waiheke island

so, despite my waiheke wwoof not being ideal (and being downright awkward/uncomfortable), i stuck around the island for a week trying to make other arrangements. i based myself at the kina backpackers' hostel at onetangi beach and managed to meet some other really great travelers as well as the owner, luke, and his pup, tiny. being the off season here in new zealand means that even when booking a dorm room, i usually have the room to myself, and waiheke was no different. for the 4 nights i was at the backpackers i had my own room, and for 3 of the nights there were only 4 people at the whole place, me being the only girl. it was quiet, but not bad. the beaches are gorgeous and the buses run regularly between the 3 towns and there are a few really lovely markets and cafes and shops to browse in.

on the first night at kina i met a troop of girls from minnesota (!) who were in new zealand for two weeks before heading to oz for another two before going back home to mn. the 4 of us stayed up late at the kitchen table, drinking wine, chatting about travel and teasing our new friend, sam, a youngin' from holland (a 21 year old lad).

waiheke is blessed with a perfect grape growing climate which, by somehow, makes really good wine. there are several dozen small boutique wineries on the island and the gals had been lucky enough to go tasting at a few of them over the weekend, and had bought a few bottles to share with us (yay!). the girls left on tuesday, but sam had a rental car and suggested we go wine tasting and cruise around the island. unfortunately for us, the wineries are only open on the weekends during the winter - so we didn't get to taste at any of the estates, but we did give ourselves a full tour of the island, checking out the stony batter war memorial and all of the beaches, before buying some local wine in the market to drink with dinner.

after 4 lovely nights at kina backpackers i was contacted by the driving creek cafe in coromandel town, and asked to come over there to wwoof. so, adios to waiheke - i hope to meet again in the journey, but for now, i move on.