Waiheke Island







Lots of vineyards

Blackpool beach minus the donkeys!

Onetangi Beach

Demolition courtesy of Cyclone Wilma

My running track

View from trig hill of Ostend




  A 40 minute ferry ride away from Auckland took me to Waiheke Island.  Again another place that looks stunningly like England with sunshine.  Life on the island is led at a very slow pace and as such the island has a very relaxed feel to it.  It specialises in winemaking so not the worse place in the world to be.  It's also considered to be a place where old hippies come to retire and I must admit I'd agree with that judging by some of the locals I met.  Amazingly for a sleepy island where you would think it's impossible to commit any crime, the hostel was  broken into on my second night and several items stolen.  Not mine though luckily.  Lots of walking and running led me all over the island to several excellent view points.  You can just see the sky tower in Auckland in the distance and the busy city seems a million miles away.  So a good few days of relaxing and not doing much to prepare me for heading back to the mayhem that is S.E.Asia on Friday.  I'll be spending a couple of days at Katie and Taylors in Auckland before I leave just to keep the Odyssey theme going strong.