Don & Kully's World Cruise on Viking Neptune

Today was our third day in Auckland and we decided to strike out on our own. We took the ferry from the Auckland Ferry Terminal to Waiheke Island. The island is located roughly fifteen miles east of Auckland and is accessible by ferry’s that run every 30 minutes throughout the day. The islands microclimate is well suited for winemaking, and the island has over two dozen vineyards. Olives are also well established producing excellent olive oil. Additionally, the island has several beaches, hiking trails and bike trails. There is a very reliable bus system, taxi service and bike rentals on the island. We bought a single ticket from the ferry company, Fullers 360, Fullers360 – Ferry and experiences in Auckland, New Zealand, that included the round-trip ferry ticket, all day hop-on hop-off bus fare, and tickets for wine tasting at three of the island’s vineyards. Fullers 360 also offered other ticket bundles that allow you to tailor your trip to the island to meet your needs.

We took the 9:00 am ferry from Auckland to Waiheke and hopped on the waiting Explorer Bus which took us to the far end of the island where we made our first stop. Since our first wine tour wasn’t until 11:00, we headed to a local favorite restaurant and bar called Charlie Farley’s. Charlie’s is famous for their hardy breakfast, but since we’d already had our breakfast on the ship, and because we came to the island for wine tasting, we opted for a Mimosa and split a chocolate muffin – yummy! 

We were now primed for wine tasting and proceeded a short distance down the road to Stoneridge Vineyard where we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and sampled three of their delicious wines. 

From there we continued on to Vineyard number two, Batch Winery. The Batch Winery is located on top a large hill overlooking Rocky Bay. We decided to try the premium tasting and were very impressed with their Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. We also sampled their Syrah but weren’t as impressed as we were with the two white wines. 

Our final wine tasting was at Cable Bay. The scenery at Cable Bay was breath taking, but the wine was average. We finished the wine tasting just in time to catch the bus back to the Ferry Terminal to make our return trip to Auckland.

We had an amazing day and strongly recommend a visit to Waiheke Island. If you are cruising, there is no need to book through the cruise line as the cruise ships dock right next to the ferry terminal in Aukland. It was less than a five-minute walk from the ship’s gang way to the Ferry Dock. As I said above, Fullers 360 can help you build a day trip package with a variety of activities based upon your interest. The island is beautiful, you won’t be disappointed.

Our next port of call will be tomorrow at Rotorua, New Zealand.

“To travel is to evolve.” Pierre Bernado