5/29/2008 Waiheke Island in the Daylight!

After letting Mike sleep in a bit, we enjoyed the fresh croissants they had left on our doorstep with coffee and then our island exploration began. We were on the north side near the middle so we first headed west to Oneroa, gathered a few grocerieis, wine and cheese, explored the little main street, then drove to some scenic lookout points. Next we drove back across the island to the opposite end to explore Stony Batter; WWII tunnels and battlement site, named so because the land was peppered with huge boulders randomly in the fields. It was a further walk than we thought, plus the tunnels were closed, so we just drove the countryside, enjoying the steep hills emptying into deep valleys, with lots of sheep and cows grazing. We also caught great views of the water from various heights around the island. We had lunch at a beach side cafe before returning through more beautiful scenery to enjoy a magnificent sunset just down from where we were staying. It had been a fairly warm, sunny fall day that we wrapped up with a soak in the French hot tub which was outside on the back porch, surrounded by privacy shades!!!