Two elderly men driving vintage tractors from Auckland to Wellington and back

While most would look for the quickest mode of transport, two elderly blokes plan to drive their vintage tractors all the way from Auckland to Wellington and back.

With a top speed of 38km/h, it will be a slow and bumpy 2500 kilometre return journey by tractor.

While not everyone would be smiling at the prospect, retired farmers and mates Raymond Kyd, 83, and Kerry Locke, 72, reckon it's the perfect road trip.

"The plank is getting shorter. I want to sit on my rocking chair when I'm old and think about the trip I did, not the one I didn't do," said Mr Locke.

The pair will be on the road for two weeks, but they'll take their time.

"Play it how we're feeling at the end of the day, you know we could do six hours quite comfortably and you're starting to really cover some distance," he said.

They'll also be self-sufficient, with each tractor towing a very tiny home on the back, with a few extra comforts like a radio. Mr Locke's home is adorned with a painting in memory of his late tabby cat Ebby-Lou.

The tractors were built in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and bring back memories for these retired farmers.

"You get all of the smells of the country when you're driving along and all the different smells of the bush," said Mr Kyd.

He said in his father's day they were an upgrade from using horses - but he isn't interested in the fancy new ones fitted with technology.

"You've got to have a specialist," said Mr Kyd. "They'll come with a suitcase full of different things and a laptop plugged in, but these things you can pull them to bits and do what you like with them."

That's also part of the charm; both men enjoy tinkering with the engines.

"Both these tractors we've modified to put higher gears in them. Instead of sort of 25 kilometres they're doing about 38 kilometres [per hour]," said Mr Locke.

It will be a slow journey, but a memorable one.

Newshub.