New Zealand is geographically small, remote, and sparsely populated with just over 4 million people and 40 million sheep, but the people are absolutely full of life. The indigenous history of the Maori culture is quite present, but is embraced and celebrated as opposed to the more shameful sense one gets in the US and Australia regarding their indigenous peoples. I was also really surprised to learn how young the country is; it really was only settled in the late 1800's.
Waiheke Island is either the Hamptons or Nantucket of New Zealand. Hilly, beautiful beaches pop up all along a rocky coastline (no jellies or sharks), with stunning homes, and dozens of boutique wineries producing interesting white varietals and bold reds.
We are surprised about the love of food and wine in this country. In addition to wonderful local ingredients -- lamb, venison, and tons of seafood, there is such variety of international cuisine. Asian cuisine dominates with Indian, Malaysian, Japanese, Chinese, Cambodian and Vietnamese influences and restaurants everywhere.
Little Onerea Beach, Waiheke Island | Tramping the hills of Waiheke |
Auckland Harbor with Cruise Ship  | Weeeee ! |
Auckland in distance from Waiheke Island  | Waiheke coastline |
Start of Tramping tracks  | Casita Miro restaurant and winery |
Former America's Cup NZ racing yacht  | Auckland |
The world's largest in-room AC unit?  |
V: I like the vibe in New Zealand! The people in Auckland, locals and visitors alike, are smiling, looking fit, and are very pleasant. There was a nicely sophisticated ambience in harborside Auckland eateries and bars.
Tramping, or hiking, seems to border on the obsessive here. Tramping tracks are laced throughout every region, through forests and hills, along sheep-grazing fields and coastlines, everywhere. So, we had to explore a tramping track on Waiheke Island. And, quite nicely, the end of our tramping track connected us to a few wineries for some tastings.
The trails were quite good, and very well maintained, cutting switchbacks up the hills, skirting along the coastline, going up and down the Waiheke terrain. It got very steep, and long, in a couple of places, but the views from the top of the hills made the uphill effort worthwhile. We may be turning Karen into a tramp... err... hiker yet!
It drizzled a bit during the end of our tramping, so the first winery offered a little shelter from the drizzle... but didn't offer any tasting. We were a bit piqued by the proprietor, engaged in conversation with a dolt from England who knew nothing about wines, as the winemaster didn't offer any wine to us until he saw us put our backpacks back on, after 15 minutes there, and head out the door.
"Oh, would you like some wine to taste?"
Idiot. That was a sale lost, as we were going to buy one of his bottles. His winery shall remain nameless.
On to fine wines at Mudbrick and Cable Bay vineyards, which offered a very nice range of whites and reds. We were impressed, and will be looking for Cable Bay wines in Philly. The Sav Blanc was particularly delicious and not as tart and acidic as some NZ Sav Blancs. Also, the Rose and Bordeaux style reds were fantastic.
Our Valentine's Day lunch could have been a potential disaster, if not for Karen's thumb flagging down a very nice guy who stopped his electrician's truck at the bus stop we were waiting at, in a fine drizzle, waiting for a bus that just wasn't coming, and offered us a ride to the restaurant that we had to rush to. We chatted, and found out that he had explored the American Southwest just a few months ago, visiting many of the places and parks that we had, just a few months ago!
The food at Casita Miro, with the highly attentive service, and the Summer Aphrodisiac bottle of blended red wine made it a very nice Valentine's Day afternoon for us.
And I must say that I have never really had a decent meal of scallops in a restaurant... until Casita Miro scallops. Now I see that they can be done extraordinarily well. They were outstanding!
Bites: Valentine's Day lunch at Casita Miro -- saffron scallops, lamb tagine with figs, mushrooms, and orzo with pork belly.
Sips: Cable Bay and Mudbrick vineyard wines
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