Difficult to describe a road-trip in a new Mazda CX-30 with SkyActiv X technology in the immortal lyrics of John, Paul, George and Ringo, but then there were things “It took me so long, to find out, and I found out…”

What did I find out? Well, I found out that Bed and Breakfasts are a pretty good way to spend short and sweet holidays. I found out Cambridge has a number of intriguing restaurants. I found out that you can get great Turkish food on the outskirts of Waihi and – oh yes –, I found out that Mazda’s already impressive CX-30 is a lot better with a SkyActiv X engine. 

In saying this, the CX-30 – refined as it is in Takami grade – is definitely a Daytripper. By the time you put four people and their luggage into one, well, let’s just say it’s a cosy fit. 

But remember the CX-30 is listed as a small SUV. It looks closer in physical size to a medium, thanks to a long and low side profile, and from the front it looks luxuriously spacious too. 

Once you begin loading luggage however, the true size of the CX-30 becomes apparent. Now I did say ‘cosy’ not ‘cramped’ – as proven by the visiting teen with a borderline case of narcolepsy. 

Jazz is my youngest daughter’s bestie and very little trouble, especially on roadies, which is when she seems to catch up on sleep. 

Still, it proves a point with the CX-30 that, as far as rear seat accommodations are concerned, there is room to stretch out and catch 40 winks when the ‘I’m imagining something…’ game just proves too exciting to play… 

Of course, by that time my little pick up quartet family had made it all the way down the Southern motorway and to the traveller’s rest at the top of the Bombay Hills.

Amazing how a simple little kid’s game combined with a smooth and refined ride easily puts paid to the worst part of leaving Auckland.  

And the top of the Bombay hill is the place to really start a holiday, which is why there are so many eateries up there. I think Ronnies Bakery is the most recent. 

So while we were having a little smackerel of something, I couldn’t help but notice that the CX-30 was developing a little fan following of its own – a little knot of admirers. Yes, it’s good looking and that crystal soul red paintwork is stunning in any light. 

I had worked out that this Dadventure was going to be quick and suited the Daytripper theme inspired by the CX-30.

I’m blessed with a family who’s navigational skills are not that flash, so all I had to do was get to interesting roads and put the Mazda through its paces to make a comparatively short trip into a ‘hey Dad, that was cool!’ one. 

And the coolest roads are the coast ones, which meant a sprint run through to Kopu if you can call a 90km/h restricted speed a sprint.

At the end, the Mazda was showing a 6.7 litre fuel figure out of a fully laden SUV with a 2.5 litre petrol engine. 

It can easily better that in its natural hunting ground of city and suburbia. I have photographic evidence of 4.9 litres per 100km on a town and around run, and eye witness attestation to a 4.3 figure, which is better than the figures Mazda NZ will quote for its 2.5 wonder engine.

But for haring around SH25 after getting off the viciously monitored SH2, the fuel efficiency was the last thing on my mind, or that of my passengers, truth be told. Daughter and girlfriend are quite used to Dad showing off, but even Jazz had to wake up for some of the twisties. 

Not for any other reason than to be impressed with the flat cornering when traveling quickly and finding those little suspension-lifting lunch-losers my old man delighted in subjecting me to. The cars and their suspensions have changed, but gravity is the same as it always was! 

Eventually we came to Whangamata, home to the infamous Beach Hop, soft sand and sunshine. If you have no pressing rush to get going again, it’s one of Life’s guilty pleasures. 

But as the song goes, ‘we had a long way to go and a short time to get there’ so it was back into the crowd gathering CX-30  (OK people, it’s a very pretty red; we got it)  and hit the trail. 

Heading south on 25 towards Waihi is a real fun run. It’s quick, it’s exciting and a bit gnarly according to my passengers, who loved the way Mazda’s wunderkind rocketed through the winding roads. 

Our next port of call saw us off 25, through the sleepy mining town of Waihi and onto 2 heading for the Karangahake Gorge. 

At this point, daughter had her bearings and was regaling Jazz with the story of missing miner Johnny Man – a tale that terrified an impressionable 16 year-old who had been subjected to daylight walks in Karangahake Gorge caves, which are pitch black.  

I – on the other hand – was looking for an ice cream shop. And there it was, on the right just as we were setting up for the swoopy hills that set up a Gorge run. The CX-30 has good brakes too! 

I think DownThyme – the catchy name of the restaurant I was after – is at the end of the last street on the right off the palm-lined Pacific Road outside of Waihi when heading north. Its worth hunting it out to find, regardless. 

You don’t really expect to find a Mediterranean villa restaurant just out of Waihi, but there’s DownThyme, run today by Roland and Mufide. 

Roland grew up in southern Germany and travelled extensively, which is great way to cement 50 years as a chef! Mufide was born and raised in Turkey, but emigrated to New Zealand in 2003, where she has owned a number of Turkish restaurants and Turkish takeaways. 

Today, she and Roland bring their passion for food to your table Tuesday to Saturday from 11am till late and om Sunday 11 till 4. 

Even if you just call in for hot chips and the Turkish bread tasting platter, you’ll see or yourself what a true love for food really results in!    

Ready to roll again and I decided it was time to make up some time, which precluded stopping until the far end of the Gorge where little girls could go and get some dabble toes in the water time. Be prepared Dad’s, for some river rocks to mysteriously appear in door side pockets. 

North on 2 to the home of the Big Bottle at Paeroa and explain to Jazz the origins of L&P (who knew she didn’t know! What ARE they teaching kids these days?) and a quick left onto 26 – another road route well remembered by Hannah for the rural smells of life in the country. 

On the other hand, SH26 does take you past the biggest can of whipped cream you’ll likely ever see! 

The Paeroa-Tahuna road is my preferred route into Morrinsville and the least pungent. 

It takes you into Morrinsville from the side, so you can see the shops with their key characteristic of ‘let’s just get business done properly’’ on the part of the retailers and then of course, there are the ‘’art cows’’ – a fabulous street display of cow statues sporting some seriously artistic paintwork.

Seeing how many you can spot as you make your way through Morrinsville is a great way to go through town if you don’t have to stop to feed travellers at one of the many coffeeshops/eateries/takeout joints, though there are some damn good ones who would likely appreciate your business. 

It’s a straight down the 26 line to Tauwhare Rd which you can program your GPS for to make it easy. 

Gentle corners aren’t really fashionable in the Waikato – tractors, I guess, like 90-degree corners. But the scenery on Tauwhare Road is lovely, toon trees or cherry blossoms, soft green fields and…military museums? 

“Dad, that fella’s got an old plane in his front yard!” Yeah, one day I’m going to have to remember that museum’s there and go check that out.

But for now we’re on the look out for Zig Zag Road, which only really zigs and zags if you are hustling, and while the SkyActive X engine doesn’t do hustle very well fuel-wise, it can do mile munching with sufficient speed to let Zig Zag road live up to its name. 

Wells Road is the intersection I was after and I’m glad we found it or I would have gone through someone’s nice, white painted fence and into a paddock – Mazda, is this part of Jinba Ittae philosophy, where the car, the horse and the rider become one? I’m thinking probably not.     

Actually, Wells Road should slow you down because, like a forest, the housing has just sprouted out of the ground here. We weren’t sure if we were looking at a lifestyle kingdom or retirement city or what, but everything is crisp and new and well cared for.  

Happily, Wells Road leads directly to St Kildas Road – our final destination. 

According to AirBnB, we were looking for the Loft, but what we should have been looking for was Lammermoor Farms, which is actually really well signposted unless you are looking for a grey loft building which somehow evades the eye. Ok, so maybe I should have been wearing my glasses. 

Lammermoor Farm is a working dairy farm which is also home to some horses, or at the very least a stable. 

Owned and operated by Cathie and Murray – with Cathie being your point of contact – Lammermoor has an on-site resident who is confusingly, not Cathie. 

I didn’t catch her name, but she was gardening when we came in up the gravel drive and very helpful in explaining that she was not Cathie, but as we were guests, we must be staying in the Loft. 

I was under the impression this sort of ‘arrival and who are you?’ thing happens quite a lot, despite AirBnB’s trying to get visitors to contact Cathie re arrival times. 

We had booked for 2pm, it was now 5pm (bad Dad!) but the Loft was all ready for us, with some lovely welcoming information about farm workers who try to be quiet, but might be in first thing; the possibility of a quad starting and the dangers of touching fences. In the country? Shocking!

Cathie did come and say hello. She is a lovely hostess and very eager to make sure her guests are made welcome, but like all good BnB people should, she leaves you to do your own thing, with the understanding that she is only a holler away should anything be needed.  

There were also some menus from local restaurants and, of course, breakfast vittles, butter pats, milk, jams etcetera in the mega fridge. 

Being a working farm, the kitchen/dining and adjoining washroom/laundry/bathroom are hmm, Kiwi circa 1960s? Lino floors, Formica bench, stainless steel sinks with separate taps, it’s all very functional, but clean and reminded my of my 70’s childhood. 

Then you go upstairs to the loft. Oh my. 

It’s huge up here and its one big open plan room with the bedroom off to one side. And if the living room is huge, the bedroom… well.

I’ve NEVER seen a bedroom this grand before. The double bed -- oversized methinks – just sort of vanishes into the far wall and the writing desk – not sure how it got up here, helicoptered in through the ceiling perhaps – looks better than the one you see in the movies of the White House.

Even with these two enormous furniture highlights, you could host a fair dinkum Ball in here, or maybe run horse trials in inclement weather. Are you getting the idea? This room redefines big. 

And talk about toasty! Cathie’s notes suggested there were spare blankets available, but we sure didn’t need them. The Loft has a heatpump, but I suspect that’s probably more for cooling than anything else.    

And just before I move on, I had booked for four of us, and two were going to have a spectacular sleep in that double-and-a-lot bed (assuming we could find it in all that space), while the juniors had the living room couch which folds out to a double and apparently, provides a really good sleep after a busy day. 

I was sad to leave the Loft and I think Cathie and Murray have a really great place which defines the Kiwi lifestyle we like to tell international visitors about. 

In our new-found Covidian world, I would suggest more of us locals take the time to visit other locals. You’ll be proud to be a Kiwi when you see what hosts like Cathie and Murray are doing.  

Breakfast in Cambridge on a Sunday morning? Heaps to choose from, but we’d recommend Frans Café on main street. Its small to get into but has a good-sized dining room with a cottagey feel. The locals like it here too, which is usually a good indication. 

The Kiwi breakfast is big – someone’s studied the eating habits of lumberjacks or truck drivers and brought it into Fran’s menu. 

Pancakes are huge, iced coffees are tall, and a pot of tea is good for four to five cups. We mention this only because Fran (maybe?) is into collecting teapots which are on display throughout the café. And the serving staff? Absolutely wonderful. 

Well satisfied, it was a gentle run home up SH1 in pretty scungey weather, but the Mazda’s various safety features and overall feeling of on-road confidence made for an effortless drive. 

But the whole experience and all the components that make up Mazda vehicles come together to far exceed the sum total of those components.   

Mazdas are different, always have been, and to quote another Beatle’s reference, they’re just getting better all the time…