[God-Man]

Hi all.

Anyone from Waiheke here? I was just wondering what the sense of community is like (particularly around Oneroa/Blackpool, I guess) and what you can expect from the town in the ways of convenience and leisure.

Does it feel fairly developed, or does it kind of have this sense of "nothing's going on here... have to ferry over to Auckland if you want any civilization"?

I fell in love with the island, and it has become my first choice of residence in NZ (second choice would be Rotorua, but only if Waiheke turns out to have too significant drawbacks... something I don't foresee happening).

Thanks.

[mgbridges]

Hi God-Man,

I don't live on Waiheke myself but I've searched out a few threads with have mentions for you:

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9594&highlight=Waiheke
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15536&highlight=Waiheke
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12174&highlight=Waiheke
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20889&highlight=Waiheke
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18607&highlight=Waiheke

We have visited Waiheke once and I absolutely loved it but envisaged it as somewhere we might retire to (early hopefully) rather than somewhere for now whilst our son is growing up. He is almost 7yrs old and I'm sure as he gets older the accesibility to more entertainment options by us living on the North Shore will, I imagine, be appreciated by him.

HTH
Anneliese

[CJ22]

I'd love it, and my colleagues tell me it IS practical to live there, but the accommodations you have to make make it a bit pricier. For example, unless you never want to leave Auckland, you have to have a car and somewhere secure to park it on the mainland, or pay to have it shuttled across on the ferry etc. It's just a bit of a faff, but certainly do-able. The ferries run late on Fri and Sat, so no probs going to weekend gigs and the theatre, but I think they only run till 11 during the week. The ferry also obviously takes longer - I'm told it's a 20 min walk from Blackpool to the ferry, 30 mins on the ferry, then wherever you want to go.

[andrewandjane]

hi there,

waiheke is amazing ( biased of course as i live there)

I commute every day and its a fantastic trip in.

no major disadvantages in island life and loads of advantages...basically no different from anywhere else, we have supermarkets, shops etc just not as many!

but loads of beaches etc. 35 minute commute into town, and contrary to popular beleif housing on the island isnt too expensive and is more favourable than a lot of places 35 mins away.

[Vicked]

What is the availability of broadband like on the island?

[CJ22]

Is there mains gas, electric and water, or do you have to be self-sufficient in that regard? I presume there's mains electricity.

[andrewandjane]

broad band is fine weve got it.

mains electricty is fine weve got it

no gas and water is from tanks or boreholes or both, if you run out you just get a water delivery by tanker. it works well for us as a family of four, we ran out once last year after an unusually long dry spell of over several weeks, just means mroe showers than baths in summer. unless youre on a bore then use as much as u like..

as for civilisation theres bars, shops restaurants etc its just like another auckland suburb only on an island and not as crowded as theres a minumum section size so most sections are about 1000m or more so has a rural sort of feel even in village itself.

[tagacs]

We are moving to Auckland in January and are seriously considering Waiheke Island. We are a little unsure about the car situation though. I assume we would probably need a run around for the Island, and possibly another car parked on the mainland? We figure we will be spending quite a few weekends traveling around the north island and don't really want to pay to ferry the car across to the mainland every time we want to go for a drive.
Do many people drive around the island, or can you get away with the public transport?

[andrewandjane]

we spent our first yr without a car as the buses on the island run in snyc with the ferries so theres a bus every hour form most parts of the island, theres three separate bus routes so its quite easy. its also inlcuded in the ferry pass. weve not bothered with a car off island but costs are comparable anyway. ie foot passengers for a family of four or going by car with up to four passengers for $80 (island return ie u have to live here to get that deal)



its no major hassle getting a car off the island theres two ferry companies that operate car services.

[God-Man]

Thanks for the feedback so far!

So, as I understand it, you can pretty much just bus anywhere you want? Also sounds like everything is in comfortable walking/biking distance around Oneroa/Blackpool.

Would anyone say the town around Oneroa is "sleepy" at all, or is it pretty busy? (referring to where the stores/entertainment is)

[andrewandjane]

yeah sleepy is probably it, busy in summer though. enough shops, bars and cafes in plentifull supply.

when we first visited our kids were looking for the "town" and we said weve just drove through it. its more like one street of shops. then the main supermarkets are in ostend, with the main housing areas being surfdale, blackpool, oneroa. all kind of merge. then palm beach area, ostend tghen out towards onetangi which is a bit further away. can do most of the island by bus though.

[God-Man]

Okay, thanks... Btw, how do you pronounce Waiheke exactly? Just wanna make sure I have it right. Is it: "Why-HEE-key"? (saying it with an American accent)

And also Matiatia.... is it: "muh-tee-AH-tee-ah"?
(referring to Matiatia Bay / Wharf)

And finally, Oneroa... is it: "ON-er-oh-uh"? (just how it sounds?)

[SarahEDH]

To my ears, Waiheke is pronounced with emphasis on the first syllable rather than the second -

[JandM]

I've often heard Waiheke mentioned by our Kiwi family, so I know that's like two words - 'why hecky'. I don't know from my own knowledge about the other places you mention, but I do know that in general, the stress is fairly even on all syllables through a word, and the vowels are kind of like you would expect if you were reading Italian (so I doubt the heavy stress in the middle of Matiatia).

[JandM]

I've just been looking up the parts of the word, and it looks as though it means 'white' (the 'ma' part), and then 'to stick or drive in', or else 'paddle' ('tia' or 'tiatia'). So maybe it's a white beach where people moored their boats, or the water looked white where they paddled hard...??? Either way, the 'ti' syllables are the beginning of a part that carries meaning.

[andrewandjane]

sounded whyhicky.. or whyheekee depends on your accent i guess..

[andrewandjane]

oneroa is another one that depends on who you are speaking to.


sounding like
OH kneeroha,
Ohneroah,
One rower!! (lots of english people get off the boat asking for this one (hehehe)

can get away with just calling it "the village"....keeps it simple

[God-Man]

Hmmm... "Why-hicky". Does that translate into "Why-HEE-key" by any chance in an American accent, or is that just how it sounds in all accents?

By the way, andrewandjane, check your PM's... (not sure if you're set to receive email notification of new PM's or not)

[JandM]

Thing is, foreign (and that includes US and UK when we're thinking about NZ) accents are just how certain groups of people come out with a word. This is a local place-name, so it's how the locals say it that needs to win out.

From the Maori dictionary:
E, vowel: e pronounced as e in “pet” and in “epic”.

[andrewandjane]

agreed,

i was trying just to impart that pet and epic sound like theyre said "pit" and "ipic" in local dialect..so its ...why hicki...

[Charliefarley]

Hi there

Just thought I would add, we've just arrived in New Zealand 2 weeks ago and bought a house on Why-hicki! a few days back. It has been a dream to return to the island from when I was a backpacker working in the old "Harbourmasters" in Matiatia around 15 years ago! I just love it, and luckily my husband does too. I don't think anyone would regret making such a decision. If you did want to change your mind its only half an hour back to Aukland!!! Good luck God-Man
PS Which would be your primary school of choice Andrew&Jane? We were originally thinking the new one on Sea view but Ocean Road [where we will live] probably closer to old school on Donald Bruce Road, any advice gratefully accepted :)

[andrewandjane]

you will be in the next road to us then! easy to walk down to te hurihi from there. when do you move ?