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perfectly formed shells , jointed clams and oyster shells , ideal for sand castle adornments .
With waves a-plenty , a dip in the ocean becomes a sure daily habit , after all , it ’ s good to live like a local . Albeit slightly nippy , the kids were happy jumping around in the fairly shallow waters , whilst the adults practiced their wave dodging a bit further out .
Most of the island beaches are accompanied by car parks , spotless public conveniences and great shaded playgrounds for when you need to escape the super-strong sunlight - it ’ s worth noting that New Zealand is generally ozone layer free , meaning that SPF50 should be your standard protection sun care , with perhaps total sunblock for the littlies .
But if you are looking to ramp up your activity a bit , then get your adrenaline hit from one of the island ’ s pulse heightening zip-line experiences or hit the coastal hiking route covering over 100km in scenic trails . The island ’ s golf and country club welcomes visitors , but be sure to book in advance of your trip .
Waiheke is big on recycling and many examples of upcycling and reuse are seen on the island - particularly in the form of pop-up eateries . Dragonfired , situated at Little Oneroa and Onetangi beaches do some particularly fabulous pizzas and flatbread , cooked in their stone fired pizza in the back of their upcycled shipping container . Great for a relaxed beach sunset family dinner . Island Gelato ’ s container serves up quirky concoctions such as Lemoncurd and Sour Cream , and Thai Basil Mandarin for a cheeky afternoon treat . Their brekkie bagels and coffee are also pretty good .
Of course , you can ’ t travel all that way without visiting some of the island ’ s outlying beauty spots , giving the kids the chance to snooze on the car journey . With the maximum travel time to anywhere being 40 minutes , we checked out numerous little hamlets and beaches , the hypnotic scenery taking us back to our Scottish homeland through the vast rolling hills and forests . Many photos were snapped of us standing atop the island ’ s well-positioned scenic benches , yelling out ( to the sheep !) and taking advantage of what seemed like endless countryside .
But of course , the good thing about Waiheke is that all roads lead to a winery . A particular stand-out for us was Man O ’ War winery , situated on the same-named bay which was notably Captain Cook ’ s first historic landing point on New Zealand . The
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