Wanderlust – Page 2 – Sean Shadmand

The Feijoa is a uniquely tasty Kiwi fruit

When we asked our New Zealand friends what we should try while we were there they responded quickly with “The Feijoa!”

I have no idea why this fruit can’t be found anywhere else than New Zealand. It taste just like candy and would go over well with kids if they had to make these part of their daily fruit and veggie regiment. We also found the fruit in soft drinks – which were delicious as well.

I didn’t clarify well at the end of the video but you get the idea. It really does taste like a sweet tart type candy. So much so that it is a bit of a surprise when you eat it. You brain says, I’m about to eat a fruit, but your mouth says “I just ate candy right?”

One side note: We noticed that all the produce in the super market was either labeled “product of New Zealand” or “product of U.S.A” No other country was listed. Thought that was interesting, NZ prefers our produce over their neighbors.

A must visit to Waiheke Island

If I had to sum it up I’d say Waiheke island was a cross between Sausalito, CA and OBX, VA. There are wineries, beautiful mountain views with glistening bays between. We really enjoyed our time here. To make the visit even more unique and special Jackie got us a Glamping tent on AirBnB for our stay.

We happened to have arrived during the Waiheke Jazz festival so most restaurants had bands playing. We strolled through the countryside and stopped at a few wineries. Our first was by far our favorite, Kennedy Point Vinyards. Not only was there a great selection of wine, but the staff was incredible helpful and fun.

The staff explaining a flight of Sarah from freshly picked grapes to aged ones.

Allie, one of the staff at Kennedy Point, saw us walking down the street later in the day and offered a ride home. Our feet were pretty tired so we took it! One conversation led to another and we ended up going to one of the Jazz show with her and her husband Felix. They were such a wonderful couple and we had a awesome time.

The other wineries we visited on Waiheke island were Stoney Ridge, which had an amazing view from it’s balcony, but it was a bit on the pricey side (shown below); and Wild on Waiheke, which didn’t have the friendliest staff and boasted archery and games on the vineyard but the came with an hour wait and around $30 price tag per person.

Marokopa Falls

On our way to the Waitomo Work Caves we made a stop at the Marokopa Falls. It was a brief walk through the jungle-like bush before we could hear the force of the falls against the rocks in the distance. We started recording right before we first layed eyes on the falls so we could capture our reaction on film. It was a magnificent display of mother nature.

Landing in Auckland from Fiji

We arrived in Auckland at 5PM on April 3rd. It was a 3 hour flight from Nadi airport on Air New Zealand that we got for about $500 per person (not including the exorbitant price to check our backpacks.) We were picked up by a couple of friends that gave us a tour of the city. We got to catch some local vistas, took a walking tour of the shoreline and ended with some good food.

One thing we noticed from the vistas was the sprawling valley of one story houses. They spanned the horizon.