Driving with Thelma... To Christchurch and Back. (Part 2)

The story continues from Driving with Thelma... To Christchurch and Back. (Part 1)...

So we are on our way to Wellington for our trip to Christchurch with Thelma at the wheel, where she had been since we left Tirau. I had offered and asked to have a turn at driving but not yet.

She had said that she likes to talk to help her concentrate or sing along to songs. (I personally find that a bit of a distraction but it's what she wanted)
Unfortunately the stations she had programmed into her radio had either been changed by the lady who had used the car while Thelma was away or we couldn't pick up the radio waves this far down the country. Thelma said that being a BMW it should - I beg to differ. Besides the point, I was a little concerned about how much she was looking at the computer and pushing buttons while driving, so asked if I could have the hand book and check it out so she could stop worrying and just concentrated on the driving.
She passed me the manual and I looked up "radio". No, it wasn't listed in the index so I started trying to find a picture of the computer system to see if it would give instructions.

And then there was a strange loud noise.
I looked up...
And out the front windscreen I could see we were off the road, careering down a ditch and there seemed to be no stopping us.

I could see the grass and road markers on the drivers side rushing past and a bank on my side looming very close it felt like were going to mount it. In my rush of thoughts, I thought we are going to crash; if we go up this bank; or clip it we are going to roll or flip; what is going to happen...

And then I called out to "Jesus, Jesus". Quietly and confidently at first and then I got louder and louder...
And then we came to a stop - safe in the ditch.

Thelma and I hugged and thanked God together.

Bracing ourselves we got out to see what had happened...
The front passenger wheel had a gouge out of the tyre and the back one was going down. The drivers side mirror was completely broken and just hanging by the wires that help set its position. There was damage to the paint work and one or two gouges but not a lot else.

Returning to the scene...

It seemed that no-one else was going to stop and check on us but we could tell there had been cars behind us. And then a couple came up and stopped on the other side of the road. They had come past after us and seen all the dust (which we didn't know we had created) and our vehicle stopped in the ditch. They felt they should see if we were OK and if we had cell phones. (Probably thought 'the poor old ladies') another man drove up in a beat-up old van. (the couple informed me that they didn't want to leave us, with this man still here much later, as we had waited for a truck from the AA)

The tracks of the wheels where we came off the road

Thelma was a member of the AA so she rung for assistance but either she wasn't clear with what we needed (she wouldn't call it an accident - as no one was hurt and no other vehicles were involved, so she said) or they were not understanding, as it took nearly two hours for someone to come. The man who had stopped with his partner, drove the car out of the ditch for us so if the tyre was to be changed it would be easier to do so. We even unloaded all the things from the back so as to get the spare out and had them spread out over the grass.Is was there that we saw all the stuff Thelma had with her. But the tyre wasn't changed out here so we had to pack it all back again.

The wheel marks going up the bank

We didn't know where we were because it was out on the open road. At elast we knew it was SH1. I knew we had left Waiouru some time ago and we must nearly be at Taihape. It turned out we were just 9 km north of Taihape. The AA said they couldn't come out for what Thelma was asking for so in the end she was put through to her Insurance with the AA. Finally, they sent a mechanic with a truck and he decided the wheels would be alright to drive slowly back into Taihape. I went with the lady of the couple in their car while the man drove Thelma's vehicle with her and the dog in.

Why it took so long to have someone come out to us I have no idea. I know it was out in the country and we couldn't get any bearings but the fact that there seemed to no-one available to actually do the job of 'rescuing' us was a bit poor, especially when Thelma belonged to the AA breakdown service. She also spent a lot of time arguing with the call centres and complaining so I wonder if it would have been quicker or not.

Once at the mechanics breakdown garage, the front wheel was changed to the spare. (Interestingly enough the spare wheel on a BMW says it can't be driven over 120 km/hour - not like others that advise you to not drive over 40km/hour. Needless to say we weren't going to go over 90 after that); the back one just needed the dirt and stones removed from between the tyre and the wheel rim. The mirror was taped up with bubble wrap and 'cable tied' to the door so it wouldn't bang on the car as we drove.

The road sign that broke the mirror

So after another hour at the garage for all these repairs we were on the road again. I'd rung home and Theresa, ending up cancelling tea and thinking I wasn't going to see them at all.

I insisted and drove the rest of the way to Wellington - a road I know well - and Thelma after sometime delayed shock feelings settled a little.

But ever the driver, she would tell me to slow down , keep away from walls, keep to certain sides of the road and basically lose all confidence in driving which was totally understandable. I also struggled with no side mirror. You may think you don't use it much but when it is not there you truly learn how much you do use it.

The culvert that damaged the front tyre

We stopped at Bulls for a cuppa and to feed Pepper, after buying some dog food, and then arrived safely in Wellington at 11.45pm. We called into Theresa's for a cuppa. Thelma sat in the car with Pepper as she didn't realize Theresa and Steven actually lived in the city. We brought Thelma her cup of tea while she sat in the car.

By midnight we were up at my parents settling into our beds for the early morning rise to catch the ferry the next day.

Looking back I now see it wasn't as bad as it could have been - by a long shot.
Thelma still doesn't know what happened and why we went off the road. I wonder if she was still playing with the buttons on the radio or had she fallen asleep momentarily. Did she take the curve too fast. I don't suppose we will really ever know.

I believe that my calling out to Jesus caused us to come down off the bank - the marks through the grass show this. Sitting in a car that appears to be out of control is a frightening thing especially when you have no control of the wheel or brakes.
These pictures can't really show the proportions and so the angle the vehicle was. The height of the bank can be seen on the right of the right pic, remembering it is further back from the car now. In the left pic you can see where the car came back down and you have a general idea of the height and angle as compared to Don (more about him later) and Thelma standing near it. Just passed where the car is stopped the bank gives way to a long drop...

All I know is that God kept us safe and that me being there to help in the drive to Wellington and back home was all in the plan for our lives.

I thank God for His goodness and mercy.

Driving with Thelma... To Christchurch and Back. (Part 1)

Thelma and me

Back in November I was asked if I would like to go with a lady I knew to keep her company and help with the driving to Christchurch. I would only have to pay for my ferry crossing and I would be able to see Theresa and her family on the way down, and back, and then stay with Katrina while I was down there.

With a bit of excitement I checked the ferry crossing times that Thelma was booked on but unfortunately one was booked out already and the other (the return trip) only had the top rate for a passenger left.
Even if I got a ferry at later time to go down and Thelma waited for me, it was really a bit much for us, so I left a message to say "thank you but it was not possible."

Pepper

But it would seem that God had other ideas and the next day I was rung by another friend (who Thelma was staying with at that time) to say that I was booked on both the ferry's and it was all paid for. My goodness did I feel blessed and just so happy that I was going to see my girls. Little did I know that there was also another reason for me to be going.


The morning of the 2nd January arrived and I was all packed and ready at 10.00am, the time we arranged for me to be picked up. Three quarters of an hour later I rung to see where Thelma was. She had left at 10.00am to pick up her dog Pepper so I figured she must be here soon. Finally at 11.10am she arrived and we then tried to find places in her BMW X 5 SUV to put my two bags and pillow. It was chocker with her bags but with much rearranging we managed, while still leaving room for Pepper to have her spot on half the back seat.

We called into the local garage to get the tires air pressure checked, but they were closed. The 2nd of January is a public holiday in New Zealand - which I mentioned to Thelma but she didn't know this, as she is English and the New Year Holiday is not observed in England. It can be confusing as business' are not open but then lots of service and food places and shops are open. Thelma got us some Subway and we then traveled to Putaruru to check the tires and I helped using the free air pump as she was unsure of what to do.

We drunk our coffees there as they were starting to go cold.

Finally at 12.30pm we left Putaruru and were on our way - two and half hours behind time.

So with lunch already purchased we arrived at Lake Taupo by 2.15pm and stopped to eat, with Pepper having a good romp in the water at the lake edge.

I, however, was just happy to sit and watch the activities and wild life around us. I already felt at this time a need to just relax and focus. I wanted to calm myself from the mornings activities.
After a sort out of all our belongings looking for some tablets for Pepper (that we never found) we were on the road again but Thelma was still driving.

I wanted to take a turn to drive but Thelma said she felt she had rested enough. I was keen to have a drive but also to take over for awhile so we would be driving without the pushing of buttons and switches everywhere.

There was a computer on the dashboard and all sorts of other devices to see how we were running fuel-wise etc. Thelma kept wanted to check all sorts of things as we drove along. She even told me we could watch TV on it.
 
It wasn't long before we were on the desert road and Thelma was keen to take photos - while driving - so I took them for her. The road was busy and although we could see some of Mt Ruapehu there was some cloud cover.

In the end Thelma stopped so she could take some herself - safely.

We were making good time but as we were not catching the ferry until the next morning we didn't have any deadlines to keep. I had however arranged for us to have tea with Theresa, Steven and Kate thinking we would be there by 5.00pm but with all the delays so far it didn't look like we would be there until after 7.00pm. I was in constant txt contact with Theresa so she decided to organize the roast for 7.30pm.

Even with a second comfort stop Thelma was still driving and talking all the way. One thing that bothered her was that she couldn't get any of the radio stations she had pre-programmed on her radio. I tried to explain that she would be out of range but she thought that the lady who had looked after her car while she had been away, had probably played and reset the channels.

It wasn't long before we were passing through Waiouru at which Thelma asked if we had been through the Desert Road. I realized that people did not understand that the Rangipo Desert area is just a barren place with extreme cold weather in the winter receiving snow and often closing the Desert Road. For this reason it has received its name but it is not 'desert like'.

So we kept driving and heading to Taihape. I asked again if I could drive and Thelma said when we have our next rest stop.

It was coming up to 4.00pm and we were ten kilometers out from Taihape, although I didn't know that at the time.

... to be continued

A Kiwi Christmas

A farming family just south of Tirau, who some of their children went to school with ours, have started a tradition to make a Christmas display in one of their paddocks that boards SH1. Its only there for about a week so you have to be quick to remember it will come and be armed with a camera when you pass.

I waited this year for the show and sure enough the Monday before Christmas there is was.

This years was further back in the paddock so not quite as easy to photograph but it was titled "A Kiwi Christmas". At first I wasn't quite sure what it was all about but as I took my photos (with the sun in the wrong direction unfortunately) I could see the story start to emerge.

Well this is my view...

Santa has flown in on his sleigh to visit New Zealand homes.

Unfortunately, somehow his navigational device was not working well and his height and distance for landing not programmed correctly (or the local farmer had shifted the hay bales).
So while trying to navigate fences, trees, and out buildings the reindeer have collided into a stack of bales.




But being a 'safety first' kind of Santa he is prepared with his flying helmet and colour co-ordinated parachute which he has time to release before crashing into the field.




Being the night before (or one or two days before) Christmas, Santa is in a hurry, and all turns to custard when instead of checking all possibilities, and perhaps because of his lack of experience of fences etc not covered in snow, landing safely with all dignity attached is made embarrassingly worse as all his parachute is caught up in a tree.

And what appears to be even worse is he may have impaled himself on a fence post.

However not to worry as he managed to rescue his bag of gifts for those nice children who were on his list, that he checked twice and I believe they all received their gifts on time.

A New Year - 2015

I'm not one to make resolutions but I do take the time of the roll over from one year to the next, to re-evaluate my life; what I do, what I don't do, what is important and what isn't - all of which often needs pulling back into line to be what I feel, as who I want to be. I look at my achievements and the things that hindered me in not reaching my full potential in other areas. I give thanks to God for bringing me this far in my life and look in hope for the next year and what will be in store.

Deep down I long to live like the Amish - I know "Why?", because they have a simple way of life and focus so much on family and friends and are driven by what God calls them to do. They are guided by God's ways and the seasons with their whole way of life. Now seriously would that be nice? Well I think so.

I took the above picture on New Year's day this year. It's of our front lawn where the big silk tree flourishes and gives shade in the hot summer months. Yes, it is over grown and the grass needs mowing and vehicles need getting rid of (one of seven is behind the tree!), but there is a sense of rest, of slowing down and not preforming as the world expects. Sure it looks even more pleasant when the lawn is mowed but like it is in this pic it is green and lush having been able to just grow.

I have been so tired this year with no known reason (the doctor is probably sick of seeing me enter his rooms) and like the above scene I am going to rest and not rush. So for me this year I will refocus on who I am in God and becoming more of the person He wants me to be in my calling - a wife, a Mother, a Nana, a friend and a worker within His church.

No resolutions but yes some goals and new standards for me to keep.

Keep checking in to see the year unfold

But wait ...There's more...

Or as Katrina has #'d it "the Best Surprise Ever"

As Harry is travelling south from here in the Waikato to Invercargill he is having a few stops along the way.

One of the stops was Christchurch where Katrina our youngest is currently living. Its been so hard to keep it a secret from her as she and her friends would really like to meet us and I don't know when I will get there but this was Harry's secret plan.

So when Harry arrived unannounced and knocked on the flat door I won't even type what she said (much to my disgust - the first word was what you would call something that is set apart for God and the second was a slang word for what is produced when you do the number two's) but suffice to say she was pleasantly surprised and so happy to see him.

He also took her to see the latest Hunger Games movie as they have been seeing them together  and slept in an empty room in the flat. It was certainly a God planned time as Katrina had been asked to go to this movie the week before with some friends but by the time she was asked and checked the bookings there were only two seats left right down the front so she decided not to go.
How special is that!

Anyway before Harry continued on with his journey Katrina took a selfie with him.

Burt Munro Rally

Harry's gone. I don't mean really gone I mean he's gone on his big adventure.
For a few years now he has wanted to go to the Burt Munro Rally and this year saving all he could for the last couple of years and sorting his bike, he has gone. He is not entering any of the challenges just going down to have fun and be part of it.

Burt Munro is most famously known through the movie made of him The World’s Fastest Indian. He purchased his first motorcycle at the age of fifteen having his first Indian Scout in 1920 – the bike he would continue to modify (with his own custom made unique parts) for the rest of his life. After setting a number of New Zealand land speed records in the 1940s and 1950s his next goal was to compete at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, United States. At 63 he made his first trip to Bonneville as a competitor and there he set a land speed record of 178.97mph. He travelled there a further 8 times setting more world records. His 1967 record of 183.58mph still stands today.

In 2006 the Southland Motorcycle Club created the Burt Munro Challenge to honour Burt. It has since forged a name for itself as one of New Zealand’s major motorsport events. It has a strong local & national following, and rapidly growing international interest. It attracts top New Zealand riders as well as all the weekend warriors, all provided with a variety of exciting events, fantastic entertainment, and famous southern hospitality. The Munro family has generously donated a spectacular trophy which is given to the “Competitor of the Year” at each annual Challenge. It is held in Invercargill.

As the time got closer for Harry to leave he was still working on his bike. I really didn't think he was going to be ready in time and in the end I went online and changed his ferry booking as he hadn't even started packing when it was passed the time he should leave. Then we he did get there he was still 15 minutes late but as it was the 2.30AM sailing they weren't too worried.

So here we have the bike a Kawasaki Voyager nearly packed and ready.


And still a few last minutes adjustments.




Nearly ready...





Helmet on ...opps better give you a kiss now!...





"You're not really going to smoke while you are riding are you?"


"Just watch me!"



And with that he was gone.


 Like I said....

South Waikato 4WD Club Christmas Dinner

Harry's Mud Truck

Harry belongs to the South Waikato 4WD (Four Wheel Drive) Club and although its 'his' thing I go to some of the functions.
And yes its usually the ones that invlove food!


I'm not much of an adventurer when it comes to the activities they get up to so I stay home and let that be 'Harry's thing'. Some have said I should go with him but I don't believe in 'shoulds' as they suddenly put pressure on you. I 'could' join him but I choose not to. Not all the wives/partners do, so I am not alone in my decision.

The trips up and down hill and dale and the competitions to see who can do it the quickest,
just don't interest me ...
...or
...more to the point  really just scare me.



It involves a lot of mud and interesting positions to be trapped in.

I mean do I really want to be traveling on bumpy roads, being tossed around a bit and end up like this?

Well in case you were not sure the answer to that question is a definite "NO".





Do they mean to do that and how did it happen? Could they not just drive in the gap sensibly instead of trying to go up the sides?

I am told that half the fun is then helping each other to get up/out of the mud or tricky positions making sure no-one is left behind or broken down at the end of the day.

Well that's all good and fun, and boys will be boys what ever the age; so they can do that with out me thanks.

In New Zealand, the end of the year means that with everything there are breakups and Christmas functions and for some reason this year there seem to be some starting in November.

The 4WD club were very nice and organized this around Harry being able to go as he was going down south for the Burt Rally. Apparently because he was the only one who spoke up when they were talking about it, a date that would fit him was chosen and others told.





We had a dinner at The Prince Albert in Cambridge.

It is an old English style pub so although it had a slightly dated atmosphere and people seemed relaxed and able to be there with their children, it wasn't a place I would choose to go to again.






It got quiet noisy as the evening wore on with younger people coming in, not necessarily for eating, but to drink and have a good time (as far as they thought).
Yeah I know I must be getting old!
I suppose I just like to be able to chat with those around me while I'm are out eating.

There was a live band - two singers with a guitar - but the music drowned out their voices so we couldn't really hear them singing.


The food was just typical pub food but Harry and some of the guys seemed to like that and it was for them really.

Harry chose his usual favourites - sea food ... and as long as there are plenty of chips with the mains he is not that fussed with what else is served with it. In fact he usually leaves the salad (or "green stuff") on the plate.

So it was...

Mussels for entree and a fisherman's basket for mains.

He couldn't eat all of his so we asked for a "doggy bag" which I heated up for his lunch the next day.

The only entree that wasn't a fish dish or garlic bread was deep fried Camembert with a dipping sauce. So I had that and it was nice.

For mains I chose Cajun chicken with apricot sauce.
I was a bit disappointed with this as the menu seemed to 'dress it up' but when it arrived (as you can see) it was really just the chicken with salad and chips and the sauce in a bowl.

It wasn't long after we had eaten that people started to leave. We left too as Harry had things to do ...

He was heading South and still had work to do.