Islands of the Gulf 2 - Waiheke Island

The first of the islands that I visited was Waihele island (more on the rest soon enough), which is a short ferry ride from the Auckland harbour. With a permanent population of about 7000 people, you can say that its got a proper community going, mainly comuters that work in auckland or islanders that live off the tourism.




The weather is warmer than the rest of auckland, so it's got a fair share of vineyards. Great for a wine tasting session! I have to say, the whites are good, although i still prefer spanish reds!



Funkily enough, and because the island is so hilly, there isn't a porper infrastructure in terms of water supply (i.e. no pipes) so everyone collects rainwater from the roof of their house using clever collection channels.

Interesting, but before you rush off to buy a little villa in Waiheke be warned that they get purty expensive over 1mill NZD (around the same price as a house in cambridge, or a one bedroom flat in central london, come to think of it, might be a worthwile investment!)