(written on February 11th from notes taken previously).
Well, remember how I pointed the nose of my van downhill just in case?
🙃
Yeah.
I managed to kill my battery (I think I accidentally left my key in the on position instead of accessory while veging out last night?) and did indeed have to roll down the hill to have hopes of finding someone who could pull up and give me a jump start.
Gratefully, after giving her a little bit of a push to get rolling, I was able to roll all the way down the hill. The challenge was that at the bottom of the hill was a 90 degree angle to get to the main road, and then a another 90 degree angle to get on the main road, and then probably 50 meters of uphill travel to get to the main little car park/pull-off at the summit pass where people liked to stop as they were going over.
It was a continuance of the misty weather, my van shrouded in clouds for a little while before it started to clear up a bit.
I veged out for a little while before giving my van a little push and coasting down the dirt road.
I had to slow down to make the first 90°, and then slow again to make the second 90° onto the road (to feel safe and not out of control, at least), and I just didn’t have enough momentum to make it up the hill.
But neither could I stay where I was in the middle of the road. 😅 So I rolled backward to the entrance of the maintenance road, my nose set up perfectly for a jumpstart, if and when a car came that good give me a jump. 🤞
It took a while for the first car to come by, and I flagged them down, but they weren’t comfortable giving me a jump. They did say that they would alert the next driver that they came across that I needed help, so that was nice.
Not too long after they drove away, another vehicle came by and was comfortable giving me a jump, so I was back in business.
As I traveled along, I explored different side roads, wondering where they might go, but everywhere I tried dead ended so I just continued down the main road. Here and there I ran into creek crossings that I needed to navigate, but nothing major.
And of course, I snapped several pictures. 😊
Somewhere along the way, I think I completely lost signal and flag to somebody down who is coming the opposite direction to ask if they had come from where I was going, and indeed they had and mentioned that there was a toll fee that needed to be paid.
A $60 toll fee. 😶
Well… I didn’t have $60 in New Zealand money with me anymore, just American. 😅 So… what to do…
Do I drive all the way back and go around? Where do I keep going and hope that they are willing to take American cash or just give me a path, as apparently they don’t take card.
It was gonna be pretty much the same amount of money in gas to drive all the way back and around, maybe slightly less, so I figured I’d just go for it and hope they would accept my American cash. 🙃
The canyon narrowed significantly, the landscape of becoming much more rugged as I continued onward, and the river crossings got a bit hairier as well. 🙃
There were waterfalls on the mountainsides, a lovely river in the gorge, beautiful bridges…
And then shortly before the toll station, I came to a river crossing that was pretty sketchy–just on the edge of what I was comfortable with.
Gratefully, I made it through without any problems (I think mostly because a significant portion of the crossing, despite being fairly deep, had a concrete bottom), and I arrived at the toll station safely, closing the gate behind me.
The lady… womaning? 🙃 the toll station came out, and we chatted for a little bit, and I let her know that I had a credit card an American cash but no New Zealand cash.
😅
She was a nice lady, middle aged, probably in her 50s, and after chatting a bit, she went to grab her father, I think to figure out what to do with me. 🙃
Her dad can’t out, I think late 70s early 80s? That’s right, I think he was the same age as my mom–80! (sorry to out ya, mommer 😉).
I chatted with the older gentleman for a long time… Gosh, maybe an hour? We chatted about a gazillion different things, life in New Zealand, traveling, politics, all sorts of stuff.
[gajillions of sand flies buzzing around 😅]
Gratefully, he was willing to take my American cash, saying that he visits the United States on a fairly regular basis, so he’d just hold it aside for his next trip.
🙏
His daughter mentioned a pretty hairy river crossing that was downriver of the toll station, but her dad said that if I had done the big one shortly before the toll station, then I’d be fine on the one after.
Weeeeelllll… 😅
It was deeper, there was no concrete bottom, and I don’t remember for sure, but I would say it was at least as wide, if not wider than the previous.
The sun was down by this point, with few rays of light left and not too long before it was just straight-up dark outside.
What to do? 😅
I could go all the way back, through the toll station, all the way back through the mountains, all the way back around the entire mountain range, in order to get where I was wanting to go.
Or I could just… go for it. 🙃
One guess. 😉
So after scouting my most viable route, I turned on my video camera (figuring I might as well document the adventure, come what may), and went for it, narrating as I drove. 🙃
With water spraying everywhere, including out both sides of my vehicle, I plowed through, not daring to slow down or to stop, lest my tires begin to excavate the riverbed under me.
Probably three quarters of the way across, I realized…
I was gonna make it! 🎉
Having navigated my way across a great number of streams and rivers in my day, in vehicles ranging from little Geo Prizms up to large vans, I knew there was a point where, if you made it to within a certain distance of the far bank, with a particular level of momentum, you are going to make it.
And three quarters of the way, or so, through the crossing, I could sense I had the needed momentum to make it the rest of the way without worrying about my tires digging me a cold and wet resting spot in the middle of the river.
🥳
Boy was I grateful to have made it across! 🙃
🙏
Had I not made it across, I still had options, gratefully: the older gentleman that I chatted it up with at Rainbow Toll Station add some heavy equipment that easily would have been able to pull me out period I would have to walk back a handful of kilometers to get back to the station, but I could at least get pulled out.
Provided he had a tow rope. 😅
It wasn’t too long after that river crossing that the road turned from dirt back to chip and seal. I passed a road going up to I think it was Rainbow Ski Area, made it out to the main highway, and found myself a little freedom camping spot on the side of Argyle Pond–arriving just after 10:45.
As per my custom, I veged out for a little bit and then crashed for the night
Lift the world.
Bring it on.
~ stephen
Lift the World 