Piha vattenfall och viner
Beskrivning
Vill du hålla din eftermiddag fri, eller ha ett flyg att ta, tar denna kortare morgonupplaga av vår heldags Piha Waitakere Ranges Wine Tour dig till Pihas svarta sandstrand och sedan de lugna och fridfulla Karekare-vattenfallen. Innan du levereras tillbaka till Auckland Sky Tower kommer du att kunna smaka vin på Soljans Vineyard i Kumeu. Familjen Soljans kan stoltsera med 5 generationers vinproduktion i Auckland och är fortfarande familjeägda. De producerar Methode Traditionelle, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewürtztraminer, Pinot Noir, mousserande Muscat, Pinotage och Merlot Cabernet Malbec-blandningar – De producerar också en 10 år gammal Tawny Port som du kommer att prova.
Turalternativ
Resplan
Piha är en kustnära bosättning, en av flera cirka 50 minuters bilresa från Auckland Central Business District. Vi kör upp genom Henderson Valley, det historiska banbrytande hjärtat av den Nya Zeelands vinindustri där många kroatiska vinmakare slog sig ned och började med att skörda de gamla Kauri-träden för timmer och tuggummi, en tidig export. Piha är känt för sin vulkaniska magnetiska svarta järnsand och är en mycket populär utpost att besöka för både lokalbefolkningen och turister. Resenärer kommer att stanna vid Piha Lookout för magnifik utsikt över bosättningen nedanför innan de kör ner och promenerar på stranden. Det kustnära Tasmanhavet är mycket dramatiskt att se på, men också farligt med revor och stora vågor och stormiga väderförhållanden på vintern. På sommaren är det ett surfparadis och har varit värd för världens under 16 surfmästerskap. Njut av tid på både södra och norra Pihas stränder och se den ikoniska Lion Rock.
Karekare är en annan bosättning nära Piha i Waitakere-områdena. Vattenfallet är ett av flera vackra naturliga fall en 15 minuters promenad in i regnskogen. Inom denna skyddade skog kommer du att se ett 500 år gammalt Pohutukawa-träd, en art som nyzeeländare i dagligt tal kallar den inhemska Nya Zeelands julgran, eftersom den bara blommar under en månad i december. Du kommer att se ett brett utbud av andra inhemska växter och träd inklusive det inhemska linet och den unika "Silver Fern" Nya Zeelands mest kända ikon. Vid foten av fallen finns flera Nikau Palms, världens sydväxande Antipodean Palm Tree. Större delen av vägen som leder till vattenfallet har grusats för säkerhets skull. Ibland på hösten kommer du att se ankor och inhemska ål som nyfiket kommer upp till ytan för att titta på människor. Bilresan i skogen från Piha till Karekare är 20 minuter och promenaden från parkeringen till fallen är 10 minuter Vi tillbringar cirka 20 minuter vid Karekare-fallen.
Soljans Estate är ett femte generationens familjevinföretag som grundades 1937. Pionjärer inom nyzeeländsk vinframställning producerar mousserande Methode Traditionelle, Rose' Wines, Estate barrique fermenterad Chardonnay, Pinot Gris och en liten mängd pinotage. Deras Marlborough-odlare förser dem med Gewurtztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc och Pinot Noir. De producerar fatlagrad Syrah och Cabernet blandningar från Hawkes Bay och söt mousserande Muscat från Gisborne. De har också ett avundsvärt rykte för sin 10-åriga Tawny Port lagrad på gigantiska 3400 liters handgjorda Totara-fat. Soljans har även en souvenirbutik och kan ordna frakt av alla sina viner till din dörr i Australien, Storbritannien och USA. Du kommer att prova minst fem viner i källardörren och Soljans siktar på att tillgodose olika smaker och preferenser under dagen.
Höjdpunkter
Vad som ingår
Upphämtningsplatser och tider
Vi hämtar endast från Hotell eller Boende med drive-throughs eller dedikerade lastzoner. Om ditt hotell inte finns med i listan kontakta oss så meddelar vi dig din närmaste mötesplats. Denna tur återvänder endast till Sky City Hotel by the Sky Tower - Inga undantag.
Resenärers betyg
Viktig information
- Rekommenderas inte för resenärer med ryggmärgsskador
- Rekommenderas inte för resenärer med låg kardiovaskulär hälsa
- Rekommenderas ej för gravida resenärer
- Kollektivtrafiksalternativ finns i närheten
- Lämplig för alla fysiska konditionsnivåer
- Minsta dricksålder är 18 år
- Den totala tiden för att köra i fordonet för denna natursköna rundtur är cirka 3 timmar
- Rekommenderas inte för klienter med knä- eller höfthandikapp
Recensioner(9)
Driver/ owner / tour guide was amazing. Knew all about the wines as well as the countryside. He managed to provide interesting dialog all the way to the various locations. Has half day 1 winery and full day 2 wineries. Both had excellent wines.
Hi Donald, Thanks for booking the tour and thanks for the great review. I hope you'll follow NZWINEPRO® on Facebook or Instagram where I post interesting things I come across on tour. Best regards - John McFarlane
We booked this activity through Viator several weeks in advance. We received confirmation and tickets. We arrived at the pickup location early and messaged the operator to ensure we were in the right location. We did not receive a response. Contacted Viator directly who spoke with the operator wan advised that we had not been out on their calendar. We had one day in Auckland and were left with no tour as everything else was booked. So unprofessional and they didn’t even respond to us. I would give them zero stars if I could. Nothing was offered to compensate for this oversight.
Hi Pink, We collect from 14 major hotels and cruise ships from the Port. Normally when we receive a booking through Viator we respond to it asking where the client is staying so that we can schedule their pickup in a logical order depending on the number of pickups and their locations around the Auckland central business district The client responds and the booking is confirmed. This is all done through the email intranet or chat system that is part of the Viator booking system. You received an automated E ticket that said "confirmed" but that is not a confirmation from the operator , that's a confirmation that you simply have a ticket. When you buy an Airline ticket you are still required to check in and it's the same with us. In your case, the booking never got put in the calendar so we did not know there was a booking until Viator phoned us which was the first communication we had with you through them. You booked something and never contacted us prior to the departure date and time to confirm or reconfirm that the details on the ticket were correct - which they were not. This has happened before. Sky City Hotel is simply a default location which we have to put in. It's one of the 14 hotels While we accept this mistake was ours, you never reached out once in the communication through the Viator Chat system like most seasoned travellers do well in advance. If you leave contact to the departure time there is a real chance the tour has already departed If you had contacted us in advance you could have been collected directly from your cruise ship like the other travellers that went on the tour that day that communicated with us efficiently. We have a log of the communications with you after the tour had departed, but prior to that we received no telephone call, no messages - nothing. The terrible reviews are all unfortunately clients that did not get to go on tours - and so your review is a reflection of that rather than of the tour itself and I understand you are disappointed. I am personally very sad this occurred and that you missed out on an amazing experience. You received a full refund To anyone reading this I guess the moral of the story is book direct with the operator and don't go though 3rd party on-sellers where communications sometimes fail or don't happen at all. We were supposed to contact you but you could have done a lot more to contact us in the weeks leading up to the tour date. Mellissa Wiles - Tour Co-ordinator
Booked this activity several weeks in advance. We received our confirmation and tickets. We arrived early at the pickup location and messaged the operator to make sure we were in the right location. We received no response. We contacted Viator and were told the operator didn’t put our booking on his calendar! We had one day in Auckland and we were left with no tour as everything else was booked. Very disappointing and so unprofessional that the operator did not even respond. Nothing was offered to compensate for this oversight. I would give zero stars if I could.
Hi Tommi, We have already responded to your partners 1 star review. We are sorry for this error which was a complex administrative mistake that we acknowledge. Small businesses grow from learning from mistakes and evolving to ensure they are not repeated. We are sorry for the disappointment that you missed your tour. The departure time was brought forward to accommodate the departure of the cruise ship you were on and this should have been communicated to you. Kindest regards Mellissa Wiles - Tour Co-ordinator
We took the half-day Waterfalls and Wine option and while there were nice moments on the tour the majority of the outing was spent traveling in a somewhat cramped van. The pick-ups of participants began at 9-ish, not the tour itself. Then, after 50 minutes of driving there were two stops at nearly identical beaches (20 minutes each), and one 5-minute hike to an attractive waterfall. As a result there was only time to enjoy a single wine tasting. Perhaps we didn't read the fine print closely enough but we anticipated more hiking and wine tasting and less motoring. The all-day tour might have been more satisfying, as Piha IS a beautiful location and it simply takes time to get there and back.
I'm disappointed in your review which is quite at odds with other reviewers of the same tour. There is no public transport to Piha or Karekare and there are a limited number of tour companies prepared to go there because the roads are so hard on vehicles. You clearly did not read the inclusions which state you would visit black sand beaches at Piha, 2 of them, visit a pretty waterfall after a short walk in the forest at Karekare and taste wine a Soljans Vineyard. It was all in the description, but you make it sound as though if we availed more time there would be time for more wine tasting. You are a dreamer and quite naive and definitely ungrateful. Perhaps you should have booked the longer version that others on the tour paid for, which included lunch and a second winery - But you opted for the shorter and much cheaper edition, so I throw it right back at you. It is quite a drive I concede but there are amazing views and getting to these places is not easy at all. So thanks for your completely average review.
It was a great experience, largely because our guide, Jon, was so knowledgeable! This area of the country is magnificent.
Hi Theresa, Thanks for your great review. I'm so pleased you enjoyed your tour and that the inclusions met with your best expectation. Kind regards - John McFarlane
Perfect day! We just wanted a half day tour as we had a lot of things planned and this fit the mold perfectly. John was an incredible guide and was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. It was awesome to see a waterfall and piha- and the vineyard was the perfect way to end the day. Would highly recommend!
Hi Valerie, I'm so happy you enjoyed this tour - Piha is a magic place - The wine afterwards the cherry. Thanks for your great review.
We did a similar excursion with the same company a few years ago. Enjoyed then and enjoyed it again this time. We were lucky the wet weather held off while we visited Piha Beach and waterfall.
Hi Monika, Thanks for the great review and for choosing NZWINEPRO® twice. I do hope you'll follow my business @nzwinepro on Facebook or Instagram where I post things of interest that I discover on tour. All the best - John McFarlane
We had already toured the city and Waiheke island, but we hadn't seen the beaches or rain-forest of the nearby west side. I'm glad we took this tour. It gave us a chance to view more of the unspoiled beauty of New Zealand. Added plus was that this tour finished by 2pm enabling us to catch our evening flight home without needing to rush.
Hi Jay, I'm delighted you enjoyed Piha and the waterfalls. This morning tour is becoming very popular for people departing on early flights or cruise ships and still wish to have a few hours before departure. I do hope you'll follow my business @nzwinepro on Facebook or Instagram where I post things of interest I come across on tour. Kind regards - John McFarlane
What a wonderful tour! John was our guide and was so clear and communicative from the very start. His insights into New Zealand history and culture was fasinating and vast. Piha beach and the waterfall were beautiful and we stopped at several locations for breathaking photos. Boy does John know about wines! We had a great stop at a winery to taste test and learn about how wines came to be grown in NZ. Also got to sample some local manuka honey which was an added bonus! They have a full day version of this tour, with lunch but this shorter one was perfect for us as we made it back to Auckland by early afternoon to rest, shop and meet friends for dinner! In fact, John gave us a leaflet with various recommendations that did not dissappoint! We had a fabulois meal of green lipped mussels and frites at The Occidental and visted several other recommendations - all A+++! This is a must do tour!
Thanks for your fantastic view of the Piha Waterfalls & Wines Tour. I appreciate the positive feedback and I'm pleased the nzwinepro® newsletter had some things for you to do and see. This shorter tour is very popular for people leaving on an early flight or cruise but still want to see the wild west coast, nature and then taste wine. I do hope you'll follow my business @nzwinepro on Facebook or Instagram where I post things of interest I come across on tour. Best regards - John McFarlane
