It was not long after returning from our honeymoon that thoughts led to what were we going to do for our Christmas holidays. The idea of taking the Spider down to the South Island was suggested and as the available slots on the cross channel ferries were rapidly filling up we took the plunge and booked with BlueBridge to cross over on the 23rd of December and back on the 10th of January.
Having set our dates and booked the dog into the kennels it was then time to pore over the maps and plot out a route that covered all the friends, relative and places we wanted to visit. Rather than the traditional loop we settled on a figure 8 which took in Arthurs, Haast and Lewis Passes I tried to squeeze in the Lindis and Dansey’s passes too but that seemed a bit too extreme for the time available. Thinking that accommodation would be in high demand I got on the internet and booked everything in advance.
With all most of the plans underway it was time to make sure that the Spider was up to the trip. It was a good excuse to take the car into Performance Automotive and get the oil leaks fixed. These had started as a few annoying drops on the concrete when the engine was first installed 10 years ago to an embarrassing flood that coated the underside of the car and every driveway I parked on. Tony replaced the offending seals and gave the car back to me running better than I’d ever been able to tune it. Next up were the brakes. The 1966 Spiders came out with early ATE callipers that were produced for such a short time that they never made it onto the after market suppliers lists so it was a bit of a mission to locate correct pads. Luckily I ended up with what the suppliers said was the last set of rear pads in New Zealand. A session at Fred’s freed up the sticky pistons, replaced the pads, brake fluid and fitted a passenger ventilation duct that had been missing since I got the car. I also fitted new radiator hoses, waterproofed the roof and prepared an emergency tool kit just in case.
For a long time I’d been contemplating getting a new windscreen for the Spider, the 40 year old one was scratched, delaminating and going opaque with age. I braced the cheque book and ordered one. The drive back from the glazier was amazing, I couldn't believe what I'd been missing out on. With no scratches, dirt or marks on it, it was like the whole world was a cleaner fresher place.
Everything was coming together and the departure date was looming. It was just a matter of deciding what to take, we selected the bags we were going to take, had a rough go at packing the car and thought it would fit in.
The weather forecast for departure day was for overnight snow flurries on the Desert Road and occasional rain but it dawned bright and sunny we packed the car, up to the gunwales with tent, airbed, duvet, pillows, folding chairs, frypan, Christmas presents, food, fleeces, raincoats and clothing for 3 weeks. With the boot chock full and behind the seats full to it all just squeezed in. “Well that all fits.” I said, “But what about the dog?” said Dulcie. The dog had to be delivered to the kennels in Drury so with Dulcie wedged in the passenger seat with a small mountain of gear and the dog wedged in the back, I zeroed the trip meter, pulled on my Santa hat and started the engine.
As we buzzed down the motorway the Spider seemed to bring a smile to everyone we passed, kids waved, thumbs up from drivers, someone even snapped us with their mobile phone. We dropped the dog at the kennels, redistributed the gear to the back seat and carried on our merry way South down Highway 1. The cold breeze forced a stop in Tirau for the addition of warmer clothes even though it was sunny, shortly after the pom pom on my Santa hat that had been flying merrily around in the breeze suddenly exploded into fluff, which resulted in deploying the more sensible cap for the rest of the trip.
After stopping for a break in Hatepe to thaw out with friends we prepared to tackle the Desert Road. Climbing up onto the plateau with a frosty Ruapehu peeking out from the clouds, I was mentioning to Dulcie that this was about where my friend Willy broke down a few years back when brrrrrrrrrr, the engine died. Thoughts of all sorts of mechanical disasters flashed through my mind as we coasted to a stop. Where was the nearest tow truck? Could we get a refund on the ferry tickets? Fortunately a quick look under the bonnet showed that a wire had fallen off the distributor and before the adrenaline had a chance to fully disburse we were under way again.
It certainly wasn’t summer weather out on the volcanic plateau, we didn’t see any snow flurries but we wouldn’t have been surprised if we had. It was freezing cold, the heater on full sent toasty warm draughts onto the extremities but not enough to make it comfortable. We stopped for an early dinner in Taihape before heading to Palmerston North for our overnight stop with my sister in law Sue.
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