Story: Waiheke Island, New Zealand...really fine!

Waiheke Island

By: Ruth and Rich Carlson

“It doesn’t seem right to keep it just for ourselves,” says Lance Peterson. He’s talking about opening his 10-acre backyard, Te Whau Garden, to strangers, but the sentiment seems to apply to all the Waiheke (Why-hickie) Island residents. Maybe it’s sampling all that Bordeaux wine they grow here that makes these Kiwis so eager to share their beautiful Island.

It’s easier to reach paradise from the West Coast with Air New Zealand’s new non-stop flight from SFO to Auckland. Previously passengers had to hassle with LAX. Once you reach the country’s largest city, Auckland, a scenic high-speed ferry ride takes you to Waiheke in only 35 minutes. Steve Robinson from Ananda tours drove us around the hilly Island. “People hear Island and think it’s small,” says Robinson, “but it’s 35 miles.

Onetangi, the longest beach, is packed with surfers and swimmers in summertime and occasionally horse racers! “One of the great things about Waiheke is that houses have to provide bypasses for the public to walk along the sand,” says Robinson. The Island is dotted with vineyards –and collectors pay more for Waiheke labels because wineries’ releases are so limited. Waiheke is known for Bordeaux, style wine but the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are also excellent, as we found out at the Te Whau restaurant.

Te Whau sits on a cliff and the gray, cement, half-moon shaped building appears to have been formed out of nearby rocks. Walls of glass, which open to let the sun and fresh breezes in, frame a panoramic view of the water and the Auckland skyline. You can watch your meal being prepared at the open kitchen if you can tear yourself away from the glittering vista.

Instead of olive oil, the restaurant serves green avocado oil that complements the Te Whau chardonnay. Be sure and order the chardonnay, since the restaurant is the ONLY place you can buy it. This restaurant in the clouds is known for it’s fresh fish including the rare Te Matuku Bay oysters. Owner Tony Forsyth, whose business card says simply--Tony at Te Whau--in the laid back Waiheke style--is a former psychologist who retired early and decided to try a completely different profession. His vineyard was the first in New Zealand dedicated to protecting the surrounding ecosystem.

Afterwards, walk off lunch at Te Whau gardens. Lance Peterson and his wife Kay are avid art collectors and when they ran out of room in their house they began putting sculptures in their 10-acre rain forest. New Zealanders calls these large estates lifestyle blocks- they’re too small to farm and too big to mow. A self-guided tour of Te Whau Gardens is open to the public for $6.00 and “…the brochure cost me $5.00 apiece, " laughs Lance, who adds,” I’m not doing this for the money.”

Once Peterson started exploring his backyard, he couldn’t stop. He built walking paths, installed botanical signs, benches and sculptures.
With wood pigeons squawking overhead, Peterson pointed out trees older than the arrival of the first English settlers. According to Peterson, Maori warriors took palm fronds to battle and lived for weeks on the water and food contained inside the leaves. His property also includes a creek where the rare white baitfish spawn once a year during the Solstice.

The perfect place to end your day is the Boatshed, a bed and breakfast that feels more like a friend’s home…a friend who cooks world class meals and takes care of your every need…even things you didn’t know you wanted. This casually elegant hotel with a marine feel has five guest rooms but you’ll feel as though you are the only guest there. It’s no wonder that during the recent America’s Cup, the Prada family and the head of Luis Vuitton commandeered the Boatshed for their personal use.

Sit on your private deck and sip some local Shiraz or grab one of the beach cruisers and ride along the sands of Little Oneroa Bay. For a special anniversary or event be sure and book the Lighthouse suite with panoramic views of the harbor and bay from its own private top floor lounge where you can see the sunset and sunrise.

Jonathan Scott, a graduate of culinary school and hotel management, prepared a dinner of squid pasta, venison and rhubarb crème brule.
For breakfast the next day we had homemade brioche and a fresh fruit display that looked so pretty it seemed a shame to eat it. The plate was topped with a sweet red fruit, called a Tamarillo - also known as a tree tomato!

Jonathan left the kitchen to drive us to the ferry and back to bustling Auckland where we parked our bags at the Hilton on the Viaduct overlooking the Hauraki Gulf.

Websites:

Te Whau Vineyard: www.tewhau.com

www.tewhaugarden.co.nz
10-5pm 7 days a week
Put your money is in the honesty box

www.boatshed.co.nz

Vineyards of Waiheke I