Abroad in Auckland, New Zealand

If you make the trip to Australia, you have to take a few days and see New Zealand. Auckland is roughly a two hour flight from Sydney, so since you are so close, pop over and visit the Kiwis. I have to say that the trip to Auckland was a little unplanned. Last minute, I decided to take a few additional days to visit. I would only be there for two days so I had to plan fast to make the most of my time there. I only had one think i know I had to do. If you remember from my Australia, i shared that there are only three bridges you can climb in the world, two in Australia and one in New Zealand. The one in New Zealand even has the option to BUNGY off the bridge. Thanks but no thanks! I will however, climb to the top securely attached to the line.

I have to say that two of the three days I was there was pretty grey and gloomy, with off and on rain. I was determined to make the most of time in spite of the weather. The morning of the climb it was super cold and super windy. Made me a bit nervous. If you have been to Chicago, you know why we are called the Windy City. The winds on the day of my climb was nothing compared to home. Back to the climb. I was going to be the only one, then someone signed up last minute so we had a great very detailed tour of the climb. We both got suited up and we were off. Make sure you take a look at the video of the kind brave soul who did a bungy jump just so we can see it on our climb.

The Auckland Bridge is really cool. Not as high or as scary as Sydney, but cool in its own Kiwi way. Scaling the bridge was both educational and rewarding when we finished. During the climb we got to feel the strong winds, so strong at one point we needed to hold on because it felt as if we would be blown off. Not to worry, its super safe as you are tethered to a safety line the entire time. We saw spectacular views and just like Sky Point, we had a 360 degree view of all of Auckland and the neighboring islands you can take a ferry to. As we made our way to the top, I did the celebratory picture between the New Zealand flags, just as I did at the top of the Sydney Bridge. Two down, one to go. I will be back in Australia next August so will take an extra day to spend in Brisbane again to climb the Story Bridge. But for now, I will take 2 out of 3. As we make the walk back down the bridge, I feel a great sense of accomplishment. Not that I climbed the two bridges, but it was at that moment I could say that i completely conquered a fear. I didn’t state in my early post. I WAS AFRAID OF HEIGHTS. I know crazy right. I used to be afraid to fly, let alone climb a bridge. But I wanted to conquer my fear in a controlled safe manner. The motto is go big or go home and I was not going home.

The day ended with me have a delicious meal of Bream Bay scallops and wonderful glass of native 2013 Man O’ War ‘Warspite’ Waiheke Cabernet Franc/Merlot. It was the perfect end of the day. It was also a good lead for what i would be experiencing the next day. I planned a zipline and wine tour the next day on Waiheke island.

So the next day came and I was again excited for the next adventure. I love a good glass of Shirah and I would get to taste several local wines from vineyards in New Zealand. In order to get there, I  first had to take a ferry from Auckland to Waiheke. It was a short ride at around 45 minutes. When I arrived, it was a greeted by our driver. Simple. I booked a tour for zip lining and wine tour. Thankfully he shared that the ziplining would be up first. Great- I didn’t want to lose my nerves. The ziplining was AMAZING. I made it through the first one and was like “ Great, check you have done it” . The guides told us how great we all did and that would be the easiest of the three. I clearly missed the fine print that it would be three ziplines, each one HIGHER that the last. So at that moment, I began to be a bit nervous and a slightly scared. But again, go big or go home. So bring on the next two ziplines. They were beautiful. We were high in the rainforest and saw parts of the island you can only see by plane, or drone. It was so fast I didn’t have time to even be scared. In spite of the rain that downpoured on the tour it was an amazing adventure, totally recommend it and would definitely do it again.

We hiked back down the forest, we made it back to our starting point and was able to take a few more beautiful picture of the site. You could even see the Auckland Sky Tower in the distance when the rain stopped and the clouds cleared.

Now to rest of the day- WINE TOUR :-).

We were taken to our first of four stops to taste the local flavors of Waiheke. Let me just say, the tour did not disappoint. We even had a tour of local olive oil making facility. Along the journey, we got a great educational tour about the island and had a chance to see some great views of the island. Once we made it to the last, they must have saved the one with the best views for last. I must mention I liked them all. I purchased wine from each one, even purchased two bottles of olive oil. It was also that good. I have to mention the last location. Mudbrick winery location  was PHENOMENAL. The views were simply breathtaking. You had a clear of downtown Auckland. Make sure you take a look at video. When the tour ended, we had a chance to visit downtown Waiheke, which is about a mile long. But it was great to chat it up with the locals, I love the accent. They all said I was the one with the accent..lol.

The tour came to an end and we boarded the shuttle back to the ferry. A short ride back and I was back in Auckland.

It had been a long day and the only thing I wanted was to sit on the patio of my hotel and watch the sunset with another glass of wine. Soon after my bed was calling. It was my last night in New Zealand. The trip was coming to an end and I had a mid morning flight back to the States.  

So where is the next trip abroad….Amerstdam