With its stunning vineyards, gorgeous olive groves and spectacular beaches, all just a 35-minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland, this once a sleepy little island is now a holiday hotspot for New Zealand’s wealthy upper class. Waiheke boasts an impressive array of gorgeous galleries, quirky craft stores and and tempting cafes. It is also the proud host to 19 high quality, boutique vineyards, many with excellent restaurants on site offering stunning views of the island’s remarkable landscape and serving a variety of culinary delights including New Zealand's fresh Pacific Rim cuisine, famous for its fresh, subtle or spicy dishes - as varied as the cafés and restaurants that serve them. Visitors can enjoy a host of leisure activities including kayaking, zip-lining, clay pigeon shooting, exploring lush nature reserves, or discovering some wonderfully sheltered bays with little surf making them ideal for a relaxing swim. With its picturesque vine-covered valleys and its golden sand beaches, it is almost impossible not to fall in love with this enchanting island paradise.