Giveaways
WAIHEKE Island is the largest island in Auckland's inner Hauraki Gulf. You can see it here in this map, which also shows the ferry routes of Auckland Harbour. Waiheke Island's got quite a large ferry commuter suburb in the western part. The eastern part of the island is agricultural, with lots of vineyards.
There's a good Wikipedia page on Waiheke Island, which used to be a hippie getaway but is totally gentrified and wine-trail-ified now, though there are still a few hippies apparently. A friend of mine heard a nice song once called 'Waiheke in the Sun' (or maybe that was just one of the lines), but we can't find any mention of it on the Internet: this was in pre-internet days. Anyway, we've borrowed the title.
Along with the township and the wine trails, Waiheke Island has quite a lot of gardens and nature reserves. This image, though not very high in resolution, gives you an idea of how much native forest is left on the island, as well as the scale of some of its beaches.
To list olnly three natural attractions, apart from the beaches, these include:
+ Te Matuku Bay Scenic Reserve on the south shore of the island, which protects Te Matuku Bay, the big bay which lies between the two southernmost headlands on the island, accessible by way of Orapiu Road, the road that can be seen snaking south-east from the island's township in the map above.
+ The west-facing Whakanewha Regional Park, west-facing and two bays over to the west, where the sun sets over the waters of the harbour.
+ Stony Batter at the eastern end of the island, which has attractive natural rocks and World War II fortifications (and a vineyard).
For more, see Tourism Waiheke: https://www.tourismwaiheke.co.nz/
Sign up for my updates on a-maverick.com and get a free electronic copy of my first book, A Maverick Traveller!
Also, if you liked the post above, check out my award-winning book about the North Island! It's available for purchase from this website too.
Subscribe to our mailing list to receive free giveaways!
