Waiheke Island

On Christmas day, Chris lent me his bicycle and took me to the city port. There I bought I ticket to Waiheke island because the in flight magazine said that I should totally go there. They also said that I should bring a bicycle if I could, which I was able to thanks to the generosity of my friend. 

The island is about 20 minutes by ferry from the city of Auckland.

The ferry looks like this at the bottom deck, where I spent most of my time because that was were you get to put you bike and I did not have a lock and the bike was not mine.

But then I realized that if someone were to steal the bike, they would have nowhere to run with it. That is when I became more daring and went to the top deck.

There were lots of other islands to look at on the way there.

This boat engine make noise. . . 

And then we approached the island

I saw this bizarre sculpture.

I also saw this vineyard. This was but one of many

This was the first beach I stopped at. 

It looked very nice and I was enjoying taking a break from biking there.

But then the seagulls started eyeing my limited food supplies with greed and me with hostility. That is when I decided I should move on.

There was a ram that looked on with envy at some dolphins and their ability to, oh, I don't know, jump through hoops or something.

Then I saw this other beach

And a quaint little pathway lined with flowers.

Ha ha, that boat is stranded.

Oooo, this angle makes it look all "secret garden" like.

There was a church. It was a very nice place for a church.

Everything was closed on the island (it was Christmas day) except for this. It was a museum run by a volunteer who did it because he liked being able to play with all the antique instruments. He taught me all sorts of things about instruments.

This is the bike I rode around the island. It might just be the best bike I have ever rode. Check that disk brake system.

Then I went back to the port to wait for the ferry. I got there waaayyy before the ferry arrived because at that point I was sick of biking on the very very hilly island.

Then I got on the ferry after a long day of biking and headed back to Auckland were Chris took me back to his house for Christmas with his family. They gave me a rugby. Just holding it made me want to slam into someone. Then we played Just Dance 2 for the Kinect. Chris's wife destroyed me at "Born this Way" by Lady Gaga. That was just shameful.

Waaaayyyy more pictures on my Picasa