Herbert & The News

Hello Old Folks at Home,

How are you? I'm sitting, once again, at the kitchen table at the Opoutere YHA, waiting for the tide to drop and the wind to turn. The surf should get good (knock knock) toward sunset.

I surfed yesterday at Hot Water Beach, about an hour north. Hot Water Beach is so named because there's an area of beach that has thermal outlets just under the sand. Dig a little hole, and it fills with... hot water. I've never done this, but plenty of tourists do. The ocean water is pleasant enough, about 70 degrees. It's nice to be back in warm water again- the west coast was starting to cool down, just a little bit. Here on the east, summer is lingering just a bit longer. Anyway, it all feels lovely to a year 'round wetsuit wearer from chill San Francisco.

I mentioned that I bought a car. In one of my few plans that have gone right, I decided to be patient and wait until the right one came to me. It was just a matter of time, during an extended stay in a place like Raglan, with such a constant turnover of travellers.

One day while hitchiking I was picked up by a friendly German woman. Her car ( a 1989 Subaru wagon) grabbed my attention immmediately: she had a bleached sheep skull, surrounded by a blood-red flower lei, on her dashboard. We struck up a conversation, which is the modest price you pay for such trips, and I discovered she was just about to finish her six-month vacation.

I made what I thought were subtle inquiries about the condition of her car. She answered with what might have been an equally subtle sales pitch.

It turns out the car had recently recieved it's "warrenty of fitness" and also been recently registred, both attractive selling points. But the most compelling aspect of the car was the sincerity of the seller. She seemed trustworthy.

I had the car checked out by the local garage, and they said it was a pretty good car. We made the deal. Price: 1,000 dollars N.Z.

So for the forseeable future, the Hitchiker Chronicles are over. Herbert (so named by Carmen, the seller) is mine. I had him (er...) serviced in Hamilton, just for safety's sake, and so far Herbert is running fine.

While we wait for the surf to improve, let's leaf through this week's Hauraki Herald, shall we? As usual, click on the image for Big Yuks.
















In place of The Hitchiker's Chronicles, I'll make a point of regularly sharing The News from here with you, there. Take care.