One of the things that hits first time visitors to Waiheke Island is how big it is. They are not expecting a 94 square kilometre island that is home to just under 10,000 residents. The four main villages – Oneroa, Surfdale, Ostend and Onetangi – are surrounded by more residential suburbs. With beaches scattered around the 100km of coastline and over 80 vineyards & restaurants to visit, not to mention art galleries and stunning coastal or bush walks, there really is too much to discover in one day.
And that’s where Waiheke Bike Shop eBike rentals come in, let me explain…
Mid-January 2020 we met Cynthia, a senior fight attendant with Air Canada, and two of her pilot mates. They had a two day lay over in Auckland and someone recommended visiting Waiheke Island. We met them on the wharf, got their electric bikes sorted and gave them a few tips on where to visit. Ten days later Tim, one of the pilots, turned up with 6 other Air Canada crew to explore more of the island. This became a regular activity for a lot of the crew, with them either re-visiting favourite places or discovering new hidden gems, also sharing their previous knowledge with new visiting crew members to Waiheke.
Other airline crews heard about the best way to travel around Waiheke Island and we soon had crews from Emirates, Hawaiian Airlines & United Airlines cycling around and, just like the Air Canada crew, they realised there was so much to see and do on Waiheke that they returned on their next trip to jump on our eBikes and explore some more.
Unfortunately, in mid-March we had to say goodbye to all of our crews as Covid-19 hit our shores, but we look forward to the day the lay over crews can return.
If you are planning on visiting Waiheke Island, consider staying for a couple of days so you can get to know the island and its locals – it really is worth it. And there are some fantastic holiday accommodations on the island, search them out yourself or let these guys do all the work for you:
https://www.staywaiheke.com/holiday-homes
https://www.waihekeunlimited.co.nz/
https://www.waihekeescapes.co.nz/
http://www.bemyguestwaiheke.co.nz/
We look forward to helping you with your Waiheke Island adventure, contact us https://waihekebikeshop.co.nz/bookings/