NEW ZEALAND – SEA BIRD COAST

 

With my rental car due back about 10am there is no scent of bacon in the air as I begin my day toward Auckland.

 

The sun is blinding and fog fills the valleys as I drive east on Highway 2 on a circle route back to The City Of Sails.

Initially missing my planned turn of, I make a 180 and stop at a local convenience store to seek directions. A customer is more than obliged to help me.

He's headed in the same general direction and instructs me to follow him until … “In about 15 kilometers, I'll wave you on”.

If you think the world's lost it's niceness,  a lot of it can still be found here on a cold morning even if it comes in the form of shorts and water boots.

                                                                                                                                        Another scenic countryside drive and I am steering at New Zealand's Seabird Coast.

 

 

 

 

It's a low tide and boats seem like they are on dry dock waiting to be floated as the sea has disappeared beneath them.

 

 

Along the coast, cars with boats on trailer continually pass me by. No doubt this is a community that appreciates a good day of fishing.

 

Pressed for time, I make fewer stops than I would like to although one stop gives me a trip down memory lane. At a local mom and pop store I have a single scoop (actually two huge half scoops) of rum raisin ice cream cone the old fashion way. No machines involved this is the real deal.

Eventually Highway 2 returns to M1 and I am soon approaching city limits. Leaving my rental car behind 1148km later I walked towards Queen Street where I will board the Airport Bus to catch a Air New Zealand flight to Christchurch.