Julie's brother John asked, out of all the places we visited on this extended cruise vacation, where would she most like to live? Julie's practical answer was Maui, but I'd have to say Waiheke, New Zealand. I'm not ready to abandon America and move so far from family and friends, but I could definitely imagine living on this beautiful island, with vineyards on one side and cliffs along the turquoise ocean on the other.
From this relaxed isle, the city of Auckland is a pleasant 40 minute ferry ride away. In some alternative reality where I worked for a big corporation in a downtown highrise in Auckland, I could imagine riding the ferry, sipping a cup of half coffee/half hot chocolate like we purchased from the barista on our ride to Waiheke, and reading the morning paper after jotting out my ten items of action that day to bring me closer to my long term goals.
After a day overseeing corporate mergers that create a better world, maybe I'd have dinner in the city and enjoy a concert or movie before heading home, but most evenings I would get on the ferry and unwind listening to my iPod while skimming across the water. Mind you, I already live an idealized life in my own reality, but this other one would definitely work.
Most people visit the great cities of the world and cherish the monuments of man's accomplishments, and I'm all for that too, but Julie and I really prefer getting back to nature. Plus, as you'll recall, we spent the day in Auckland during our planned layover on the flight to Cairns. Auckland is a lovely city, not crowded or dirty. The Kiwis we encountered were universally friendly, courteous and helpful.
For our return, however, we headed straight to buy tickets on Fuller's Ferry, which took us to Waiheke. Once there, we hiked along trails with beautiful ocean and countryside views. We went a little crazy taking movies, because everywhere we looked was so gorgeous, but I cut them down to two short compilations. I probably like the second one a little better, if you must choose only one so your boss doesn't catch you goofing off watching travel videos as a short escape from reality. 
Cervantes said, "The road is better than the inn," and while I think there's a lot of truth that enjoying the voyage makes for a great vacation (and life), we also enjoyed visiting the wineries of Waiheke and Oneroa. Our stops were all great. Because we came around the island on a walking trail, the first winery we reached was a rustic, boutique winery, Jurassic Ridge. The guy serving the tastings is pretty much a one-man show, intimately involved in the planting, harvesting, blending and selling of his delicious wine. 
Cable Bay Vineyards is a more sprawling, state-of-the-art winery, gourmet restaurant and art gallery, with an incredible view from either the lovely restaurant or the picnic tables outside, where we enjoyed a glass of white wine and the wind-activated sculpture art. You'll note that Julie took some long segments of the horizon including some of these sculptures, and you really need to go to full screen to appreciate the subtleties, but it is that kind of meditation, taking in simple beauty that makes Waiheke special.
We eventually pushed ourselves further down the road, finally settling into 151 Ocean View, a Seafood Bar and Grill that had specials for either a hamburger or fish and chips including a drink at some price that seemed good to us (something like 15 New Zealand dollars each). It was a delicious meal with a terrific view, and our waiter made us feel very welcome. He said he visits Santa Monica every year when it is winter in NZ.
We hiked back to the ferry station, running for the last couple hundred yards when we realized we might miss it if we didn't hustle. Back in Auckland, we had enough time to spend the rest of our Kiwi bucks on a little lamb in a New Zealand sweater for Emma. We were sad to leave New Zealand, but we had another great dinner and show that night and tropical islands in our near future.
