The road begins with lunch

A journey north seems to begin with the first meal after the city releases its hold. Wellsford has long been a stopping place on the road north, a small service town surrounded by farms, with daily life gathered along its main street.

Caffé Cozy made no attempt to feel like a destination: handwritten menus, familiar faces and a generous lunch. Farther north, even this modest bustle would begin to thin. Hokianga was still hours away.