We're not in the USA anymore. And this is amazing.

Second day after landing (10/01/14), we took a lovely day trip adventure to Waiheke Island. It felt like paradise. We took a ferry from Devonport, which was very close to Milford, where we were staying with Rich and Lindy. Being in the city of Auckland was cool, but it felt pretty similar to any other city. It didn't quite feel like another country till Waiheke Island.

There was an absolutely beautiful coastal walk that we did around Waiheke. It crossed a few beaches that I found handfuls of sea glass at, which I obviously pocketed for my collection. Hopefully, that was okay!

At one point we realized we couldn't go any farther on the beach, oh wait! We weren't even on the official coastal walkway! We had missed a turn waaaay back and had to climb up a pretty steep hill to get back to the higher ground where the walkway was cut into the grass.

The coastal walk ended at some local vineyards, one of which (Cable Bay Vineyards) we had our first ever wine tasting at. I'm sure wine tastings in Rhode Island are pretty cool too, but it just felt so awesome being on an island where the grapes are grown just feet from where you are tasting the wine. 

Until next time, Waiheke Island!