Additional costs Additional costs!

30.11./ 01.12.2016

We drive westwards on the Forgotten Highway towards New Playmouth, where we have chosen a campsite for the night. The highway leads past beautiful landscapes.

Just before our destination, our car rattles, the symbols for engine and oil light up, we pull over to the left in time and then the car stops. Hopelessly overwhelmed, we google the meaning of the symbols and find out: the coolant is supposed to be the culprit. We check the coolant level and drive with Dibi to the nearby town and buy new coolant. After refilling, the engine still doesn't start, so we call a car workshop and two men tow us at a speed of 80. They cannot determine the cause at first glance, so the car has to stay in the workshop overnight. When we ask if we can sleep in the car on the premises, the friendly mechanic tells us that we can sleep in his guest room. Once again, we are surprised by the hospitality of the New Zealanders and are happy about the positive turn of events. We spend the evening with Adrian and his girlfriend and their two dogs.

The car is supposed to be ready in the afternoon, so we take a trip to Taranaki National Park and go for some hikes there. While we are having cheap lunch at the Indian restaurant, we receive a call saying that the car is ready. Back at the workshop, our car is repaired and we are $600 poorer...