D43 -- Valentine’s on Waiheke

After laundry, a bite to eat, and some quick shopping for necessities, we took a ferry to nearby Waiheke Island. It was very pretty there, with several beaches, lots of wineries, and some olive groves. We had lunch at a place overlooking the water called Vino Vino, where I had a dish I just have to mention: roasted tomatoes with melted feta and pesto on crispy wontons. Yum! I tired one of the local wines, as well. Yum again. I liked the food so much I decided to leave my purse there in hopes I could eat more when I came back for it. (Actually, it was an accident, and one that caused us much worry as our passports were inside. Luckily, we recovered all later!)

After lunch we went to Onetangi Bay. Onetangi means weeping sands, and it’s so named for two reasons. There was a massacre of Maori tribesmen here (by another Maori tribe), and also there is a line of natural springs that becomes evident during low tide, which gives the appearance of weeping. The beach was nice – it was a very long crescent shape with light grey sand, gentle waves, and clear water. I lazed around on the sand while Thomas went for a long walk and swam for a bit. (I thought it was too chilly since it was cloudy.)

We drove to Te Whau Lodge to spend Valentine’s evening there. Our friends Sarah and Michael stayed there on their honeymoon and raved about it so much we had to check it out. It definitely lived up to their reports - it’s a beautiful lodge that overlooks two bays, a winery, and has views of Auckland in the distance.

Our hosts Liz and Gene were waiting for us when we arrived. We were served canapés and wine with the other six guests, and then we sat down for a gourmet dinner cooked by Carl the chef. Our dinner companions were an older married couple from Australia (they were originally from Cape Town) and a dating couple from LA (although she was from NZ). Dinner conversation was lively and covered everything from politics, NZ sights, car racing, property ownership and family. Gene and Liz joined us for portions of the meal. We really liked them a lot – they were very warm and friendly and seemed genuinely interested in conversing with us. It was interesting to hear Gene speak about the US’s influence in NZ. At one point he made the comment that when the US gets the common cold, NZ contracts pneumonia. I think that is true for so many countries, and I think most Americans don’t realize this, or don’t think about the awesome responsibility that goes along with our influence and power. (End of soapbox moment.)

After dinner we decided to go for a dip in the outdoor hot tub. The night was cloudy but we could see the lights of Auckland in the distance and I even got to see a shooting star. Romantic, no?

-Elva