Last month I had occasion to drive from Hastings to Gisborne. The journey was wonderful – I love a good road trip – but I have a problem with the car. It was a rental and an automatic, although I had specifically asked for a manual. Why do rental companies insist on doing this? 
I find automatics take all of the fun out of driving – without gears to change, the journey can get really boring. I also think you don’t have the same control if you’re not in charge of the speed and power, which can be really dangerous, especially if you’re on unfamiliar roads, which are more often than not steep and twisty.
Add to that the fact that it creeps relentlessly forward unless you have your foot pressed firmly on the break (an unpleasant surprise for manual drivers), and you’ve got an accident waiting to happen. Surely it is nothing but irresponsible for rental companies to hire automatics out to people who specifically request manuals?
Anyway, it was a beautiful day and the scenery was lovely which, combined with the coffee stop at Wairoa, helped prevent me from nodding off. The photos are from the trip. I kept pulling over (safely I might add) to the side of the road to hop out of the car and try and capture the scenery – as I said, I thought it was stunning.
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