Salty Towers was even better than expected - the view from the balcony over Mercury Bay (where Captain Cook came to watch the transit of Mercury across the sun in 1769) is truly stunning. The walks across the nearby cliff even more beautiful. This is a quiet local community with a couple of quirky cafes and, at the end of the road 500m away, a little ferry that crosses over in minutes to the bigger town of Whitianga with shops and restaurants. Mike and Maree were terrific hosts, doing everything to make our visit comfortable and convenient. We could have stayed much longer.