we were hoping for a clear day so that we could explore the island. we got lucky. for the first time, there was an all sunshine day.

before we started any adventure for the day, we decided to walk to the local petrol station and have a go at obtaining some more food supplies. we weren't sure we brought enough food because in new zealand, and especially on waiheke, everything is closed for the holidays. we bought some crackers, vegetable soup by wattie's, and water.

there were bikes at the house but the tires were flat. there was a bike pump, but it did no good. i think there must be a puncture. or i just don't know how to use that particular pump. i felt like i was going nowhere with it so i gave up and decided to having a walking adventure, which actually turned out quite well since the island is small enough that one can see a lot by walking and short bus rides.

onetangi beach

waiheke on christmas: spent 2 hours at least at onetangi beach, collecting rocks and shells. it was about a 5 minute walk from the house to the beach. the water was very cold for me but there were a few people swimming, body boarding, kayaking, boating, etc.

the closest i came to entering the water

then we took the bus to surfdale. everything was closed. we walked to surfdale beach. it was desolate. and cold. the wind was so cold. onetangi beach was so much warmer--i'm glad we went there first! we walked along the beach to the other side, blackpool beach.

blackpool bay

mother duck and baby chicks we encountered during our walk

we walked through blackpool to oneroa and ended up on the other side of the island as oneroa to blackpool is the narrowest part of the island. it was a pretty cool feeling to be able to see both blackpool and oneroa bays from oneroa city. everything was closed in oneroa as well. we took the bus back to onetangi.

oneroa bay

we made dinner. the wattie's vegetable soup was HORRIBLE. it was as if someone dropped a bottle of salt into it. really, really bad. if there was more food in the house, i would have thrown it out on the spot. since i was tight for food, i was able to digest it with some crackers. if it weren't for the crackers. i wouldn't have been able to digest any of it. wattie's is a huge food group in new zealand. it's like they make everything. now i'm very hesitant to try any of their foods.