The weather continued to work in our favour as we headed out to pick up a rental car for the weekend. An inconspicuous, bright red Commodore was waiting for us; once the paperwork was signed we were on our way. Attempts to second-guess whether Max’s wheelchair would fit in the boot (trunk) were quickly resolved after a number of futile attempts. It travelled on the back seat with its wheels in the boot.
According to Google maps, the journey north to our destination would take about 1.5 hours. This may have been the case if it wasn’t for:
- most people from Auckland heading north for the long Labour Day weekend,
- the bottleneck caused where the main road north merged with a busy coastal road,
- an accident involving a motor bike rider on a winding section of road that shut down one (of only two) lanes of traffic,
- an annual school fete, with the resulting parking and pedestrian traffic interrupting the flow of traffic north,
- a regular Saturday market disrupting traffic at a major T intersection.
A journey that might normally be expected to take 1.5 hours added up taking 3 hours! On arrival we received the guided tour of ‘the bach’ from Fiona and marvelled at the work Derek had done, converting a very basic weekender into a comfortable retreat from city life.
Max launched his drone – to the amazement of those who had not seen one up close before. Once airborne it was soon heading east towards the heads and out to sea. The blustery winds along the coast caused some navigational challenges, but after about ten minutes in the air the drone returned overhead and made a perfect landing on the decking from where it was launched. The video footage was subsequently viewed by all and deemed to be fantastic.
Lunch was served – it included freshly cooked whitebait fritters and salmon for the benefit of Sarah and Max, who enjoy their seafood but don’t get the chance very often to indulge themselves with such fresh offerings back home in Chicago. A wonderfully prepared berry cheesecake and lemon slice finished off the extended lunch.
Our southward journey back to Auckland was made easier by an accident on the highway north of where we were, with all lanes blocked to traffic. We detoured via Devonport to have a quick look around before returning to the city for a light meal at the local Sushi Train restaurant next door to the hotel.