Day 307-309: Karamea to Christchurch, New Zealand

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Sunday, November 29th

We woke to a beautiful sunny day. It’s hard to believe that the rivers flooded yesterday. Oh the fickle New Zealand weather! We weren’t complaining though. We wanted our van finished and packed before the end of the day.

We made tasty apple and cinnamon oats for breakfast, then Ferdi set about finishing the last bits of the van while Talita tried her hand at Beer Bread. It was a complete success and we devoured half of it for lunch. Ferdi fixed the wonky cupboard doors and we started packing all our belongings back into the van. We have space for Africa now. So much space in fact that there are these vast empty spaces where we imagine tumbleweeds roll by to the sound of a western tune.

Along with the pride and happiness of (mostly) completing our van we also had some bad news. Bruce is having visa problems and had to leave Karamea. So, our friend was gone, leaving a big empty hole in our lives. Karamea suddenly seemed very empty.

Later Paddy phoned in a bit of a rage. Bruce had left Wobbles and some of his possessions at Paddy’s. Paddy demanded that we collect Wobbles and all of Bruce’s stuff first thing in the morning. Bruce had hoped that Wobbles would be able to stay at Paddy’s, but he seemed to feel betrayed by Bruce’s leaving and didn’t want anything to do with him anymore. We couldn’t blame him, being left high and dry after all those promises.

We knew we needed a place to put Wobbles so Ferdi used some of our left over plywood and carpet and built a cat-box for her. We felt immense sadness, being unable to help our friend.

Today’s highlights:
1. Packing the van and having space left even after the ton of things we’d bought.
2. Talita’s first Beer Bread.

Monday, November 30th

With heavy hearts we headed over to Paddy’s to pick up Wobbles and the last of Bruce’s stuff. This was not the launching of the new and improved Boesman we’d hoped for. We were really worried that Paddy would write us off along with Bruce and he was indeed fuming when we arrived, but luckily he wasn’t angry with us. He invited us in for a cuppa and we had a long chat. Bruce has a huge presence and his absence was already felt. After the cuppa we picked up the last of Bruce’s stuff, put Wobbles in her cat-box, and set off for town to get some fuel and a few other things.

Back at the bus we packed the last of our stuff then set off for Westport. We were passing through there on our way to Christchurch to apply for an extension on our visas. Initially Wobbles was very unhappy, but she seemed to settle down as she got used to the car. She was riding in her cat-box on the seat between us and halfway to Westport she suddenly got very restless. She'd made a huge poo in her box. The stench was overwhelming to us, imagine what it smelt like to her! We pulled over and Ferdi cleaned the mess while Talita held on to Ms Wobbles. Back in the van Wobbles had collapsed in Talita's arms so we didn't put her back in the box. The road to Westport is slow and winding and makes even us a little car-sick. Wobbles, with her keen senses, stood no chance at all. Soon she let out a couple of huge mewls and Talita, realizing what was about to happen, aimed her head at the rubber floor matt. We pulled over but it was too late. Wobbles' breakfast had already landed on the matt. Once again Ferdi got out and cleaned up the mess. What is it with us and cats on this journey of ours?

By now it was well past lunch time so we stopped in Granity to pick up some fish 'n' chips.

We were in two minds about what to do about Bruce. Paddy had warned us that associating with Bruce is very dangerous for us. Even so, Ferdi felt we should help him at least part of the way while Talita, being the more sensible of us two, felt we should just sever all ties no matter how much it hurt. After much discussion Ferdi conceded. Once in Westport we met Bruce at the backpackers and told him we couldn't take him any further. He was shaking and the look on his face broke our hearts. He looked so different, not like the Bruce we come to know and love. He had a hunted, haunted look about him. When he asked us to please please take him to his friend in Reefton we folded like wet paper. He's our friend and in trouble. What else could we do?

We set off for Reefton, 75km away. The drive was a little tense. We offered help and advice, but our suggestions fell on deaf ears. In Reefton we dropped Bruce and Wobbles near his friend's house. Bruce had hoped that his friend would be able to help him. Unfortunately the guy wasn't home so we quickly unloaded all his stuff and packed it in the wood shed behind the house. Our goodbye was hasty and unsatisfactory. We drove off feeling gutted and very sad that our association with Bruce had come to this. No one likes to see a friend in such a bind, but we couldn't do any more for him. It was up to him now to sort out his problems.

10km from Reefton Talita realized that we still had some of Bruce's stuff packed away beneath our mattress. We turned around and headed back. Bruce wasn't where we'd left him, but his stuff still was, so we left the last of his gear there. We drove off again, feeling a little like crying. We didn't know what to think. The rest of the drive we tried as best we could to piece it all together, to figure out how it had come to this. A lot of things just didn't add up. What was true and what were lies? We'll probably never know for sure.

Over the last few days we'd been feeling an urge to go home to our family and friends. Now, in our heightened emotional state, the yearning was almost overwhelming, yet we knew that our journey here was not yet finished. God has a few more things to show us and teach us here in NZ.

Just past Springs Junction we found a DoC site and parked up for the night. We put on a movie to help distract us from the sadness, but the laptop battery died halfway through. We pulled out the little DVD player and watched the only DVD we had. We were very relieved to receive an sms from Bruce thanking us for all we'd done for him and saying that he's alright. It was really good to know he was okay and that he harbored us no ill will.

Tuesday, December 1st

We woke to another rainy day. After breakfast we continued to Christchurch. We weren't as depressed as we had expected to be. Just having positive contact with Bruce had helped us move from feelings of terrible sadness and loss to just sadness and concern for our friend.

It was a beautiful drive and we made good time. In Culverden we stopped for an early lunch of home-baked pies and hot chocolate to help with the cold. It was delicious!

We arrived in Christchurch around lunch time and checked into the same holiday park we visited the last time we were here. We did laundry and sent a few important admin emails. With that done we set off for the shops. Our first stop was the Bunnings Warehouse because we needed a few more bits 'n' bobs for the Boesman. After that we got some dried dates and muesli at this place that Plat, the crazy Russian guy, had told us about. We also had all the paperwork we'd need for our visa extension printed, picked up a roof rack for the Boesman and did a ton of grocery shopping at the Pak n Save. With all the packing space in the Boesman we could afford to buy in bulk. We returned home and Talita filled in all the forms while Ferdi fitted the waste water pipe and a few other things to the van. While he was busy an old guy from the RV next to us came over for a chat and invited us for a cup of tea later.

We made a huge dinner then had a shower. By now it was just past 10pm, but the old guy was ready with the tea. He invited us in and introduced himself as Roy (Malcolm) Roberts. He's a "night owl" in his 80's, but doesn't look it. Over tea and biscuits he told us many stories from his life. He used to be a Brit (or pommie) and explained that the name comes from P.o.M.E, or Prisoners of Mother England. He used to serve in the Royal Navy and told us about the wars he was in, from Palestine and the Red Sea to Korea and Russia. He didn't have his hearing aid with him so two-way conversation was a bit challenging, but what kind of story could we offer a guy with his kind of history? He had such stories to tell! It was amazingly entertaining and we ended up only going to bed after 2am.

Today's highlights:
1. Getting everything done we'd planned to.
2. Meeting Roy and spending an evening listening to his stories.

Thought for the day:
Bruce always said that the elderly are our most valuable teachers, with wisdom gained from years of experience. We believe he's absolutely right.

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Comments

[The RV Guy]

Fellow RVer
Hello from America! I just accidently saw your blog and noticed your converted van - nice job. I bought a car in Christchurch and drove it around for 4 months in 1986. What a beautiful country. Lots of people travel with pets in RVs here. I thought you might be interested in how we RV in America. You can check out my travel blog here: http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/blog-448633.html Cheers, Scott