Tour of New Zealand South and North Islands by Mike Heins

Tour of New Zealand
North and South Islands in 2017
by Mike Heins
In early January 2016 I received a telephone call from a
member of the Bentley drivers club (Cedric Cooke), who I did
not know, asking me if I would be interested in entering my
Lagonda 2 litre High Chassis tourer in the Bentley Drivers club
2017 tour of New Zealand’s North and South Islands.
The tour was limited to 25 cars and prior to telephoning me
21 Bentley owners, from various part of the world, had
entered and paid their deposits. To ensure a full entry Cedric
contacted the Lagonda club chairman and asked if he could
suggest any Lagonda owners who might like to join the event.
My name was put forward hence the telephone call.
The tour costs included 42 nights’ accommodation in New
Zealand, mostly dinner, bed and breakfast, car
shipping/insurance, traffic Insurance, breakdown cover, road
tax, warranty of fitness (MOT), customs procedures and
selected social events and an allowance for air flights. Cedric
Cook had arranged for a New Zealand based tour operator
(Tony Haycock), who owns a vintage car, to help organise the
event. Tony joined us on the tour and dealt with all the local
issues. Each entrant paid a percentage to cover Tony’s costs.
The Lagonda was shipped from Southampton on 2nd
November 2016 along with 3 other Lagondas and 13
Bentleys (17 cars in total).Prior to shipment the car was
checked over mechanically, selected spares packed into the
car and it was scrupulously cleaned all over. I had to make
absolutely certain there was no mud/soil anywhere under the
wings or on the chassis. If there was the car would not be
allowed into New Zealand. The cars were packed into
containers and securely strapped down.
Cedric spent about 30 minutes giving me full details of the
tour which included the tour dates (starting on 23 rd January
2017 in Christchurch), an outline of the places to be visited,
air flights, car shipping arrangements, insurance issues and
the overall cost. He then asked me to let him know, if possible,
within 4 weeks if I wanted to go. He was very surprised when I
told him there and then I would like to enter. I made up my
mind whilst he was giving me details of the event. I told him I
would take part in spite of having absolutely no idea who
would accompany me. Over the next few days I completed
the entry form and sent off my deposit.
It took 7 weeks before they arrived in Christchurch. Tony
Haycock sorted out the customs clearance, Warranty of
fitness and road tax. The cars were then stored in Christchurch
until our arrival.
Hazel and I left the UK on 16 th January 2017 flying from
Manchester to Singapore, via Dubai. We spent 2 days
sightseeing in Singapore before flying to Christchurch, via
Sydney arriving on 20 th Jan. We spent 3 days based in
Christchurch where we met up with relations, and looked
around the extensively earthquake damaged city which was a
very sad and sobering sight, as is illustrated on next page.

Tour of New Zealand
Monday 23 rd Jan. The next morning we were up early as
we needed to collect the Lagonda from the storage depot. I
was slightly apprehensive that the car might not start but
this turned out to be totally unfounded as it started without
any issues.
Buildings devastated by the quake.
On the day before the tour started we were very kindly
picked up from our hotel by Kevin Atkinson, who is doing a
magnificent job rebuilding a MK 1 18/80 RX 7207 he
acquired from Irvine Black. Kevin drove us to his house
where we meet his wife Julia and their collection of dogs.
Kevin showed me around his collection of vintage cars and I
was extremely impressed by the amazing work he is doing
on resurrecting the 18/80 from the pile of parts he
purchased.
Kevin Atkinson’s M.G. 18/80 begins to take shape.
Later after a coffee we left Hazel & Julia and Kevin kindly
drove me to visit Irvine Black and see his emporium of
vintage and classic cars. Irvine is making steady but slow
progress with his 18/80 rebuild.
We had a lovely lunch with Irvine and his wife prior to
moving on to see Peter Lyttle’s 18/80 rebuild. Sadly Peter
was not available but he had given Irvine a key to his garage
so I could see his collection of cars and horse drawn
carriages. Peter’s 18/80 is much further advanced than
Irvine’s car and the quality of the workmanship is very high.
Kevin and Peter should be proud of their achievements and
hopefully we will soon hear they have completed their
rebuilds and the cars are back on the road. Kevin drove me
back to his house where we had an evening meal before he
kindly dropped us back to our hotel after a really amazing
day.
This was the first time Hazel had seen the Lagonda, apart
from pictures, and I hoped she would be happy travelling in
a vintage car as she had never done so before. Again
everything turned out fine, she climbed aboard, and we set
off to drive the short distance to our new hotel and the start
of the tour. On arrival there were already a number of other
people there. We booked into our room and shortly
afterwards set about cleaning the WD 40 off the Lagonda.
Prior to shipment I was advised to spray WD 40 over all the
aluminium and nickel parts of the car to prevent the salt
from the sea spray attacking the surfaces. It worked well but
took some effort to clean it off.
Later that evening we met up with all the other entrants at
the “Welcome Dinner”. The organisers had been very
thoughtful and provided very good name tags for the
entrants to wear which helped me a great deal as I am
hopeless at remembering people’s names.
Tuesday 24 th Jan. We went on a 120 miles “shakedown”
run to a large sea inlet at Akaroa on the east coast. The
route took us over some very mountainous and deserted
roads which provided stunning views especially as the
weather was warm and sunny with a lovely blue sky.

Tour of New Zealand
Wednesday 25 th Jan. We had a free day and went
back towards Akaroa to collect a poncho Hazel had
accidentally left at a coffee stop the previous day. That
evening we attended a BBQ organised by Bentley enthusiast
Gavin Bain who lives at Governors Bay. Gavin has an
amazing collection of vintage cars garaged in a beautiful
setting.
BBQ time.
temperatures). We also ventured into the steam/sauna
facilities. We went to bed at 22.00 tonight but had to get
up again at midnight to walk into the town and catch a
small bus which took us to the local sky observatory where
we spent 90 minutes “star gazing”. The night sky was clear
with lots to see including the “Milky Way” which was
stunning. Back to bed at 3.00am
Saturday 28 th Jan. Off to Dunedin today. The 217 mile
drive was an extraordinary series of contrasting spectacular
scenery. Lake Tepako was bright blue and crystal clear. We
drove past the long lakes and canals of the hydroelectric
power system. We stopped at Omarama for a break and
then continued on to Dunedin. There were some very long,
steep hills and bendy roads on this section but we overcame
them without issue.
Sunday 29 th Jan. An early start as a bus picked us up at
7.50 to takes us to the port for a Wildlife cruise. This took
most of the day. We saw several albatross flying with their
huge wingspan majestically soaring over the sea. Later that
evening we were taken by coach to “Larnach Castle” where
we had a formal evening meal. The castle is a mock copy of
a Scottish castle and is the only castle in New Zealand.
The Tour Group.
Thursday 26 th Jan. Today was the first long trip of the
tour with a 190 mile drive from Christchurch to Tekapo. We
drove through the Canterbury plains in brilliant sunshine and
no traffic before turning inland to cross the beautiful
Mckenzie basin before arriving in Tekapo. The views of a
glistening Mount Cook in the distance made it a perfect day.
Larnach Castle
Monday 30 th Jan. In the morning we visited the “Toitu
Otago Settlers” museum containing many historical and
interesting exhibits. In the afternoon we went for a ride on
the “Taieri Gorge” railway. The train leaves Dunedin's
beautiful railway station and travels through the southern
parts of Dunedin city until it arrives at Wingatui junction
where it turns off onto the Taieri branch with stunning
scenery everywhere.
Tepako Lake & Mount Cook.
Friday 27 th Jan. Today was a relaxing day and we
walked to the “Tekapo Springs” where we bathed in the 5
heated outdoor pools (all at predetermined different

Dunedin Railway Station.
Tour of New Zealand
Tuesday 31 st Jan. We were on the road again today
travelling 167 miles to Invercargill. The morning part of the
journey was in brilliant sunshine with yet more stunning
views. We stopped for lunch in Owaka. During the afternoon
we had hoped to visit the “Cathedral Caves” on Waipati
beach but had to abandon this idea when the weather
suddenly changed to very heavy rain and extremely strong
winds. We stopped and put our wet suits on and continued
with the hood down (A big mistake). By the time we arrived
at Invercargill we were soaked and cold.
Wet in Invercargill.
As it was a free night we had an evening meal with other
members of our group in the hotel and there was much
joviality.
Wednesday 1 st Feb. The weather was dry but windy so
we mopped out the Lagonda prior to visiting the Richardson
Truck Museum which has a vast array of commercial
vehicles. Whilst interesting it was not really Hazel’s or my
“cup of tea”. In the afternoon we drove 20 miles to Bluff this
being the most southerly point of the New Zealand
mainland. The trip there was wet and windy but luckily
whilst we were actually at Bluff the rain stopped and we
took some pictures in the dry. (See below)
Too costly for a ride in this Moth.
The drive was unusual as the road was virtually straight and
flat although it did go downhill significantly as we
approached the hotel close to the stunning Te Anau lake.
Friday 3 rd Feb. Another early start today as we were
picked up by coach at 9.15 to take us on our “Doubtful
Sound Wildlife Cruise”. This was a full day event which
involved a coach ride to the lake, then crossing “Lake
Manapouri” on a ferry, followed by a scary bus ride over the
21 kilometre “Wilmot pass”, a mountainous unmade road,
before arriving at Doubtful Sound where we boarded
another ferry for a tour of the sound. The sheer size of the
mountains, the waterfalls coupled with the tranquillity and
the remoteness, made it a very eerie place especially as it
was wet and misty. It rains here for over 300 days a year!
Saturday 4 th Feb. Off to Queenstown today and it is
only 106 miles. The weather was damp and overcast to start
with but brightened up as we drove along. There was much
more traffic around as it was the start of the bank holiday
weekend. A very easy route and we only used 3 different
road numbers.
Sunday 5 th Feb. Today we went for a 40 minute trip
across lake “Wakatipu” on steamship “TSS Earnslaw” to
Walter Peak, a sheep ranch where we were hosted to a
spectacular barbecue followed by a sheep shearing
demonstration.
Later in the afternoon we went into Invercargill town centre
and found it a desolate place and decided we did not like it,
so went back to the hotel.
Thursday 2 nd Feb. Today started in an unusual manner
when Hazel accidently dropped one of her earrings into the
wash basin and it fell down the plug hole. As the earring had
sentimental value I retrieved it by dismantling the wash
basin U bend trap, recovering the offending item prior to reassembling
the hotel plumbing. Today we are travelling 136
miles to Te Anau. A lunch stop had been pre-arranged en
route at “Miss Cocoa Cafe” at Mandeville airport and
aviation museum. We arrived mid morning and looked
around the museum before lunch in the cafe. After lunch
some members of our group paid for flights in a Tiger Moth
but we decided this was too expensive so set off for our
hotel.
Afterwards we had time to look around the farm with its
variety of different sheep and walk around the very colourful
gardens. There was a pianist on board the steamship and
we had a good “sing song” on the return journey with Hazel
taking a lead role.
Monday 6 th Feb. We took the public bus to “Arrowtown”
this being a restored gold mining town with touristy shops
and a fascinating museum giving a good insight as to the
way of life when gold mining was in progress. The bus trip
was also interesting as it called in at many of the small
hamlets and we were able to see a combination of old and
new housing.

Tour of New Zealand
Tuesday 7 th Feb. We are now moving on to Franz
Josef which is 241 miles away so an early start on a cold but
dry day. The first part of the journey was on a yellow minor
road to Cardrona. This was a very steep bendy climb, with
many extremely tight hairpin bends with large drops over
the edge. When we left the hotel we were 30m above sea
level and after about 20 miles we were at 1258m.
On Franz Joseph glacier.
Sat-Nav warns of bendy climb.
We were told afterwards there were many stunning views
as we wound our way up the hills but sadly neither of us was
prepared to take our eyes of the road and look! We
continued to Wanaka where we stopped for coffee. There is
another amazing lake here and lots of new house building
going on. The rest of the journey was on predominantly flat
roads with vastly differing mountains on either side.
Wednesday 8 th Feb. Another early start as we needed to
be at the Helicopter office for 8.30 prior to a trip up to the
Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers. The weather was perfect with
brilliant sunshine.
The road to the Fox & Franz Hoseph helicopter office.
Neither Hazel nor I had been in a helicopter before so with
a little trepidation we climbed in. As soon as we took off our
fears disappeared as we were surrounded by stunning views
of the snow covered mountains. After about 15mins we
landed on the Franz Joseph glacier and got out of the
helicopter where we walked around taking pictures and
admiring the views. The return flight took us over the Fox
glacier and all too soon we were back at the Heliport after a
most amazing experience.
In the afternoon we drove about 20 miles to Lake
Matheson where we walked around the perimeter of the
lake. Normally this walk enables you to see views of the
mountains reflected on the still waters of the lake but whilst
we were there the wind was blowing so sadly the reflections
did not appear.
The car park at Franz Joseph hotel.
Thursday 9 th Feb. Time to move on this time to
Greymouth a further 126 miles north. We had a coffee
break at the “Treetop Walkway” at Hokitika but did not go
on the attraction as it was very expensive. Instead we
continued our journey and visited the Shantytown Heritage
Park a leading culture and heritage attraction located 28
miles south of Greymouth. The Park consists of over 30
historic buildings which faithfully recreate the 19th century
pioneer town, inspired by the West Coast gold rushes of the
1860s. We then drove to the hotel for a one night stop. In
the evening Hazel and I had a meal on our own in a local
restaurant.
Friday 10 th Feb. We loaded up the car again, by now we
are getting good at this, and set off for Nelson 210 miles
further north. We took the coast road and after 30 miles we
arrived at Punakaiki to view Pancake Rocks which are
limestone formations that began forming 30 million years
ago, when lime-rich fragments of dead marine creatures
were deposited on the seabed, then overlaid by weaker
layers of soft mud and clay. The result is a very impressive
sight. We then drove a further 35 miles along the coastal
road before turning inland and driving in the valley with the
Kahurangi National Park on our left and Nelson Lakes
National park on the right.

Tour of New Zealand
Later that evening we went out to visit some of Hazel’s
friends who live 20 miles from the hotel.
Saturday 11th Feb. Today we visited the local Saturday
market, walked around the town; visited the cathedral where
we listened to an orchestra practising for a concert. After
some lunch we drove to the “World of Wearable Art “and
“Classic Cars Museum”. This single facility is an
iconic Nelson visitor attraction that celebrates two passions
united by design. Amazing wearable works of art from the
annual “WOW Awards Show” are displayed alongside one
of Australasia's biggest private collections of rare, classic
cars. Both Hazel and I were amazed by the wearable art and
spent a significant time looking around. The car museum
was good but no different to any other. Afterwards we drove
to Mapua a small town on the coastline where we had a
walk on the beach.
Sunday 12 th Feb. Surely it can’t be 7.30 am already?
Time to get moving as we are driving 77 miles to Blenheim
today and there should be no need to rush. However by the
time we had breakfast, packed the car and sorted out our
route the time was 9.30. We set off to drive 66 miles to the
“Allan Scott” winery and arrived at 11.45 (on time). At
midday we had a tour of the winery followed by an excellent
lunch in their restaurant accompanied by lots of nice wine
although the drivers had to restrain themselves. After this it
was a short drive to the hotel. No planned dinner today so
we ate with friends in a pub in the town.
Monday 13 th Feb. A coach picked us up from the hotel
at 9.00 today and we were driven 19 miles to Marlborough
Sounds where we boarded a boat to enjoy a trip around the
natural beauty of the Marlborough Sounds. Initially it rained
but luckily it brightened up although a strong wind persisted.
We were treated to cooked salmon along with freshly
caught and steamed mussels paired with a glass of
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
A very enjoyable trip and we arrived back at the hotel late
in the afternoon. We walked around the town before dinner
at the hotel.
Tuesday 14 th Feb. We were up at 6.00am this morning.
Had a quick breakfast followed by final packing of the car
and then drove 20 miles to the ferry terminal at Picton for
our crossing to the North Island. We had to be there by 8.05
but did not board the ferry until 9.00. The crossing was calm
and we arrived in the North Island at 12.30.Once off the
ferry we drove around the outskirts of Wellington on our
way to “Southward Car Museum” at Paraparaumu 32 miles
away. A soon as we left the ferry we noticed how much
more traffic there was on the roads compared to the South
Island. The museum was vast and in spite of spending
several hours there we only saw a small proportion of the
exhibits. The museum has its own workshops where they
restore cars. The area containing un-restored cars is vast and
would make a good museum in its own right! We then drove
north 87 miles to Whanganui on the west coast arriving at
17.45. Later in the evening Hazel and I had a valentine’s
dinner in the hotel restaurant.
Wednesday 15 th Feb. We spent most of the day walking
around Whanganui. It was an interesting town with lots of
historical things to see. That evening we joined the rest of
our group for a trip along the Whanganui River on a paddle
wheel steamer called “The Waimarie” which was built in
1898. Luckily the weather was warm and dry. A Jazz trio
played for the duration of the trip and we were given
delicious dinner on board accompanied by fine wine. No
driving tonight so we were able to have a drink!
The Waimarie
Thursday 16 th Feb. Today we crossed from the west to
the east coast of the North Island. We took a deviation from
the suggested route so that we could call in and visit a
Lagonda owner who lives at Palmerston North. The first part
of the journey was 45 miles and required us to head south
again to tour around Napier and nearby Hastings which we
decided to go get to our friend’s house. The Sat Nav took us
to their address without any issues and we spent a few
hours admiring their house, garden and garage prior to
enjoying a lunchtime meal. Fully refreshed we set off to
complete the 144 mile journey to Napier in overcast
conditions. As we got closer to Napier the weather
deteriorated significantly and we spent the last half hour
driving in the pouring rain with the hood down. There was
no arranged meal tonight so we walked into the town with
our umbrellas up and had a simple meal at McDonald’s
before returning to the hotel bar.

Tour of New Zealand
Friday 17 th Feb. It was still raining heavily when we
woke up so we decided to put the hood up on the Lagonda.
As the tonneau cover was soaking wet we left it to drip dry
in the bath of our hotel room. The organisers had arranged
a photo call with all our cars at 9.00 on the sea front which
we attended in spite of the weather. After that there was a
on. A number of our party dropped out which was a pity as
they missed an excellent 2 course lunch which had been
arranged part way round the route. The return journey was
also wet. This weekend was the Art Deco festival and in the
evening we dressed up in appropriate clothes and attended
a function in the town’s theatre and enjoyed a variety of
entertainment.
Saturday 18 th Feb. This morning we dressed up again in
our Art Deco outfits and drove 5 miles to the Vintage Car
Club (VCC) club rooms just outside the town where we were
provided with “tea and cakes” prior to setting off on a 45
mile tour in pouring rain.
Mike & Hazel dressed for the Art Deco festival…
We purchased drinks at the bar and were provided with a
good selection of canapés. A number of other car clubs had
been invited to the event.
…a few drinks later.
Before the big parade.
The tour arrived back in Napier just before midday so we
could take our place at the front of the Art Deco car parade
through the streets. It was still raining so we had the roof up.
In spite of the weather the parade through the town went
ahead as planned and the streets were lined by a vast crowd
in appropriate costumes with loads of umbrellas. As we
drove past the crowd shouted and waved and everyone had
a good time. In the evening we changed our attire so we
could attend the “dress down” depression dinner. This was
held in a marquee near the town centre and again a number
of car organisations were present. The meal consisted of
soup served in an enamel mug (which we were allowed to
keep) followed by a stew and vegetable main course. A
group of musicians played and there was a general “Sing
Song” both during and after the meal .A very good night
was had by all.
Sunday 19 th Feb. Another early start today as our group
had been invited to join the VCC at their club rooms for
breakfast. Many other car clubs also attended. We had time
to look round the “spares store” which contained an
amazing array of old car parts (mostly American). The
weather had improved by now and we managed to get
some photographs of the all the Lagondas from our tour
plus a couple of local cars. We had a free afternoon and
spent time watching other Art Deco events in the town. In
the evening we had a group dinner at New Zealand’s oldest
winery founded in the 1850’s aptly named the “Mission”
winery. We dined in its exquisite chapel. The meal was
superb.
Monday 20 th Feb. The organisers had arranged for us to
collect packed lunches from the hotel before we set off on
our drive to the next hotel at Taupo in the centre of the
island. We had been informed there would be no cafes etc
along the very twisty and mountainous route. After 48 miles,
much to our surprise we found a large cafe by the side of
the road. We pulled in only to find most of our group were
already there having a break. So we joined them. 5 miles
after we set off again, we came to some amazing waterfalls
so pulled over and had our packed lunches whilst watching
the water pour over the falls.

Tour of New Zealand
The rest of the journey to the hotel was mainly flat in
spite of us being 2400ft above sea level. Our hotel was
situated right on the edge of Taupo Lake and we had a
stunning view from our room. We swam in the lake which
was warm owing to thermal activity.
Tuesday 21 st Feb. We did some shopping in the town
this morning. Later we drove to the nearby Huka Falls which
are a set of waterfalls on the Waikato River that drains Lake
Taupo. A few hundred metres upstream from the Huka Falls,
the Waikato River narrows from approximately 100 metres
across into a canyon only 15 metres across. This causes an
extremely fast flow of water which is impressive to listen to
and watch making the Huka Falls a major tourist attraction.
We drove 56 miles to Rotorua with its distinctive smell of
Sulphur. On arrival at the hotel I sprayed the Lagonda
aluminium and nickel with WD 40 to prevent corrosion. In
the evening we attended a Maori concert and Hangi feast
near our hotel. The men were taught the Haka whilst the
ladies took to the stage twirling their poi-balls.
Wednesday 22 nd Feb. During the morning we went for a
walk around the town before returning to the hotel for
13.00 where we joined our group boarding a coach to visit
the Wai-O-Tapu Geothermals. This was an amazing
afternoon showing the real power of nature.
Once we reached the hotel we found that other group
members had also experienced difficulties with the traffic
and signage.
Saturday 25 th Feb. After another 1 night hotel stop we
set off for Paihia in the “Bay of Islands”. This 151 mile trip
took significantly longer than planned. For the first 2 hours
we averaged less than 5 MPH in the weekend traffic
gridlock. We had not expected this. Eventually the traffic
cleared and we made better progress. Whilst we were
stopped for a coffee break an MG C type owner (Lawrie
Poolman) pulled up and we chatted to him for sometime
before continuing our journey.
Lawrie Pullman’s C-Type M.G.
Wai-O-Tapu geothermals.
Thursday 23rd Feb . It was a short 51 mile drive to get
to Tauranga. On the initial part of the journey we saw many
Kiwi fruit farms. Further on, the area was much more
industrialised with many large oil storage containers and gas
storage tanks visible as we drove along. The roads were also
complex with many complicated flyovers. We managed to
get lost even with the Sat Nav! After booking into the hotel
we spent the rest of the day visiting friends who lived
nearby.
Friday 24 th Feb. Today we continued to travel north
heading for Takapuna following a scenic route of 179 miles.
After a couple of hours we made a mistake and ended on an
incorrect road but did not realise it for about 15 miles. After
studying the map we decided to carry on using a new
revised route. It worked well and we saved 45 miles BUT
missed some of the planned views. The later part of the
journey was on the Auckland motorway network which was
extremely busy and the signs confusing until Hazel worked
out the “system”.
Lawrie wanted us to view his car collection but we had to
decline as we were running way behind our schedule.
Surprisingly, in spite of the traffic delays, we were one of the
first to arrive at the hotel.
Sunday 26 th Feb. We visited Russell today which is a
peninsular across the bay. The ferry left at 10.00am from
the wharf near our hotel and took 15minutes to cross the
bay. After disembarking we looked around the town centre
until 12.00 when we took a minibus tour to see the
countryside and views of the surrounding hilly area. When
we returned, our entire group had a formal lunch at the
“Duke of Marlborough Hotel”. We were seated on an open
air veranda looking out over the bay. Russell is now a very
expensive place to live. We caught the return ferry to Paihia
and walked back to the hotel.
The Duke of Marlborough.

Tour of New Zealand
Monday 27 th Feb. The New Zealand TV company had
asked the organisers to select 8 cars to take part in a short
documentary about the tour including the different cars and
people involved. This was scheduled to be shown on the
evening news later that day. Our Lagonda was selected and
we spent most of the day waiting about whilst the film crew
recorded interviews, took static pictures and made videos of
the cars driving in and around the area.
Parading for the TV shoot.
Mike’s Lagonda follows on of the huge Bentleys.
The documentary was shown on the evening news but
lasted less than 3 minutes and they did not show or mention
the Lagonda at all. What a waste of a day!
Tuesday 28 th Feb. Today we drove 87 miles through
beautiful countryside to Paihia diverting en-route to visit
Matauri bay which had been recommended to us. There was
a steep winding road down to the beach. Hazel chatted to a
tattooed Maori fisherman who explained his technique for
catching fish.
Maori fisherman with Hazel.
Wednesday 1 st Mar. It was a coach tour today for our
entire group. The coach picked us up at 9.00am and it took
2 hours to travel to Cape Reinga the most northerly point of
New Zealand. We spent 45 minutes there admiring and
photographing the views. We walked down to the most
northerly point for the mandatory picture by the sign. Then
back on the bus and a short trip to some huge sand dunes
where a few of our group took the opportunity sand board
down the slopes. Next the coach drove along the sand of
the so called “90 mile beach”. Cars are no longer permitted
to drive on the beach hence our coach trip. After leaving the
beach we were taken to a restaurant for a “Fish and Chips”
lunch prior to returning to the hotel.
Thursday 2 nd Mar. Today it was a long 265 mile drive
south through the Kauri forest along the Tasman coast to
Auckland. The roads were narrow, twisty with lots of steep
hills and valleys. At one point we had an hour’s delay
waiting for the Rangiora ferry which could not cope with the
volume of traffic. Overall it took us nearly 11 hours to get
back to Aukland.
Friday 3 rd Mar. A free day at last! We spent the day
sightseeing various parts of Auckland. In the evening there
was a farewell party and dinner which was quite relaxing
with entertainment from a live local trio band called “2
many chiefs”. All too soon it was time for bed.
Saturday 4 th Mar. After breakfast I drove the Lagonda to
the container port 14 miles away along with 18 other cars.
Once at the container depot the fuel was pumped out of the
petrol tank and the car left in the hands of the shipping
agent. We were transported back to the hotel by coach.
During the tour the Lagonda covered just over 3500 miles
without a single problem for which I am eternally grateful.
Hazel and I stayed in Auckland for 3 further nights but at a
different hotel. For those of you who are good at maths you
may have remembered 17 cars were shipped out from the
UK and 19 shipped back. This can be explained as a
member of our group purchased another car whilst in New
Zealand and a Bentley which had originally been shipped
from America was now needed in the UK for another event.
Sunday 5 th Mar. Chris Wheeler who owns an 18/80 Mk II
(WM 5261) kindly picked us up from our hotel and drove us
to his house where I was able to able to see the excellent
work he has done on the restoration of his car. Whilst Chris
still has some way to go the quality of his workmanship is
excellent and it will make a lovely car when finished. Chris
and Catherine provided us with a super lunch and later in
the day Chris took us back to our hotel.
Monday 6 th Mar. We took a boat trip around the harbour
which included a visit to Davenport which is a “harbour side”
suburb of Auckland. Whilst at Davenport we visited the
official museum of the New Zealand Royal Navy.
Tuesday 7 th Mar. During the morning we walked around
the town and then watched 2 girls plummeting 192 metres
off the Auckland Sky Tower down thin wires at 85 km an
hour. They enjoyed it but this was NOT for Hazel or me! In
the afternoon we flew to Sydney where we stayed for 4
nights. We visited several of the well known tourist
attractions including 3 different performances at the Opera
House.
Saturday 11 th Mar. We had an overnight flight to Dubai
where we stayed for 3 days doing more sightseeing.

Tour of New Zealand
In Summary.
This was the most amazing holiday I have ever been
on. I could not have wished for a better time. Hazel was
amazing especially how she adapted to travelling in a
vintage car, living out of suitcases for 2 months whilst also
having to put up with me. Our fellow travellers were
extremely friendly and made us feel very welcome. The
organisation was exemplary and our thanks go to Cedric
and Tony for organising such an amazing event. Lastly I
must thank Lagonda for designing and manufacturing a car
which after 88 years is still capable of covering over 3500
miles of New Zealand’s notorious twisty and mountainous
roads without a single problem.
Mike Heins and Hazel Rowlands
Our route around South Island …
The trusty atlas we used in conjunction with the Sat-Nav.
… and the North Island.