Waiheke: fun, fog and adventure
Not a good start to our weekend away – the one we had really been looking forward to. Neither of our alarms went off. However, we were both so excited we were actually awake well before the alarm. Taxi arrived five minutes early and off to Te Huia (the train between Hamilton and Auckland) on the first part of our trip to the beautiful Waiheke. Because of our gold card both Te Huia and the Waiheke ferry were free.
We settled into very comfortable seats, with wide inviting windows. Initially the view was hidden as the fog was heavy, making you wonder what the ghostly shapes were. Gradually it burnt off, leaving a beautiful, albeit muddy grassy landscape, trees weeping into the river, cows enjoying what they could nibble from the ground and enjoying the various back gardens of those houses built along the river. The two and half hour trip passed quickly assisted by coffee from the onboard cafe.
Directions from the Strand which was our arrival point, were not clear but with the help of phones, passersby and lots of laughter we made our way to Britomart first for Yvonne to have her gold card placed on her Hop card and then out to the Wharf where the Waiheke ferry was awaiting us.
Skies were dull as we cruised out but the scenery was magical, passing some of the well known islands, trying to guess their names as we passed. The hop on and hop off bus greeted us as we staggered down the gangplank so throwing on packs we made off to our accommodation, pleased not to have to walk up hills in what was now steady rain.
Punga Lodge was an older but very comfortable accommodation right on the bus route. This proved such a blessing as we skipped in and out to explore bits of the island. Our large room looked out over a gully filled with native trees, including punga. The birdsong was especially loud at dusk and the dawn brough a Kereru( a native pigeon) to a branch outside our window.
Dinner on Saturday night was at the Oyster Inn. Pricey but worth it. This was enjoyed with my grand nephew who runs a business on the island – both cycling and kayaking. He already has had a life filled with many adventures and was happy to share these stories with us but was also really interested in hearing of the adventures which both Yvonne and I had had/are having. Such a funfilled evening where age didn’t seem to matter.
Waking the next morning to still more rain our arrangements were adjusted to leaving on the 11 o’clock ferry rather than waiting around in the rain until 3 p.m. Quickly saying goodbye to Jonathon whose businesses are very close to the ferry we once again enjoyed our free ride because of our gold cards, back to the Mainland. Te Huia doesn’t run on a Sunday so a quick walk up to Skycity where the InterCity buses are based . A very pleasant two hour ride later we once again threw our packs on and walked home.
A quick meal and off to the movies.” Oppenheimer. “A lovely end to what we both agreed was a wonderful two day break.