Sigh. . . . .
Where do I even begin?
I so wish this post would have regaled everyone with beautiful pictures and tales of the Emerald Lakes and our summit up Mount Doom for our hike through the Tongariro Crossing that we set out for yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, John and I have somehow pissed off the powers that be (or maybe just Sauron) and were smote with a series of very unfortunate events.
Our little clunker of a car is no longer. Here is the sordid tale:
We had been driving for about 2 hours and had reached a town called Taupo, rather large, situated on the banks of Lake Taupo smack dab in the middle of the country. We were about an hour away from our campsite when I began to notice the distinct smell of bacon. As we drove into town and headed down a long stretch of road that bordered the lake, with tons of lake houses all along, John suddenly realized the smell was coming from our car and that smoke was emanating from under the hood.
We pulled over to the first driveway possible and shut off the car. Looking at the temperature gauge, indeed it was extremely hot, however we had never noticed the engine light come on to signal overheating. Though, we had been going up and down rather steep hills, turning on the A/C a bit as it was so hot--which we never do as we can hear the engine work more when it's on--and had gone a bit over the suggested limit of 100 km/hr. We lifted up the lid and used whatever water we had with us to try and cool it off. Luckily, John found that the house we stopped at had a tap outside and checked to see if anyone was home, and when there wasn't, filled up our water bottles a couple of times to help cool the engine more.
After about 10 minutes of little change, the family who was staying in the house walked up the driveway--they had two adorable little girls. John informed them that our car was overheated and asked to use their water spigot, and they said that was absolutely fine. After a couple of minutes, the young father (Ben), just turned on the hose and sprayed the engine for a bit. We then tried to turn the car on again and the gauge had gone all the way back down and it started fine. However, Ben had noticed when looking further under the hood that there was no water or fluid at all in the coolant container. We had very much erred in not checking the fluid levels before undertaking such a trip and very much paid for it. So Ben filled it up with the hose and we gave the car another go. It started up, then started to rev irregularly, and shake a good bit (while I was sitting inside), and then puttered out. We tried starting it several times again to no avail. It would turn over, but the engine wouldn't go.
Ben said he thought we had blown our head gasket, as it seemed there was a leak and the water that had been put into the coolant system was now in the engine. So, Ben goes inside to tuck his two little girls into bed while John walks down to the gas station to get coolant and stop leak--hoping the stop leak would create a new seal and we could get the car running again with more coolant. Apparently not--the damage had already been done. If we had put the stop leak in before we did anything else, perhaps the car would have been fine but we didn't know the gasket had blown (caused by the overheating) until we refilled the coolant. Ben also lifted the spark plugs to find oil inside them (which shouldn't have been there) meaning fluids were now going all sorts of places they weren't meant to go.
I must say, at this point the sun was going down, creating a beautiful sunset on the lake (I got a picture on my phone)--but it seemed to mock us with the despair and panic we were feeling. NZ$1500 and we only had the car for 3 months.
We didn't know what to do. We both felt woefully unprepared to deal with such a situation. However, we didn't call anyone back home--we were determined to deal with it ourselves--no matter how scary it was and regardless how desperate we felt. I suppose that's how all adults eventually learn--you get thrown into the water after college and you either sink or swim--you learn through experience. We took a moment in an embrace outside, in the setting sun, to gather our thoughts to come up with a plan of action. We couldn't have chosen a better driveway--which is the blessing in disguise. There had been plenty of desolate highway between Hastings and our destination that would have put us in a much tougher position if we had broken down there.
Ben, and his family, invited us in to use their phone, look up numbers in a phone book, and they even offered us dinner--though we respectfully declined. I couldn't have eaten anything at that moment as I felt like I could have thrown up. John got the number of a mechanic who was miraculously open at 9:00 at night, while I called our campsite and cancelled our reservations for both the site and the shuttle that was to take us to the start of the crossing--they didn't charge me for such a late cancellation, thankfully.
The mechanic on the phone said it indeed sounded like a blown head gasket and that to fix such a problem would probably cost between $1,500 and $2,000 (NZ). Basically, the cost of the car. Though he gave us a quick test to use to make sure--fill the radiator with water, leave the cap off, then start the car. If the water spews out like a geyser then it's the head gasket, as the air from the pistons was able to break though the protective barrier of the gasket through the tubes and out (and water was able to get into the engine). So we went outside, filled the radiator, I said a little prayer, and John started the car . . . the water went everywhere.
So that was that--the car was dead and essentially totaled. All because of a thin piece of heat resistant paper that would cost $45 to get but over $1,000 for the labor as you have to open up the engine (John looked up a how-to when we finally got home and it's a 54-step process to replace it).
Any tow companies or scrap metal places were closed for the evening, so we collected all the numbers for the Taupo region to try in the morning. Ben was so generous and let us use his computer to A) Check our bank account and B) Buy bus tickets to get back to Hastings the next day as John has to work tomorrow. He asked what our plans were for the night and we just said we could sleep in the car--we had an air mattress and sleeping bag. He said he didn't have any spare bedrooms but we were welcome to set up the air mattress inside on his living room floor. What wonderful people to take in complete strangers who just happened to break down on his driveway. He even gave us some toast and ham so we would have something to eat.
I slept fitfully that night, wishing I could build a time machine to go back avert such a ridiculously stressful situation. Though I had to remind myself it could have been much worse. One of our roommates, Nakul, had just gotten a call two days before that his father had unexpectedly passed away. However, he was in NZ and his father was in India and wouldn't be able to get home for the funeral. So yeah, gotta keep perspective.
The next morning we woke up at 6:00 a.m to pack up our stuff, trying to consolidate all of our stuff in the car as much as we could, and waited until the scrap metal and towing companies opened at 8:00 a.m. As we sat in the car we crunched numbers--I had worked at Cardoness a few days this week, plus we had Christmas money, and John has worked four public holidays at time and a half for the past two weeks including lots of other hours. So we realized, begrudgingly, that we had enough to get a new car and still afford rent and food--though we would break even again. With some frugality and, hopefully, working coming up for me soon (I have an interview next week) we can start saving again in the next few weeks. Though I will still probably mourn that lost $1500 for a few days.
As we sat around that morning we were definitely "Beached as" (a NZ term for "stuck"). Finally, 8:00 rolled around and we called some scrap metal and parts mechanics. We could have been able to get more money from the car if we had the time to wait--but the one parts mechanic we got in contact with wouldn't be around until the following week--and we couldn't leave the car on the side of the road. Finally, we found auto recyclers who would give us $100 for the scrap metal and also send a free tow to take it to the shop (normally you could get $200 for scrap metal if you can drive the car in yourself). So that was the best option and they would send someone out in the next 4 hours--giving us enough time to catch the bus.
Thankfully, the tow guy came around 10:30 a.m. and even gave us a free lift to the bus station. There, we were able to change our tickets to an earlier bus (to get home faster). We walked around Taupo a bit to pass the time and then boarded the bus back on the winding, nauseating road to Hastings.
So. . . . yeah.
Our roommate, Lacey, came and picked us up so we didn't have to walk the 5 or so blocks home with all of our stuff. She and her mom also have an extra car that they don't use often, as they both work in town and thus walk, and mostly just use one for errands and such. So, they have lent John the extra one to use to get to and from work until we buy a new one--which is so kind and an absolute lifesaver.
It will be a hassle to once again look for another used car that is decent, will run well, and is rather cheap--also there is a much smaller selection here than in Auckland. But we will manage--and we have learned our (expensive) lesson about older cars in a foreign country and will be much more selective about this one (and much more attentive).
However, if it had not again been for the kindness of strangers, our situation could have turned out much worse.
"Never Regret. If it's good-it's wonderful. If it's bad--it's experience."
And the adventure presses on!
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