L0p3z and Neno's Upside-Down Adventure: Breakdowns, Parents and Vineyards

Bright and early on Tuesday morning we successfully met Janine's parents at the airport. We successfully loaded the bags into the car. But we were unsuccessful in leaving the airport park. Janine had left the lights on and the battery was flat. As I was searching for a car park attendant for some jump leads Janine's dad found a bloke to help, he offered to try out his battery in the car. Unfortunately in the rush it went in the wrong way and blew some fuses. In the end after 3 hours and a visit from a mobile mechanic we were all back at the house. Needless to say Janine will never leave the lights on a car again!

The next couple of days we spent showing Janine's parents our favourite places in Auckland. We walked them up Mount Eden, ate with them in the Wynyard Quarter, took them to Piha beach and up Mount Victoria in Devonport. They were thoroughly exhausted after just two days with us but there was more to come.

Comparing the tans on arrival

Topping up the tan

Hello - check out Janine's giant hand

On the way up Mount Eden

Taking a rest at the top of Mount Eden

Waiting for a coffee at Piha

Carol was not too keen to explore the rocks at Piha

Piha

On Thursday we finally made the trip to the famous Waiheke Island. This is about a 30 minute ferry ride from Devonport and houses some of the best vineyards in the world. Carol and Boyd were keen to find a couple of them to sample the wine. There are spectacular views from around the island, we found a coffee shop, a daily requirement for Carol and Boyd, with an amazing view in the main village of Oneroa. We took the bus around to a couple of vineyards, one had been recommended to us the other were handing out free tasting vouchers at the marina. The first was Stonyridge, apparently they have won a load of awards for one of their reds. We bought a few tastings and settled down in the sunshine to try them out. In our uneducated opinion they were nice. Although the award winning Larose which was $46 for a full glass didn't seem worth it to us. The other vineyard was at bit more rustic and also had a micro brewery which meant I was happy. After relaxing away the afternoon we hopped back to Oneroa for Carol to have a look round the shops before sailing back to Devonport.