After our time in Auckland, we took the ferry over to Waiheke Island and stayed there for two nights. It was summer, it was a weekend and there was a organized fun day going on at the main beach in town, Onetangi. This meant that this small but perfectly formed island was slightly overrun. It also meant that shops. restaurants and buses were operating under different hours, making getting around and eating out quite difficult.
Looking back, although I loved the beach and atmosphere of Waiheke, I’ve often thought that perhaps it could have been enjoyed just as much on a long day trip from Auckland. So I thought I’d break down what there is to do on Waiheke and how to get there, so that you can decided for yourself whether you would rather stay there for a night or two or simply make a long daytrip out of it while using Auckland as your base.
How to Get There
It’s ridiculously easy to get to Waiheke Island from Auckland by ferry. You simply need to walk down to the main ferry terminal and purchase your tickets. It works out slightly cheaper to buy a return ticket, so I’d advise to just buy a return there and then (as long as you plan on coming back to Auckland and not sailing to somewhere else) instead of buying two singles. Fullers was the ferry company we used, although there are a couple of other car ferries who will gladly take you across to the island. Prices for tickets are around $36NZ for a return, $20NZ for a single.
Waiheke Accommodation
We stayed at Kina Backpackers, one of the only hostels on the island. Accommodation options are fairly limited and you tend to only have either high-end hotels or basic hostels to choose from; there isn’t much in between. We didn’t mind Kina, however the hostel was a bit run-down and the communal kitchen wasn’t always that clean (partly the fault of the other backpackers). It was also home to a lot of long-term residents (which I hate because it changes the dynamic of a hostel) and was up a *very* steep set of steps from the beach. This meant that it had wonderful views over the landscape, but when you have heavy backpacks on a sunny day, those steps are a killer. We chose this hostel because if its location close to Onetangi beach, but soon discovered that meant that we were a little isolated from some of the island’s amenities.
Food and Drinks
What we hadn’t realised before we got to Waiheke was that there is only one supermarket on the island and that was a 45 minute walk from our hostel. The day we wanted to stock up on provisions (a Sunday) the local bus service wasn’t running and so we had to walk all the way across the island. Luckily a lady took pity on us in the car park as we left with our full shopping bags, and gave us a lift back to our accommodation. There are a couple of cafes/restaurants down by Onetangi beach, but they seem to close early and so we never actually got chance to eat at them, preferring instead to save money and cook back at the hostel.
My advice would be that if you are on a budget and/or prefer to have a little more choice over your dining options, you should bring food and drink with you, especially if you’re staying on the Onetangi side, to avoid the confusing bus service or the walk to the supermarket.
Wineries
There are several wineries and vineyards on Waiheke and we did tasting flights at two of them: Obsidian and Casita Miro. Theses two wineries were very picturesque, with friendly staff who gave you information on all of the wines and at Obsidian there was also cheese and crackers to eat alongside.
Beaches
We only enjoyed Onetangi beach because it was so close to our hostel, however having seen Oneroa from the bus it looked just as pretty. There are several other beaches around the island, but Onetangi and Oneroa are the longest and most popular, both great for swimming and sunbathing and offering a small handful of shops and cafes.
Despite enjoying our three days on Waiheke Island, especially the wonderful views from the top of the hill overlooking Onetangi, it did seem a little too long. The accommodation wasn’t great and the supermarket was too far away, which left us feeling a little frustrated. There also wasn’t a great deal to do, especially in the evenings as everything closed fairly early.
I thoroughly enjoyed the wineries and relaxing on the beach, but in all honesty I’d probably only go back again for a daytrip. If my budget was bigger, I’d consider staying at one of the boutique hotels, but as a backpacker, the accommodation doesn’t justify the cost. It does, however, represent a great way to spend a relaxing get-out-of-the-bustle-of-Auckland day or two.
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