Nikau Cafe Run With Waikato Morris Club

Nine shiny Morris Minors from the Auckland club arrived at the Drury motorway service station meetup point, looking sharp and enthusiastic at 9 am. We huddled around in the cold wind drinking the first coffee of the day, then set out for Rangiriri Hotel. The author was tasked with leading the troupe, a task he was under-prepared for. The day didn’t get off to a promising start when one car experienced battery problems and needed a jump-start to get out of the BP parking lot, and another experienced a fuel blockage at Bombay. In good Morris spirit, both cars were quickly abandoned, but fortunately they were able to be revived and in fact beat the main group to the Rangiriri Hotel, since the author led everyone else on an ill-advised back road which turned out to be narrow gravel.

At Rangiriri, we met up with some fine looking Morris motors and their enthusiastic owners from the Waikato club, and their contingent included several Morris 8 variants, as well as a couple of nicely modified versions. From there, it was a leisurely cruise out to Nikau Cave Cafe at Waikaretu, on a great road through very spectacular limestone country.

The Rolls Royce club were also at the cafe, and so the parking lot was soon double-stacked with fine British machinery. The cafe is situated in a lovely valley surrounded by bluffs and native trees, and fairly sheltered from the chilly wind, so we were able to relax and even enjoy some sun while catching up and waiting for our coffees and food orders.

Everyone agreed that it was a good day out and a good destination for a day trip!