we will make on the entire journey . We head for Wellsford on SH16 , in Kaipara ’ s spring-green , gentle , rolling hills . I am relaxed and zooming along , I know the roads and the 300 is humming . Perfect weather , a few clouds , flat shiny water reflecting azure and fleece-white sky . Near Ruawai I realise there ’ s no one behind me . No Cam , no Wayne , no black rectangle in my rear view . A Vespaless expanse . I slow , pull over , stop , and wait . Alarm bells in my head . 30 minutes later and trouble – damn . I had turned back once already this morning and found the chaps a few corners back , meandering along , to which I gently pointed out that there was a way to go , and we increased the pace to the legal limit . But now there ’ s no ‘ two corners back ’ discovery . With feeling out the new Racing Sixties HPE , I haven ’ t noticed their absence . I turn back - a kilometre , then two , three , four ... still no sign . My imagination has me explaining to angry wives how I caused their husband ’ s horrible disfigurement . Five k ’ s , six , seven . Now the alarm is on nuclear - I ’ m going to stumble on the shattered , bleeding carcasses of two men . Then , round a corner , there is Cam , on the side of the road calmly texting . I swoop up . “ Wayne ’ s lost his glasses , 1500 bucks ! He ’ s gone back to find them ”, says Cam .
We wait , and after a few minutes there ’ s the unmissable soft whirr of a 300 GTS returning . Wayne stops , flips up his helmet visor . “ Found them ! About eight kilometres back , bounced out of the case , but in their soft wrapping , perfect .” With that small miracle , we tootle off in earnest . Made it to Eutopia Café , a strangely anachronistic 60s hippie cafe in Kaiwaka . Food and coffee . As was to happen at nearly every stop on the trip , we fell into conversation with travellers and locals alike . Cam and Wayne attract people to them like bees to honey , and both love a good yarn . In early discussions it was thought that the Twin Bridges road route may prove a good approach to Rawene , but as we neared the turn off , just shy of the Brynderwyn Hills , we decided on a spin through to Dargaville , and up through the beautiful Waipoua Forest with a side trip to see Tane Mahuta . Twelve inch wheels seem to frighten a lot of people , but modern Vespas are incredibly able . And mine is equipped with ASR and ABS , the traction and stability control is a confidenceinspiring addition to the 2020 . Through gravelly bits and corrugated corners , on heavily truckabused roads , the Racing Sixties tracked well and true . I did note that with the ASR off it was
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