingy cruise in. We then move over to the East side of the bay and meet up with our friends on Double Diamond and Exit Strategy. We have drinks on Mazu then meet on DD for and tasty dinner, great wine and a spectacular sunset. Our plan is to go to shore tomorrow to walk to some of the small wineries that make Waiheke a popular tourist destination.

Waiheke walking wine tour:

Melody and Jeff pick me up in the morning; Mel is sitting this excursion out as he is not really into wine. After a nice lunch we start our hike up to the winery trail. While the steps up are steep we are rewarded with a great view of Onetangi Bay. We meander down a few streets and soon find the correct road to the first winery. We do not stay as the tasting room is not open only the restaurant. Here is where it gets fun. The trail to the next winery is through the vineyards. It is  interesting to see the grapes and vines up close. Soon we arrive at Obsidian Winery.

Obsidian winery, like most on Waiheke is very small, but they produce all their own grapes and produce the wine themselves. We are well taken care of and sample several different wines. Each one is very good. It is hard to make a choice, but I purchase a bottle of their Chardonnay. We were then off through the vineyards again to the next.

Waiheke is a very hilly island and parts of the trail is very steep, but it is very pretty and soon we are at Stonyridge winery. The setting is very pretty so we sit and have a glass of water. The staff does not seem to notice us and as it is running late we decide to carry on to the next place.

Wild on Waiheke winery and brewery is unique as they have skeet shooting and archery as activities you can participate in while you sample their beers and/or wines, some combination. Unfortunately they are closed when we arrive, so no shooting for us. They do let us have a beer and relax.

The bus stop is right outside their place so we take the bus back to Onetangi Beach. Our little group will split up in the morning with Double Diamond and Exit Strategy going on to other anchorages. We will stay for another day while we decide where to go next.
Here are some pictures from Waiheke Island:
 

 












Stonyridge Winery

Stonyridge Croquette Club
 






 

 

 

1 comment:

gusterbunny said...

The pictures were so beautiful! Looks like you having a blast, miss you girl!