The Wrap Up
Trip Start
Mar 29, 2009
1
126
Trip End
Aug 29, 2010
Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand
Sunday, December 26, 2010
We returned home with mixed emotions, the realisation that we had actually driven around the world slowly began to sink in, but also it seemed a bit sad that the excitement of the experience was over. We slowly settled down to rescuing the garden from it's jungle like condition. We also started on the many chores awaiting our attention as we struggled to bring the house back to standard after three years of neglect. Our lovely Birman cat, Samantha, was very pleased to have us back, and has settled back to our routine after being treated like royalty by Fliss, our good mate and house sitter. Following a week or two of spare leave, it was time to re-qualify at work, not an easy task with many distracting memories still muddling the mind and frequent staring into space being interrupted by lots of tea breaks. That task having been accomplished without too many tears, it was time to drive the Truck down to Christchurch and thus complete the circumnavigation. Disappointingly, due to some dodgy loading by the shipping agents in Carson L.A. the simple task of collecting it from the shippers in Auckland and finding a couple of days off to complete the drive, grew into a game of 'chess' as I struggled to get it roadworthy again to make an opportunity to bring it south. Ironically, after 66511ks of driving, 3 containers, 2 ships and 9 ferries, it was the cowboys from Carson who managed to damage it by taking the wheels off and sitting it on the front brakes on the floor of the container, damaging the back plates. Silly me for agreeing to share a container. Thus our idea of a leisurely drive south, visiting en-route and enjoying the scenery, turned into a business like affair with only a night stop in Feilding to see brother Brian and Dianne and to bum a bed for the night.
Still it was nice to turn up the drive the next day to be met by a posse of friends, including some who had seen us off initially and to enjoy a few celebratory drinks and tell some tall stories. The celebrations continued well into the night and the subsequent hangovers were a reminder that we had drawn the trip to a satisfactory conclusion and it was time to move on.
The most common question we have been asked is "where to on the next trip?" The most common answer has been "you must be b---dy kidding!" We feel we have had our fill of road tripping and we will now be very content to sit on a bus or lounge on a train and enjoy the experience while someone else arranges our accommodation, sees to our schedule and fetches our meals. It probably wont be as exciting but surely it will be more relaxing and probably save us a good many heartbeats. No more dodgy cops, nor rustic hotels, nor suicidal Latin macho drivers. And plenty of time to read of others adventures and wonder .. what if .. maybe just one more road adventure .. just a small one?.. NO!!!
Some Memorable Events
1) Arriving in Darwin in the dark after driving 1596ks from Mt Isa to make the sailing to Singapore. Grumpy driver, looking for a place to stay, overwhelmingly tired and hungry, but we made it.
2) Walking into the Terracotta Army display near Xian, China. A breathtaking sight.
3) Driving into Astana, Kazakhstan. A dazzling city on the Kazakh steppe.
4) Accidentally driving into Red Square, Moscow. A hoot!
5) Our first stop in the EU, Rezekne in Latvia. A real lawn for the first time in 3 months! We couldn't resist a lay down.
6) Arriving in Viville at Dave and Mo's. Time to stop, eat, drink and socialise like normal people. And sleep like normal people. Thanks.
7) Driving off the ferry at Poole. Yes we had made it to Christchurch, Dorset!!! And there to meet us with some very welcome bubbles, Pete, Teresa and Waddo. Yay!
8) Driving away from the port at Buenos Aires and turning the wrong way after dicing with the poorly paid customs officers!! Not a great way to start the second installment but a good laugh.
9) Driving over the Garibaldi Pass in the snow to Ushiuia, Argentina, with the realisation that we would now have to turn around and drive as far north as the road would go. Scary at the time.
10) The earthquake devastation in Talca, Chile. The looks on the faces of the locals said it all. Little did we know we would see the same look again a week after our return. The look of anxiety, sleeplessness, fear, helplessness and occasional terror as the aftershocks continued.
11) Driving into Bolivia over Paso Chungara onto the Alto Plano. Flat at 15000ft ?.. surely not. An uncanny world.
12) Arriving above La Paz in the twilight and looking down into the valley as the lights of the city came on. A sight we will never forget.
13) Lake Titicaca. We struck a perfect day to drive around and ferry across this beautiful lake.
14) The Colombian Andes. We could have been in the European Alps.
15) Medillen and Cartagena, Colombia. An amazing blend of cultures and impressive colonial architecture.Two handsome cities.
16) Mexico. A pleasant surprise and not what you expect. The Mex85 road north of Mexico City was a great drivers treat.
17) Across the border at Laredo. Despite my faux pas in exclaiming that at last I wouldn't have to speak Spanish again (The nice border policeman then burst into perfect Spanish to his colleague and I crawled under the nearest stone) it was with a huge sigh that we drove into the States and it almost felt like home.
18) The Alaska Highway and The Yukon. Wonderful scenery and wildlife. Why do Canadians come to NZ? But it does get a bit chilly in the winter.
19) Deadhorse, Alaska. A real frontier town at the end of a spectacular road and pipeline. Glad we did it. A case of not being put off by tales on the internet.
20) R and R at Sun City, Phoenix with Andy and Di. Time to relax, re-organise ready for the trip
home. An oasis in the desert on a golf course.
With thanks to everyone who helped, encouraged, commented and followed us online.
Thanks also to;
Travelpod for use of the website, user friendly and perfectly designed for our purposes.
Alan at the technical department of NZ AA for making the Carnets work for us.
Gabby at the National Bank for her help from afar and for taking care of our finances.
Jason, Paul, Andy and the lads at Lineside Automotive, Rangiora. Designers and installers of the extra fuel tank and the system that made it all work. It never let us down.
Pete, Teresa and Waddo for taking care of the Truck in UK.
John for generously storing the Truck in his barn, and to Pete for talking him into it !!
Jamie at Chequered Flag Shipping for taking a huge load off us by organising the pick up and loading of the Truck ex London to Buenos Aires in our absence.
Paula at Fox Shipping in Buenos Aires for clearing the Truck at Puerto BA. and for negotiating with customs. No thanks to customs!
Fliss for holding the fort at home, thus allowing us to proceed worry free.
Helen (Spring Bear) our guide in China for taking such good care of us.
This is starting to sound like the Oscars so it just remains for us to say
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Comments
You're right you had to finish the blog, and you've done it with style! Now you have the final chapter for your book, "Four Wheel Skive Around the World". I agree, naff title. Do come up with something better please. Despite reading all your blogs, I promise I will still read the book and enjoy every page. Congratulations once more to you both! Now go and buy two bus passes! Love from the Harrison's xxxx
Glad you have done the final blog.... now the book please!!!
How amazing you two have driven through - and survived ! - all those places most of us will never ever get to. There's definitely a book there!
happy New Year D n D.
In the words of the Fab Four - "and in the end"
A blog worth reading again.