We are discovering the real joys of traveling...
Having spent the last week working our way through the mountains and small towns along the coast we were anxious to arrive in Dunedin. We left the Moeraki Boulders early Monday morning to make it to Dunedin, home to many great pubs, in time for the Superbowl. (Due to the International Dateline & time difference, the Superbowl was on at 12:30pm Monday) As we headed south we hatched great plans for our time in Dunedin...watch the Superbowl at a proper pub, tour the Speight's Brewery, and hopefully get a quick surf in before dark. All grand plans and then it happened...Bongo died and came to a complete stop on the highway.
After several attempts to revive her and a quick look under the seat (engine is located here), we call AA for the 2nd time on the trip. This time it was the cam belt that broke. As we were towed into Palmerston (another tiny town) our thoughts of great brew pubs and shandys vanished. Since the Superbowl was priority we headed to the one bar in town only to find it closed. After asking 4 locals where we could watch the game and none of them knowing what the Superbowl was or what sport was involved, we were losing hope. Luckily, the one restaurant in town had a TV and found the game for us. Unfortunately, they closed at 3pm which ended up being midway through the 3rd quarter, so we missed the end of the game.
Back to Bongo...since none of the small towns stock any parts, we learned it would be at least a day before we could get back on the road. For those in MN imagine being stuck in Bovey for 24hrs, but with no bars open. There was nothing to do in this town. After several laps around town we gave up and broke out the cards for a mean game of gin rummy.
The next day Bongo was fixed and we were on the road again. The good news is parts and labor are very cheap here so Bongo's side trips to the mechanics aren't costing very much. From now on, Bongo will only be referred to as "Bongo the Terrible".
5 comments:
sorry to hear about the bongo breakdowns. regardless its sounds like you guys are doing it up right. reading your posts often leads to me thinking about my own trip so thank you for that. ah traveling...there's nothing like it. soak it up. at the very least it beats talking about greige reports...
Ben from patagonia
So I guess it would be like breaking down in Jackson, OH?
I can imagine.
ele
LOVE the photos, especially the boulder ones. D, I had no idea you were so buff to be lifting that massive rock!
And about the Bongo...perhaps it's mad at you for making into an off road vehicle. Maybe that's just not who it wants to be.
Hope you have better luck here on out, and that when you go to sell it, the possible new owners won't ask too many questions.
ele
Hey Ben -
Glad we're helping you relive your adventures. If you have any recommendations when we get to Asia let us know. Enjoy those greige and position reports for me.
Rachel
Hey Elisa,
That's actually Rachel holding the boulder. I leave the heavy lifting to her. I'm a real gentleman like that. I haven't been to Jackson, OH yet, but how does it compare to Bovey? We'll do our best to get the Korean pancake recipe too.
Dustin
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