On the road: Turn-on turnoff happy to live down a fast past

By TONY WALL

On the penultimate day of our exhausting 2000km road trip we decide to take a drive down Lovers Lane.

We clear the Auckland Harbour Bridge, stretch out on the new expressway to Orewa and motor through the Rodney district.

Just north of Wellsford we see it - the best road name off State Highway 1 so far. Maybe we have been in each other's company too long because we cannot resist taking a spin down the mostly shingle Lovers Lane.

Although it is only a few hundred metres long and serves just three houses, the lane is not very secluded and does not look like much of a place to park up and whisper sweet nothings.

At the first house we come to, we luck upon the woman who thought of the name for the road she has lived on for 54 years.

Great-grandmother Phyllis Woodcock, aged 77, is pottering in her late husband's shed, clearing out a lifetime of clutter.

As traffic hurtles past a few metres away, she stands in the middle of the lane and tells us that until about 40 years ago, this little byway was State Highway 1.

But it was diverted and after that the lane became a favourite place for young people to park and make out or have parties.

Eight years ago, when another resident of the unnamed road suggested that it be given an official title, Mrs Woodcock came up with the romantic moniker.

It gets a laugh out of people when she recites her address, "No 5 Lovers Lane," but the downside is that people are always stealing the signs.

Further up the road, we start to wonder whether Northlanders are taking the love theme to ridiculous lengths. The Longview Wine Estate just south of Whangarei hangs blow-up sex dolls above its vineyards.

Owner Mario Vuletich insists this is the latest in "scarecrow technology." The birds became accustomed to stationary scarecrows, so he tried the dolls and they worked.

"First of all they were naked but my mother said they looked rude. So I put bras and pants on them - which kept going missing."

We drive to Whangarei along what is surely the most dangerous stretch of the state highway. It is narrow and windy and drivers have no respect for the speed limit. We feel the most vulnerable we have on the whole trip, knowing that a moment's inattention will end it all

But once we get into the Far North, towards Kawakawa, the traffic thins and we start to enjoy the hottest and most laid-back part of the country.

It would be easy to blink and miss the tiny freezing works town of Moerewa, a settlement that has had big problems with unemployment, crime and gang fights.

Now there is good reason to stop. The place has been dressed up by the He Iwi Kotahi Tatou Trust, which launched a campaign to promote local businesses and revive the town.

The main street of Tuna (eel) Town, as it is affectionately known, used to be boarded up but now has about 18 businesses and pavements festooned with Maori designs and poles.

We stop for lunch at the trendy Tuna Cafe, the only eatery serving traditional Maori food that we came across on State Highway 1. The locally smoked eel with sweet chilli sauce is delicious.

The man behind Moerewa's revival is unofficial mayor Ngahau Davis, who says locals are determined to take charge of their future.

"I believe in the philosophy Tam tu tama ora, tama noho tama mate (To stand is to live, to lie down is to die)."

We drive slowly towards Kaitaia, enjoying the native bush in the Mangamuka Gorge. It is our first taste of towering kauri, rimu and native ferns after kilometres of scruffy, broken farmland.

This is New Zealand as I will always remember it.

Feature: On the road with Tony and Mark