It was another typically brisk July morning in Auckland. We headed to the ferry dock nearby to catch the 12:00 boat to Waiheke Island. The boat appeared to be mostly full of Americans in town for the World Cup. We had some nice views of downtown Auckland as we headed for Waiheke. The crossing took about forty minutes.
The Air BnB we had booked was very serious about its check-in time of 2:00pm, so we had to kill a bit of time. After picking up our rental car, we drove around the area a bit — making a stop at Little Oneroa Beach. Oneroa means “long beach” in the native Maori language, which makes Little Oneroa Beach translate to Little long beach. There was a small path (or as they call them here …“tramping tracks”) that led up the nearby hillside for some views overlooking the little long beach.
We then ventured into the “big city” of Oneroa (population 1000) to get some groceries. We then dumped all of our bags and groceries off at the Air BnB and devised a plan of action. Waiheke typically has sunnier weather when compared to the rest of the North Island of New Zealand, but we encountered two brief rain showers while we were discussing our next adventure. It is also known for its numerous wineries, but many of those aren’t open or doing tastings because it is winter. In fact, as we discovered, there’s really not a lot open at all.
Nicole suggested we check out the lawn bowling club of Waiheke. Their website claimed that they would happily take in newcomers, but in practice, it seemed more like old people who didn’t like the idea of youths meddling with their secret society of lawn bowlers who never actually lawn bowl. We decided to move on. We drove around other areas of the western side of Waiheke until we reached the end of the road. There was a path/tramping track that continued onward, but ultimately just ended up in mud, so we retreated.
We eventually found ourselves back at Little Oneroa as the sun dipped behind some clouds. For our last action, we went to get dinner at The Heke, a trendy sort of gastropub. I had a lamb curry, which Nicole was not pleased with. I apparently remained curry-flavored for the next five hours. The Heke was playing one of the World Cup games in the background and the clientele seemed to be mostly World Cup viewers. In fact, Nicole was convinced that she saw a known journalist who often writes about the women’s national team. After much debate, the woman in question left the restaurant, but not before glancing in my direction and thinking to herself, “Is that Bricole, everyone’s favorite celebrity couple?”
We relaxed back at the Air BnB with the complimentary bottle of local wine and some snacks before turning in for the night. Tomorrow has no definitive plans. Also, everything is closed. Thanks, lawn bowling club of Waiheke! But that’s alright. The island is not very big, but it is quite scenic and relaxing. As always, being here in the offseason helps us to avoid what would normally be a deluge of tourists. I will give up my potential career as professional lawn bowler as a fair trade off.
passports & pepto bismol 