Car stories!

I have purchased a car!!!!!!! The New Zealand version of Ebay is called TradeMe and after searching around that for a week I found it. 1988 Ford Laser, manual transmission, 132,000ks, no power stearing, and one working speaker. BUT there is a cigarette lighter to plug in the tune box so it was deemed worthy. I just need to tinker with the speaker system and see if I can fix that and we’ll be in total business!

I was nervous about the stick shift at first, not having owned any cars with this kind of transmission. I’ve been taught to drive a stick about 4 times but I’ve never had a vehicle to practice with, ya know? But I quickly adjusted and I’m a shifting FOOL now! I love it! And even on the wrong side of the road!

Already with 2 weeks of owning the car and going on adventures I have found myself in some interesting situations. The day after I picked up the car I went for a hike near Mt. Somers, my first official venture to the mountains to see some lush, green, non-irrigated mountain country. I found a short 50min walk that went up to a waterfall and that you could also continue along to some sleeping huts. There are 4, day long treks in the same area with accommodation huts 4-8hrs from each other. This way you can tramp for days on end and stay in a shelter, some have water and facilities but most don’t, and continue on the next day. Right, tramping. Another word I had to get used to hearing. At home a tramp might mean the loose woman in town that might walk around in questionable clothing, big heels, and lots of make-up. To go tramping would mean something entirely different than backpacking up a mountain road. The walk was wonderful and relaxing, great to be back in semi-wild conditions and not fenced in land with roads, even with manufactured trails there was still bugs and weeds and trees to contend with. The flora and fauna is similar but with unique differences. Not really bigger or brighter colors but there are some crazy ferns that are bigger than the one I’m used to or a different shape, or the mosquito bite doesn’t start itching till 2 days later instead of at the moment of attack. After the walk and a lunch of cereal fruit bars, I thought I’d head toward the coast to see the Rakaia beach huts. It was a bit overcast at this point but still worth going to see. Once there, the limestone sheeting roadway headed out on onto the rocks and sand that made up the beach. Well my dumb butt, looking too longingly at the sea swells and forgetting

that I don’t have 4 wheel drive anymore swerved onto the rocks to get around a big pot hole and soon found out that little cars with front wheel drive should not be in this place. My second day with the car, and second day driving a stick found me stuck and digging myself a nice hole into the stones. Owning up to defeat I decided to hunt down some nice Kiwi’s to pull me out. So into the classical stereotype I stepped, my blonde female American voice saying, “Um, I got my car stuck in the rocks, could you pull me out?” Completely embarrassed, once I was free I quickly drove home and stayed in my flat the rest of the day hoping to keep from embarrassing myself anymore.

Realizing on the way home that there was something of a grinding noise around my front tire, I took my poor car into the local mechanic the next day where I had to re-live my embarrassment once again. What sounded like the indicators on the break pads turned out to be, surprise surprise, a beach rock! stuck in the break system. That fixed I was on my way again, hopefully for a longer stretch of time than 2 days before needing a mechanic again.

I tested out my driving skills again when I headed up to Christchurch to check out an Irish session that was happening on a Tuesday night. After fighting through traffic and one-way streets galore while trying to read a map AND shift, I finally gave up and parked near the river that eventually would lead to the pub. I was sweating, glad to be alive, and ecstatic that the parking was free! The session was more singing than playing, a group of about 25, and I was the youngest participant by on average 20-40 years. I sang along because I knew all the tunes; British, Irish, Scottish and oh yes, Johnny Cash, while enjoying a pint of cider and chips with garlic mayo sauce. I don’t know that I will venture up again during the week because of the 90min drive but it was good reason to check it out.

This past weekend the British locum couple, Amy and Alex, that just joined the practice invited me up to Christchurch again for the weekend for a friends leaving party. The little car, now with three people in it, really had no guts and passing the big lorries on the road was a lesson in acceleration and luck. When it managed to make it up the big hill to the friends house, I was fully impressed, one with the car, two with me not rolling backwards into any other cars or stalling on the steep hills. The friends flat had a floor to sleep on and a ride into downtown so we were super excited. Dinner at a Thai restaurant and then dancing at a club called Boogie Nights. We sampled mixed drinks served out of tea pots and screamed the popular hits of the 80’s, 90’s and beyond till closing. Needless to say, I had no voice the next day and had to croak my way through breakfast and finding the makings for tea.

We took the little white car with no guts out to the peninsula and found a quiet little town with an art festival, Lyttelton. After a great lunch at a very artsy fartsy café and some coffee, we found a little harbor with a secluded beach to chill on for a few hours. A nice time to read, nap, and enjoy the lapping of the waves on the shore. Amy was the only one brave enough to swim in the cold water, I stayed under the trees to keep from getting a sunburn.

That is one thing about the sun, it seems to be more intense here. Apparantly the hole in the ozone is also over New Zealand and 10min in the sun gives me a burn. I was finally out on a call, my first New Zealand calving, and after rearranging a calf for 20min in an uncovered crush I went home with a very red nose. Bring on the sun cream!!!