"That engine's not very happy."
Trip Start
Feb 18, 2011
1
17
73
Trip End
Jun 25, 2011
Pirongia, North Island, New Zealand
Sunday, March 20, 2011
We headed out early this morning to Waitomo Caves for a 5 hour black water rafting adventure. Everything was going great. The directions seemed to be getting us there. We had made it about thirty minutes out when this awful noise started and we noticed that the engine was overheating. By that point, we had gone 10 or 12 km down this back road and were pretty much in the middle of nowhere. There we no shoulders to pull off onto so we just got over in the grass as soon as we could. A few people stopped to help us and have a look at it. We called AA and they sent someone from somewhere not close instead of sending the guy out from Hamilton which was much closer to us. Forty-five minutes later this little old man shows up in this little pick-up truck with AA Breakdowns written on the side. He had on pants that were way too big, flip flops, and this little hat. He didn't look much like any mechanic I had ever seen. He put coolant in it and it started but he said that the engine wasn't very happy so we should get it towed to a garage(It sounded more like carriage with a 'g' when he said "garage"). Then we had another problem. The tow truck could only take two people in it so that left five of us to find another ride home. The little old man in the truck left and the tow truck would be another half hour or so coming. We've managed to meet quite a few Kiwi's but not many of them have cars at Uni and the ones that have cars were still sleeping since it's a Sunday morning.
So the five of us that weren't going in the tow truck took off walking back the way we had come knowing that it would take all day to walk all the way back and hoping for a idea to come along. Eventually one of the Kiwis called us back and said she would come out to get us after she figured out how to get to the road we were on. We kept walking....and walking....and walking. I think even the cows were laughing at us as we walked by. There were lots of cows. Finally, a policeman drove past and he didn't even stop. At that point, I thought for sure that no one would stop. We also watched our van on the tow truck drive past. Anyway, a few minutes later we saw the policeman coming back and he pulled over to see if we were alright. This was at the same time our Kiwi friend was calling us back to tell us that couldn't find us anywhere on the map. So, the policeman gave us a lift all the back to Uni. I was beyond thankful. That was hopefully the first and last time I have to ride in the back of a cop car. He didn't exactly have room for five people but we all squeezed in and he told the operator person that he had found a group of four girls and was giving them a ride back to town.
Anyway, he told us a little bit about the police force here. It's quite different. Like I said earlier, they don't carry guns. Only a special force called the armed defender force can carry them. Otherwise, if he is going to need a gun, he has to go back to the station to get one and they are locked up in a case. The police cars also don't have a cage to separate the people in the back from the cops in the front. He was also explaining that they don't have things to separate officers from the prisoners when they bring them in to process them and talk to them. He said that they used to but have done away with it and it has worked out for the better because if you treat people more like people and less like animals they are more likely to behave like people and less like animals.
Well, we arrived back at Uni around 12pm. Now, the van is in the shop and we should hopefully know something by tomorrow. Apparently the mechanic at the shop said that since it started we have a 50-50 shot that it might be worth fixing. So I'm expecting the worse but can't help being a little hopeful. We were also able to reschedule our caving adventure at no extra cost(thank goodness). As for the rest of the afternoon, I think a few of us are going to head to the Hamilton Gardens. We can take the bus and it's free to go through them. It's such a gorgeous day out today. It couldn't all be wasted.
