Skip to content

NZ Herald travel writer loves Waiheke Island 'SegWai' Segway Tours

Today's NZ Herald features a fantastic article about Waiheke Island's latest tourist attraction: Donna McIntyre masters the geek chic Segway for a fun spin around Waiheke Island.
SegWai tours run from the shoreline via vineyards and bush trails to views from volcanic hilltops.
In her opening sentence travel writer Donna McIntyre admits:
I've always had a hankering to ride a Segway....Spotting the SegWai van on our own back door, Waiheke Island, seemed too good to be true.
SegWai has been up and rolling for several months (we covered the launch here). Owner Andrew Lanyon says his business is gearing up for their first summer season. Not only does the island's population swell with holiday makers and day trippers, it is also a favoured destination for corporate visits. SegWai has activities for all of these kinds of visitors, with private hires for families and individuals through to corporate team building group activities. Donna McIntyre says booking a tour with SegWai was easy and convenient:
A phone call booked us on the Bay to Beach outing from Matiatia Bay (where the ferries come in) over the hill through the olives and vines at Cable Bay, down to Blackpool Beach and back to Matiatia....
She certainly got to see the sights of the island from a fresh new perspective:
....We make our way from Matiatia along a beautiful bush track. The terrain is gentle and the scenery is easy on the eye. As time goes by, we're more at ease, looking at our surroundings rather than only the path in front as the Segway becomes an extension of our bodies. The machine reacts to movements needed for forward, back and turns but its self-correcting gyroscope means there is never any unexpected, unnerving movement. Photo opportunities are offered at postcard-perfect locations such as Cable Bay where we weave through olive trees and vines, and then it's on along the roadside and downhill to Blackpool, enjoying Waiheke's stunning views that make overseas visitors' jaws drop.
Other sights include riding right up to a shipwreck on your Segway Personal Transporter (if the tide is low) and rock formations that date back to the Jurassic age. You can read the full article here.