Sleepless in Seattle? No, Biff-less in Auckland.

So, yesterday was a good day. We finally sold Biff, got upgraded at our hotel and Kate won 2 free bottles of cider! We are Biff-less. Talk about down to the wire eh? We leave NZ in only 2 days. We took Biff to the car fair again at Ellerslie race course on Sunday. We dropped his price as although we got a fair bit of interest the previous week, I was starting to think we wouldn’t ever sell him and would have to drive him up to Whangarei and leave him with Danny and Catherine, which would have been hassle for all of us. This week we got tons of interest, like last week but people seemed to be talking money more. We handed out numbers and exchanged email addresses with people but it was an old boy who showed most interest. He was there selling a 1999 silver Lexus gs400 for $7500! Bargain. He came over and gave Biff a good once over and left me his number. Although we got a lot of interest I called him yesterday morning and told him Biff was still for sale. We drove over to him and he test drove him then offered to buy him. We then had a bit of a hectic morning booking an apartment in the city and unpacking Biff before dropping him off with the old boy. We then got the train back into the city. He offered to drive us in but by this time it was nearly rush hour.

So Biff is gone and I am sad. I have chatted with Kate at how much we will miss him and how, apart from BUPO (my first car – a faded red/orange 1985 Austin Metro) I have never connected and personalised a vehicle so much. Not personalised as in sticking on my own type of wheels or novelty dashboard ornament, but given it a personality. Old vehicles seem to have character though don’t they? I mean we talked to Biff as if he was a friend or a pet. He responded too. He was so much more than just a fancy van with a bed and a kitchen in the back. He was our home and our transport for nearly a year. He was a member of the family and I will miss him. Apart from a few little act ups he was awesome but those little act ups, like wetting himself the first day we bought him or his alternator brushes needing changing in Gisborne were what gave him character. Considering he was 19 years old he could have pretty much fallen to pieces and broken down every 5 minutes but he never once even overheated. He had done over 350,000km! (260,000 miles!) In a country as small as NZ as well. He must have covered near enough every inch of it too. I often would drive over some random bridge in the middle of nowhere and wonder if Biff had already crossed it, or how many hundreds of times he crossed the Auckland harbour bridge? I hope we did show him some places he hadn’t been to before cos he sure as hell showed us some abso-frickin-lutely amazing sights. Getting a campervan seemed such a cliched thing to do here as just about everyone does it but it is an awesome way to see the country. It gives you such freedom but allows inaccessible areas or off the beaten track locations to become reachable. Although free camping is forbidden in places, you could if you want, find an out of the way place to kip for the night, as many people do. Biff made life for us so different from the usual hotel or tent based accommodations. He was comfortable, convenient and most importantly he was dry. No running through the rain to cook in the kitchen, or bang in tent pegs. He kept us warm in the cold and tried his hardest to make the muggy summer nights comfortable. He was just so much more than a van. We will miss you buddy.

We are now in a nice big apartment in the same place we stayed when we first got to NZ. We looked at staying at other hotels but really liked the independence of having an apartment so decided to stay here again. I tried to book a studio apartment online but the website kept crashing so I had to ring them direct. When I called the reservations department they said that there weren’t any studios available but as the website had said there was, we would get a free upgrade to a 1 bedroom place. Sweet! Except that when we checked in they had actually upgraded us to a 2 bedroom apartment! Super sweet! It’s bloody huge, even with all our gear in it.

Last night we painted the town, not quite red but more of a tame pink. My first drink since New Year but we had to send Biff off with a bevy. Kate was excited as she won this text competition to win 2 free bottles of cider. I wonder if I will ever get over her frugalness. When we were packing up Biff I was amazed at just how much of a needless hoarder she is. It just seems nothing is worth throwing away for her. Sigh.

So we have a few free days in Auckland now. Kate is contemplating jumping from the sky tower again or bungy jumping from the harbour bridge whereas I am once again looking at getting some ink done. I still have to do something with my guitar too as I can’t take it to the states with me. I think mostly we will just relax finally and let the prospect of the next leg of our journey sink in. I am super psyched about going to San Diego (It’s Spanish for a whales vagina don’t you know?) then onto Vegas, then Salt Lake city, then San Francisco, then Seattle, then Vancouver and all the delights of Canadian snow across the Rockies.

I have loved New Zealand. A country with such natural beauty and cultural heritage yet has only really been on the map for a brief sneeze of time. Queenstown will always have a place in my heart and i will always have fond memories of the friends I made there. When I got here I thought I would be bungy jumping off everything and sky diving and all that but I haven’t. Some people would see that as a bad thing but for me it just means I have left some things to do if I ever come back. For me it was more about exploring and feeling free, away from the stresses and strains of ‘normal’ life. I wanted to see the real NZ, to get off the well trodden track and go into the wilderness, which I have done. I have covered near enough all of this fair land. Man, I have seen more of NZ in 11 months than I have of the UK in 33 years! Something I may need to address when I get home. So many places to see and such little time.

So all that’s left to say really is goodbye from New Zealand. If anyone out there is wanting to see a truly amazing and stunningly beautiful yet diverse and cultural gifted place, then NZ has to be high on the list. It helps that most people here are only a few generations departed from being just like you. It is very British here but also with strong pacific influences. Not just from Maoris and other islanders but from Asia too. It is so relaxed and chilled out here which fit me so well. Yes it is a country with troubles but from a tourists point of view it is amazing and like no other country I have ever been to. It is as diverse as you get and the thing I like the most is that you can be on a tropical beach or in a rainforest or on a mountain top or hiking along a glacier or in a modern shopping mall all within 100 miles of each other (at the right time of year of course).

To everyone I have met here, be it in Qtown or on the road, thank you for helping make this past year so memorable. Safe travels to you all.

Right well, I’m off to the states. San Diego here I come. I will of course keep you posted.

Peace

D

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