New Zealand 2006:
Day 3 - Waiheke Island

	Wednesday, March 15, 2006: As great as our Hobbiton and Waitomo tour was, it's even better to spend the day with friends like Pete and Sally. They picked us up from the Carlton and couldn't help but notice that we were wearing clean clothes from our luggage that had finally arrived the night before. We did a little driving around the city, visiting scenic locations like One Tree Hill (left) and Musick Point.
	We caught a ferry across the bay to Waiheke Island, which is a popular destination for Kiwis on holiday. There are beaches, wineries, restaurants, and beautiful views all over the island.
	Auckland was far behind us as our ferry pulled up to the dock. The weather had cleared up and it was a glorious, sunny day.
	We were pretty hungry, so we headed straight to the Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant for a little lunch and a little New Zealand wine.
	The Mudbrick is situated high on a hill with Auckland in the distance. The grounds are beautiful and it would be easy to spend an entire afternoon here. Regular readers of this website will recognize Pete from our many 4D Summit pages and Sally from our visit to Colorado in October 2003.
	However, we had more adventures to get to before our ferry returned to Auckland. Priority #1: eating some New Zealand ice cream on a sunny beach! Debbie tried orange chocolate chip ice cream, which we'd never heard of before. It's a great taste combination! If you're in New Zealand, try Jaffas, which are round M&M-like candies (lollies!) that also combine chocolate and orange. Yum!
	Beaches are nice. Even though it felt like summer to us having come from Indiana's chilly March weather, the beaches were deserted on an autumn weekday.
	Back on the ferry, we made a little friend. He must belong to someone, because he had a collar, but for a few minutes on the ferry, he was all ours.
	Tom, our resident cat entertainer, kept this little guy's interest for quite a while. All kitties are helpless to resist strings, even if it is just the carrying cord on our camera.
	Active little kittens eventually get sleepy, as you can see.
	Back at Pete and Sally's house, we finally got to meet their beautiful daughters, Laura and Lucy. The rest of the evening, we were too busy talking, eating Pete's fresh-grilled steaks, and enjoying Hokey Pokey ice cream to take any more photos. Day 4 >