In February we had our first visitor in New Zealand and I spent two weeks playing tour guide. My friend Rhonda flew over from the East Coast and I met her up in Auckland. We spent two weeks driving down making it all the way to Queenstown.

My 360th day in New Zealand was spent on Waiheke Island. A quick 40-minute ferry ride from Downtown Auckland gets you to this little island that has been named one of the best islands in the world by Lonely Planet and Conde Nast.

As the ferry pulls away you can get some incredible views of Auckland.

Once on the island, there are many options to get around. There is a local and tourist bus service, you can hire a bike, and of course, there is good ole walking. If you are the more adventurous type you can join segway, kayak, or horseback riding tour. We opted for the local bus option and took it all the way down to Onetangi Beach.

We had a lovely stroll along the beach.

Then we made our way to the wine trail. We opted to walk the wine trail and the plan was to check out a few wineries…then we discovered Te Motu. The scenery was perfect and their Bordeaux style wines stole my heart, so we decided to relax the afternoon away sipping on wine and taking in the view.

We decided to walk back to the ferry which provided a chance to check out the local scenery while also working off those wine calories. In total, we walked about 26 kilometers (16 miles) this day but most of the walk was flat and there are plenty of beautiful places to stop and have a rest. Here are some things we saw along the way.

While this island is only 92 square meters (36 square miles) it is so packed with things to do and places to explore. Our one day provided us with a nice overview of what the island has to offer but it was not enough time fully experience the island. So, Waiheke Island has now been earmarked for a weekend getaway for sometime in the future.