Alright so where did we leave off? Right, went to sleep pretty hard on Tuesday night. Unfortunately I kept waking up as the night progressed. I ended up waking up/getting out of bed at 5:30AM. Fortunately EastWest Yoga had a morning class at 6:30AM. I woke got up, got ready, and headed over.

The walk over was interesting. It was quite dark, and you saw kiwis going for their morning runs or walking their dogs.

Class was great, got showered and cleaned up, then headed back over to Little Bird for breakfast. Because today’s agenda included a wine tasting on Waiheke Island, I wanted to get a solid foundation. I ordered a non-egg omelette and these Cacao Buckwheat Waffles. Two eggsellent choices. The omelette had an almost dosa-like texture and taste to it, and the waffles were super delicious.

After finishing up my kombucha and these plates, I made my way over to the ferry/harbor. Absolutely beautiful morning. Sun shining, no wind, not cold at all, even though I had my heavy fleece and gloves on.

Had to wait a bit, around 45 minutes. Not a problem. Got on the ferry which was super modern sleek. Views from the boat upon exiting the harbor were beautiful.

After a 45 minute ride (we stopped at another port called ‘Davenport’), we were on Waiheke Island. Our guide, Jocelyn, picked us up on the bus and we began our journey.

Turns out that Jocelyn is a native to Waiheke, and at 75, is the oldest bus driver. She informed us that the island has an aging population, and that she fell into bus driving as her son suggested it to her. Jocelyn drives the early local busses to and from the port, and then occupies her days conducting tours. This was the first time that we found out that the average home price in AKL is nearly $1,000,000 NZD ($666,666 USD). Many of the homes that we saw may not have approached this price, yet, were close in some instances. I’m not quite sure if you can tell in the photos above, but some of these homes that sit on these hills are ABSURD. It made me wonder what the heck these people do to afford such a home. It was also possible that they purchased the land/built the home 15-20 years ago before the bubble burst.

Ok, so to the important stuff, wine. The first place we stopped was Stoneyridge Winery. We walked up and were greeted at the door by two women, one from Italy and one from Kazakstan. They gave us a brief run down of their history and owner, Steven somethingorother, and how dude was all about yoga and hiking and something else. We sipped on a Sauvignon Blanc and walked around the property briefly inspecting the vines, olive grove (oh that was another passion of his?), and sipped on a Bordeaux blend (which was quite tasty and I’m not a Bordeaux guy).

Maria! That was her name, Maria (from Italy). She explained how, geographically, Waiheke Island’s hills created a microclimate similar to that of SF or other wine producing regions. The hills kept the ‘innards’ 2-3 degrees (probably celsius) warmer, allowing ideal climates to grow grapes and produce wine.

Ok, so then we sat and sipped on some wine! They only gave you two samples (one white and one red) and then, should you desire more, each class was an additional $5.00 NZD. Not tooooo bad, but when at my niece’s graduation from Ithaca University we went wine tasting and had at least 4 wines at each place.

ALSO, the scenery was just breathtaking. Again, surreally real. Sun shining, cool, wine in hand, amazing.

While here, I met a freshly minted married couple from, of all places, NJ! So we got to chopping it up, turns out Alexa and Ben (shout to Ben for the photo ‘cover’ of this day) had just arrived and decided to wine taste on their first day. Strong moves indeed.

So, we left this spot and went to another. I don’t recall the name. Not because of wine, actually because of a lack of wine. Apparently they were more about their olive oil production than wine production. We good.

THEN, we went to our next winery, Casita Miro. It had all the Spanish feels. Apparently this owner is super into mosaic making. This place was EXCELLENT, with a classy presentation and view. They knew how to throw down a wine tasting. They had this Sauvignon Blanc paired with a gouda cheese which was divine. We tried four different wines, one with a brandy finish (not my fave). Also met some interesting folks from Australia, in fact, lots of couples from Australia. Seems ‘sweet as’ for people to come to the northern island and bounce around a bit, then head to the southern island to ski.

It also seemed that we were slllliiiightly rushed in each place. We had to chu…sip our wine quickly at this spot before heading to our last winery.

Now, Miro was my favorite, until we got to Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant. MY GOODNESS, the views here were beyond ridiculous. Jocelyn, on the drive up, said that, even if you didn’t have a significant other, book your wedding slot and in the 2-3 years of waiting you’ll find someone.

She wasn’t lying. These views:

We got wrapped up at Mudbrick, made our way back to the port, boarded our ferry, and made our way back to Auckland. I made my way back to Ponsonby, then got changed and went back to EastWest for a hot yoga class. Definitely thought I was going to vomit at least twice. Felt great afterwards, however. I was fiending for some Indian, so found a restaurant called Little India, got a Palak Paneer and a Dal with some naan. Crushed it all. Went back home, and knocked out.