Duck Island Ice Cream scoops on Hurstmere Rd on Kawau Island in the Hauraki Gulf Islands, a shop from a New Zealand ice cream maker known for inventive, small-batch flavours, and it carries a 4.7 Google rating.
The best ice cream shops live or die by their cabinet: flavours churned in small batches, rotated with the seasons, and scooped fresh rather than left sitting about. Good ones let you taste before you commit, keep a couple of classics for the cautious, and save the more surprising combinations for anyone willing to try. Texture tells you a lot, too — a proper scoop should be dense and slow to melt, not whipped full of air. Regulars ask what went into the cabinet that day, because at a good shop the answer is always changing.
With the gulf at the doorstep, a stop here is a fitting way to round out a day on Kawau Island.