A "mystery man" has been brightening mornings in Kerikeri by paying for strangers' coffees.
About 10.30am on Monday the man called in to Way Cup, a drive-through coffee kiosk on Kerikeri Rd, and asked barista Jordyn Howearth if she did "pay it forward".
When Howearth said yes, he pressed a bundle of banknotes and coins totalling $160 into her hand.
"I was so shocked. I asked him, 'Are you sure?' and he said, 'I just want to be kind'. And before I'd even finished saying thank you he was off, walking up Kerikeri Rd. He's our mystery man."
His gesture paid for coffees for the next 30-plus customers.