Sunday dawned fine, clear and a bit cool. A perfect Merc run day with “topdown” conditions. Twelve cars met at the Parnell Rose gardens ready to venture north. After a briefing by Debbie and a hearty “Happy Birthday” rendition for Roy (passing bystanders joined in), we were off. Other cars joined us on the way.
The route was SH 16, then onto Old North Rd through the Riverhead forest and over undulating ridgetop roads to the riverside town of Helensville. On towards the Kaipara harbour with a short, but eventful, stop at Shelly Beach.
The tide was in and the fishing boats were out in force. Five members searched valiantly under Trev’s bonnet and agreed that yes, there definitely was an engine in there. Brian was observed to put his front licence plate in the boot of his car. Debbie inquired from a local fisherman if he had any fish for sale? His reply, glancing at the lineup of Mercs, was “how much you wanna pay lady?”.
However, lunch awaited us just up the road at the South Head Golf Club – a comfortable cafe with a good choice of food and refreshments, with a great view of the manicured golf course.
Pleasant as it was, we were here to drive! So, time came to head home just beating the forecast rain. Our visit to the largest New Zealand harbour just over 1 hour from the Auckland CBD was an eye opener for some on roads less traveled.
Chris Scullin
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