Travels with Petra
Trip Start
May 20, 2005
1
18
Trip End
Jun 10, 2006
Takaka, New Zealand
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Reading: Skinny Legs & All, Tom Robbins
Travels with Petra
One of my favorite John Stienbeck books is his last, Travels with Charley. It was the twilight of his life as he set out to explore a vanishing America. Eisenhower's interstate system would forever alter the motoring experience into the efficient but bland highway monotony we have today.
Stienbeck traveled alone, spare a large French poodle named Charley. With this diplomat at his side, Stienbeck bumped along soon-to-be bypassed roads and towns in a custom-converted pick-up truck, named after Don Quixote's horse, Rocinante.
I arrived in New Zealand with great expectations for six weeks of climbing and hiking on the beautiful South Island. I've dreamed about visiting New Zealand for some time. While the country is progressive and modern, the place is quiet, peaceful and friendly, as I imagine the 1950s were in the America. Perhaps its true: the farther you travel, the deeper into the past you go.
Rather than a poodle, I had Petra, a blonde Carinthian mountain girl with all the befriending qualities of Stienbeck's Charley but without the dog breath. I'd met Petra in Thailand and we agreed to meet up again in New Zeland. In the weeks before I arrived, a generous Kiwi provided us with our version of Rocinante- a tripped-out old camper van, affectionately known as "Doris."
Ah, Doris: the highway stegosaurus. Four gears on the steering column and the smell of an old sneaker. She drank oil by the liter and handled like a cow on ice.
But, she was free on loan and satisfied my affinity for off-beat style: prominently featuring stickers from Greenpeace and a Melbourne bordello side-by-side. Good old Doris had been around the block a couple of times.
Today, most New Zealand travel is different. Institutionalized I guess you could say- camper rentals, holiday parks and cruising cops out to catch free campers on the deserted back roads and beaches. The ability to see the country outside of that environment was an unforgettable gift.
With a budget better suited to Southeast Asia, my travels with Petra necessitated many a spooky night free camping in deep woods, parking lots, dark harbors and side roads. On the first night we parked next to a train track. Just before sunrise, a freight train screamed by, horn blaring, while its lights eerily illuminated the cabin as if preparing us for alien abduction.
We cooked most nights on an old camp stove. Our rations were meager and stretched further by the fact that Petra was eating for two (the Nepali tapeworm was buried on the rugged West Coast about half-way through the trip). We bathed in cold streams with only the occasional hot shower. In short, we were what the Kiwi's term 'feral.'
I wouldn't have it any other way. Petra was excellent company, a good climbing/ hiking partner and wonderful friend. New Zealand's South Island is beautiful and wild country which takes your breath away. Quiet roads, little towns and friendly people. Easily my favorite country visited on this trip.
I'll have to return to explore her in more detail. If and when I do, I will wish to do it in the same fashion, a different Petra and Doris no doubt, but with the same rough outlines of independent adventure in homage to Steinbeck.
My only regret is that I cannot share more photos. I lost photographs from new Zealand, Fiji and Hawaii in a computer mishap when I returned to the States- thank you IBM.
The End
Thank you for following my journey through these postings.
Clearly, this trip has been something I will never forget. Being able to share my experiences with you has made them richer. Thank you for sticking with me and encouraging me along the way. I really enjoyed writing my missives.
And now, I am at the end of my wanderings. I've decided to settle in Austin, Texas and start my own business. While Texas might strike some of you as an odd place for me to settle, I assure you that Austin is one of the best towns to live in the United States. If you don't believe me, come visit.
Lastly, a special thank you to each and everyone who let me couch surf, fed me along the way and, most importantly, encouraged me during the low moments. I can't begin to name you all.
I set out alone but had each of you with me.
