Auckland is by far New Zealand’s most populated city and there’s tons to do. We decided to do a day trip to Waiheke Island, which is known for it’s wineries. A quick ferry ride and we were there.

We arrived at Waiheke, picked up a map and rented some bicycles to ride around the island. Almost immediately after starting our ride, a pretty heavy rainstorm began. We took cover and waited it out.

Once the rain stopped, we made our way to Cable Bay Vineyards. They had sweeping views of the ocean and a very sleek tasting and dining area.

Unlike the vineyards we visited in Marlborough, these tastings were not free. This worked out, as we didn’t feel obligated to buy a bottle after. We still purchased one anyways as a gift for our good friends Joe and Christine, back in Florida.

After some uphill biking, we made it to Mudbrick Vineyard. This setting was very pretty with wonderful landscaping and gardens all around.

The wine tasting was the same deal – you pay about $10 for 5 samples.

Mudbrick is also a restaurant and they grow a lot of their own vegetables and herbs.

The prices were a little high, so we rode our bikes into town to get lunch at a more affordable option. We got some take out and sat by the beach and ate.

We continued riding around and at another shop, some locals were talking about how a pod of Orcas (killer whales) had been swimming around the island recently.

After hearing this, I kept my eyes fixed on the water during the rest of our ride but didn’t see any whales myself.

We dropped the bikes off and took the ferry back to Auckland. Tonight is our last night in New Zealand and we have a very early flight the next morning. These two weeks driving all around in our Jucy Campa van felt like a completely separate vacation from the rest of trip and was such an awesome experience. When backpacking, all too often we are trying to catch certain buses, ferries, trains and planes to make it to our next destination. With the Jucy Campa, it was a nice change of pace to be able to decide our own tempo while maximizing the area of absolutely beautiful New Zealand we got to see.