Waiheke Island Biking

Hurry, let’s catch the bus! Eugene and I dashed out of the Human Sciences Building to the nearby bus stop, just as the big, red rig pulled in. “Do you go to Mount Eden?” Eugene asked the driver in his thick Ukrainian accent. Four or five bus attempts later, a $1.60 fair, and a mad scramble to the top of the hill bought us a commanding view of the city just as the sun was setting. Eugene quickly whipped out his tripod and Nikon SLR camera and started taking pictures, I followed suite with my trusty, old Kodak that has been pulling through for 5+ years now. Click, click, click, I began to worry we would end up with far too many shots of the spectacular sunset, but just then my last battery gave out and my camera went dead. From now until my shipment arrives in 2-3 weeks, I will have to rely on external photography support for my blog. Eugene (pronounced zhen-ya), ever the aspiring photographer, was more than happy to oblige even letting me borrow his fine camera at a few times to snap some shots. We watched as the sun set and a black veil rose up to envelope the city. From the top of the old volcano, the view was spectacular. Sitting there on a chilly Friday night, watching the city come alive, proved a relaxing way to cap of a workweek full of meticulous research.

In comparison Saturday proved far more mundane, reaching its peak level of excitement when I opened my mailbox to find a new installment of New Zealand postage stamps. As many of you know, I am an avid philatelist and became engrossed with the intricate details of a colorful series of Sir Edmond Hillary commemoratives and two round kiwi stamps with a very fine combination of monotone simplicity, symbolism, and beauty.

Sunday morning I arose early, packed my rucksack, and headed to the ferry wharf where Eugene was waiting with tickets to Waiheke Island. Waiheke Island, located to the east of Auckland in Hauaki Gulf, is the home to a sublime countryside cloaked in numerous vineyards and sheep fields. I asked Peter from “the bike shed,” where we rented our mountain bikes for the day, what he liked about Waiheke Island. After revealing I was from Alaska, Peter explained “Waiheke is a mix of Madison and Anchorage. It has the feel of small town USA and the grandeur of Alaska—all circa 1960.” After spending a day on the island, biking nearly forty miles of its long, winding, and steeply graded roads, after gazing over its brilliantly green, grass covered hillsides and glittering gold beaches; I can confidently say there is very little on Waiheke Island that reminds me of Alaska. It is beautiful none-the-less. On our travels, Eugene and I passed dozens of vineyards, countless sheep, and even climbed into a very large rock garden topping a knobby hill. During the circumnavigation of the island, I saw tropical birds, pheasants, and a giant, painted rock appearing to be a ravenous ogre. I made sure to avoid him while stopping at a wine store just before departing the island to pick up a bottle of the local specialty, which I plan on saving for a very special occasion.

Until then I wish you a great week.

Please check out the google.map “Erik’s NZ Adventures” where I have geo-tagged the locations of all my past kiwi trips and digitized my biking and trekking routes at the following site provided by clicking on the map to the top right or the text at the bottom of this website.

To view more photos in my picassa web album click here.