We could have sat and gazed at the view from Delight Cafe, Waiheke Island all day. The heat of the sun wafting in through the windows, the picture perfect blue ocean and an ice cold fizzy orange juice to cool down. However, we had some exploring to do.

Waiheke Island is a 40 minute ferry ride from Auckland and boasts some gorgeous beaches. There are also around 19 boutique wineries and craft breweries. Believe it or not, we didn’t visit any of those! The only option at this time of year was an organised tour and we didn’t feel like being herded around in what seemed like such as relaxed place.

We used the public buses to visit Oneroa Beach and Onetangi Bay, where we paddled in the Pacific and unwound to the sounds of the waves. We even came across Blackpool Beach! No amusement arcades and bingo halls here though.

We have to say that the bus drivers seemed to enjoy going around the tight corners as fast as possible, which wasn’t ideal when trying to take photos or video.

The contrast in the types of houses was interesting – million dollar homes overlooking the bays, to ramshackle bungalows in need of lots of attention. Apparently, Waiheke Island was a bit of a hippy haven up until the 80s, when people with money saw the advantages of living in paradise and commuting to the big smoke. I guess a 40 minute ferry ride is much better than sitting in rush-hour road traffic for over an hour!

The ferry ride out to Waiheke Island was much more enjoyable than the ride back, when everyone was serenaded by the kiwi equivalent of Glee Club. I think I’m getting old.

check out a wee video

By the time we got from the airport to our accommodation it was around 9am. We knew it would be far too early to check in, but thought this might be a good thing as we wouldn’t be tempted to have a ‘nap’, only to wake up 8 hours later.

Luckily, the place has a pool and gym with shower facilities, so we were able to freshen up – a real bonus for anyone standing within 3 feet of us.

First priority was factor 30 sunscreen. We know that the sun in NZ is extremely strong and found out later that day that the ‘burn time’ was just 7 minutes.

We then went for a stroll around the Auckland Harbour area and sat in the sun for a while, then did a bit of shopping in Queen Street, which has a strange mixture of designer shops, a la Gucci, high street shops and cheap souvenir shops.

Come lunchtime, our watches were telling us it was 12.30pm, but our bodies were telling us different. We didn’t know whether we were tired, hungry, thirsty or what. We stumbled across the ubiquitous Irish bar and stopped for chips and a nice ice cold coke. Yes, coke!

After returning to the hotel to check in and gaze longingly at the comfy bed, we forced ourselves out and about again. A few hours later, which all passed in a bit of a haze, we found ourselves in cool-named Vulcan Lane, at a bar (Vulture’s Lane) serving craft beers (real ale).

By the time we left, at 7pm, we had got to know Jordan, one of the staff, and her brother, who runs the bar. They gave us loads of tips on the best places to eat in Auckland and generally just had a great chat. We may return to do some beer tastings! (Angus:- We will definitely be returning).

At 9pm we were back at the hotel, stuffed with tasty Hell Pizza, struggling to keep our eyes open, so we admitted defeat.

It’s now 3.15am and it appears that Angus has succeeded in Operation Beat Jetlag, whereas I’ve failed miserably! Oh well, I’ll have a read of some tourist leaflets about Waiheke Island, which is on our to-do list.

2am, Tuesday 18th Feb. I’m in the wide awake club, listening to the dulcet tones of Angus’s snoring. I thought I may as well do something useful and write the first blog.

Here are a few observations about our journey here:

1. The landing into Heathrow from Glasgow was awful, thanks to really strong gales. Children crying. Me crying (almost).
2. Getting the free transfer from terminal 5 to terminal 3 and then the Hotel Hoppa Bus to the Travelodge did not go according to plan. 2 hours, a train and a taxi later we got to our room.
3. Signage in Heathrow Airport is baaaad.
4. Still can’t get our heads around why the plane flies NORTH to take us “Down Under”!
5. The seats on the Boeing 777-300 are narrower than you would think – not great for an 11 hour, then 12 hour flight.
6. We had a ‘fun’ lap of the terminal at Los Angeles airport to go through immigration and security, all to get back onto the same plane and same two seats as we were in to start with. Although I did get told by the immigration guy tht I had a good photo, so not all bad ;0)
7. The service on Air New Zealand is great and the food isn’t bad. It was good being able to order drinks and snacks through the touch screen TV.
8. We took full advantage of the above on the first flight :0)
9. Landed at Auckland at 6.45am on Monday 17th in a tired daze, but soon perked up when we saw the blue sky and sunshine.

I don’t want to make each blog entry too long, so I’ll save our first day shenanigans for the next one.

Not long now, Di will be starting our latest blog. Were back off to New Zealand