We had a fun day out today on Waiheke Island and got back to doing what we do best, touring vineyards and trying the best NZ wine on offer!

The island is famed for its beautiful landscapes and beaches along with a plethora of vineyards.

Our first stop was Onetangi beach, which despite the wind and light rain still looked stunning.

Our first vineyard stop was actually a Spanish restaurant & winery called Casita Miro, where they served great tapas and Spanish inspired wines with a kiwi twist.

We settled into a late morning brunch alfresco and indulged in some fantastic wine tasting coupled with croquettes with a spicy dip.

A great way to start our tasting session and what a place to do it, with views from the hillside looking down on the vineyard and beaches below.

The views from the vineyard really took our breath away and from what we heard its attracts a number of famous Kiwis who have second homes on the island. As a result a modest detached house on the beach front has just sold for $12m dollars!

After a promising start to our wine tour, we picked up the local hop on hop off bus and headed to Stonyridge Vineyard where we settled into another ‘paddle’ of white, rose and red wines. The full compliment you might say!

After an hour stay, we wandered down the track and went to the next door winery, Wild on Waiheke, where we went for round 3, this time going for a single large glass of rich red Malbec, one of the island’s specialties.

Our fourth and final stop was to the first winery set up on the island, aptly named Goldie Estate where we shared a light golden wine that due to a limited time between buses, we were forced to neck down in 15mins.

After all that wine enjoyment, we retired to the ferry to make our way back to Auckland and a dinner date we had with friends of friends in the downtown area.

The ferry back was a slightly more sombre affair as we were both a little ‘tired’ from the excesses of the day. We duly snoozed our way back until we arrived close to the ferry terminal, where we got some great views of the city skyline from the boat.

Our evening was then spent at a lovely Italian restaurant called Portofino, where met up with Jono and Tracie, the parents of Lana, a kiwi girl we met on our tour of SE Asia back in May.

We had a lovely evening, with great company and great food before we said our goodbyes and headed back to our Airbnb to pack.

Tomorrow we pick up a hire car and start our tour of NZ with the first stop being a visit to the Bay of Islands and the entry point, the town of Paihia.

We plan to spend a couple of days in the area, with a sea cruise one day, and the next a day exploring the beautiful beaches, trails and waterfalls.