Frightfully delightful delicacies in Wellsford??

On a recent trip to Auckland and whilst behind the wheel of a rental car I awoke from my slumber, momentarily, to find myself in the one horse town of Wellsford. The mention of a single, unaccompanied equine is in no way meant to suggest disrespect; in fact, one horse towns are rather attractive especially if you have been grappling with the insane and furious forward motion of thousands of vehicles on motorways in a large city. My disdain for such excessively wide, overly congested, singularly unattractive carriageways is such that on my way out of Auckland I had taken the first available ‘off ramp’ to seek refuge and comfort on quiet country roads.

I hadn’t the foggiest where I was going, of course, but what an adventure! Through some exceptionally beautiful countryside, up hill and down dale you might say, with an occasional view across the verdant landscape to watery inlets and sweeping vistas. I would have been oblivious to all of these wonders had I stayed on the dreadful multi-laned ribbon of black bitumen.

Back to Wellsford. The website www.newzealand.com tells us:

You’ll find Wellsford where the Northland and Auckland regions merge. Main street restaurants offer plenty of choice for passing travellers.

Wellsford is a busy country town serving the local farming and horticultural community. Travellers can fill up with fuel, call into the supermarket for supplies and take advantage of the quick service restaurants that line the main street.

The huge Kaipara Harbour is to the west to of the town; the surf beaches of Mangawhai Heads, Pakiri, Langs Beach and Waipu Cove are to the east. If you want to stretch your legs, the Dome Forest Walkway is another local attraction.

Functional facts: Approx. population 1670, good range of shops, services and accommodation.

At this point, my dear readers, I’m going to have to confess that my visit to Wellsford was restricted to a matter of mere minutes, not hours or days. This was not because I was on day release from a mental institution or because I was afraid of the unknown(the road ahead) but simply because the figurative leash attached to the rental car had reached its limit. I knew that if I didn’t turn the turbo charged Bentley around within minutes I would exceed the  time/deadline  to return the vehicle to the hire company. The penalties were so extreme that I visualised my impending financial ruin, my sorry carcass being catapulted into penury, my hitherto impeccable reputation amongst the intelligentsia pulverised into an unpalatable slurry.

However, ever the risk taker, I chose to find the nearest cafe to my then present position to frenetically wolf down something edible, glug and gulp a cup of coffee and quickly make note of the surroundings. After all, I would be unable to forgive myself were I to pass through a town without passing comment on at least one of its eateries.

The Tangiers Cafe it was then. My first impression was that the proprietors must have recently moved from Motueka as it bore such a resemblance to a main street Mot cafe which I shan’t mention here.

A large blackboard leaning against the front counter offered homemade winter soups, with toast, for $5.50. The lucky diner could choose kumera & vegetable, authentic Moroccan, creamy pumpkin or tomato & chives. That’s not all, the food cabinet was respectably stocked with some frightfully delightful delicacies and I suspect the range changes on a regular basis depending on the availability of the freshest ingredients. This spotlessly clean retro style cafe seemed very much a friendly, open plan space with a welcoming atmosphere.

My time was short, as you already know, so I accepted hot coffee and a sinful, heavily iced homemade banana cake; I wanted much more and know that, had old man time not been such an unforgiving enemy, I would almost certainly have tried the kumara and vege soup. The ladies behind the counter were charming and their banana cake was perfectly moist, bursting with a richness of flavour and an impressive swirl of flirtatiousness. I couldn’t take my eyes off it...or put it down.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is about the long and the short of it!