Notes from Down Under: Waiheke island: oasis of peace

Waiheke island is one of many islands in the Hauraki gulf (the one where Auckland city centre is oriented). It is just 40 minutes away by ferry from Auckland city centre. The ferry departs every hour until late night in both directions so the connection of this island with the city is pretty good. Lonely planet says that it was/still is home for artists from Auckland who decided to escape the city rush and find some peace for living on the island. Well, based on what I saw, the artists in NZ must all have 60+ years and their work must earn them pretty nice money :) But more likely is (as it is also happening anywhere else in the world), that the artists were simply pushed away from the island as they couldn't afford to live there anymore after people with thicker wallets "discovered" it.

I picked a really nice sunny day for the trip, although when I look back, it was not the best day at all because my illness was at its peak that time and I literally felt like shit. Anyway, I departed at 9AM from Auckland and shortly before 10 the ferry arrived at Waiheke. Waiheke is known mostly for the beaches and vineyards. As I am not much a wine person, I went for the beaches. The whole island has around 8000 inhabitants, but the good thing is, that you can hardly spot a house, because most of them are very well hidden in the trees. The beaches were really magical as they were all empty at this time of the year. But I can imagine that during the summer whole Auckland is attacking these spots. I especially liked one beach - Rocky Bay - because of its atmosphere and the fact that it was on the other side of the island where apparently nobody except me was willing to go :).

I am sure that pictures will say more than 1000 words ;)