| My eyes became
as wide open as my mouth. It seemed to fit the criteria of a car, with
some wheels attached to some kind of basic metal. But it looked as though
it had previously exploded upon its last ignition. And a very heavy object
had been thrown at its roof. Checking the log book, it may as well have
stated "Oil changed. Sparks changed. Cannonball attack by pirates unfortunate
today."
However it was the only motorised
contraption for miles, and time was not just against me, it was laughing
in my general direction. Boots may be made for walking, but they can't
get you to the other side of the range quickly, I thought. And I doubted
rocket boots were an option here.
Some big smiles, a haggle
later and a crisp fifty bucks were in his rusty old till. A fine deal for
the day, indeed.
I honked the horn as I pulled
out, watching the dust and my new mechanic friend settle in my rear view.
Some very tall mountains that nature had kindly constructed were now in
front of me. They looked high. Very high.
Lights on. Wipers On. Nothing
seemed to want to go off.
Gas. My God, this bucket
had no power. It had to scream up the mountains in very low gear, and I
gave it and myself regular rests so we didn't burn out on the tortuous
winding roads. 15 km/h Heaven. If I had put it in the rivers that carressed
the road, it would have at least given it more momentum along with a few
looks.
As well as the engine, rain
appeared to be its enemy too, as the caved-in roof managed to leak its
own waterfall on top of me. Raindrops kept falling on my head. The retro
stereo picked up a cracky and weak station, suddenly hitting high volume
now and then. "We're on a road to nowhere" and suddenly extremely loud
weather warnings thundered out the speakers, 'causing me to bounce off
my chair and nearly out the window.
It was a hell of a laugh.
This was also shear adventure in a capitvating inspiring landscape. "To
Hot Water Beach to warm up!" I exclaimed with relish.
- - -
resources : http://www.rumdiaryfilm.com
Location: Aotearoa, New Zealand
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