Confronted with a choice – a rainy day in Auckland or a rainy day on Waiheke Island. Simple.

Dodged showers while dragging my bags to the bus stop, caught the ferry to Waiheke and checked in at The Courtyard(should have taken photos but suffice to say a fairly typical Kiwi ‘bach’ with 2 nice rooms for guests out the back and very helpful host Jilly).

A short walk to the village for a very nice lunch accompanied by a couple of glasses of Awaroa ‘Requiem’ Cab Merlot Malbec ’12 from Waiheke Island.

Then the sun comes out for the afternoon – making me a local hero for 5 minutes – ‘Ah you must have brought the sun with you’.

Last visit about 40 years ago – it has changed but not that much and the kiwi beach life style is, judging from objects on the beach and chatty locals, alive and well. The locals do seem to spend a lot of time moaning about Auckland and people from Auckland – typical islanders I guess.

Loved the local wines and restaurants but a little pricey even after NZD’s recent drop.

Some of the photos below have just begged me to do them in Black & White – I don’t normally mix B&W and Colour but what are rules for if not …

All photos – Fuji X-T1, 18-55 lens