The following story has been the result of too much happening too quickly to justify using just a lame status update. Instead, I've really got to explain all of what happened on the 30th June 2012 with a touch of detail.
As most are aware, I love snow skiing. Living in Auckland, really doesn't help this addiction. But with the closest ski field (Whakapapa, pronounce fuk-a-pa-pa) being smothered in snow over the previous days and absolute perfect weather conditions the idea of driving for twice as many hours as I would be able to ski, somehow seemed worthwhile.
Our incredibly rewarding earlyish morning start resulted in driving through frosted fields with the morning mist reluctantly lifting off the many lakes and streams we drove past. As we made our way further inland and south the frosts grew thicker resisting the soft morning sunshine.
Bright white beacons arose on the horizon as we wound through the numerous hills heading to Tongariro National Park. Those beacons famous thanks to their wonderful roles as Mount Doom, their real names Mt Nguaruhoe and Mt Ruapehu nowhere near at catchy.
So arriving at 12:04pm, 4 minutes later than planned we'd already done more than what some sceptics thought possible. The carpark attendant smirked as our wee little car turned into the carpark. The snow was crisp, the air still and the views spectacular.
And on my final run down the mountain I'd thought all had gone well.
When I returned to the rental shop, they wouldn't accept the stolen skis I'd been using. Seems I mistook my crappy rental skis for a pair of high performance ones outside the cafe. Bah. No worries it happens.
As we drove down the mountain a pesky little "Check Engine" light refused to go away, no matter how much I told it to. Ever heard of a limp mode? I have, now. These modern cars thesedays, well they're just so smart they can go into "limp mode", disabling the engine from achieving more than 2000RPM. Boy was I popular doing 25kph down the highway. As we sat and watched the skies darken and felt the air get colder waiting for the breakdown service I wondered if Sir Peter Jackson ever wanted to film something regarding the journey AWAY from Mordor.
I had two choices be stranded in the middle of freezing nowhere with my car in the workshop until Monday at least or try to get the car home without going into limp mode. So that was the challenge 350km of windy, hilly driving, tired and acheing after my skiing, all the while keeping the RPM under 3500.
The result? The car is parked in the garage. At home. Hooray. 674km driven, 10 hours of driving and 3 hours of skiing. The epilogue? The house was burgled while we were out.
