I made my plans one day and decided to hit Okahune Ski resort on the Southern slopes of Mt. Ruapehu. This is an active volcano and would be a stopover for my last attempt at a bike ride. I set off from Tauranga in my new rental. By the way people drive a majority of Japanese cars in New Zealand with few other foreign makes on the road except maybe the Aussie model ,the Holden Vectra, and on the South Island you'll see lots of English Mini Minor cars which are no longer in production. These were once affectionately known as 'bum scrapers' back in Ireland but the ones I saw here were in immaculate condition,very sporty and well maintained by their proud owners.

As I drove out ,I took the scenic western route through the Kaimai Forest Park, through Tokorua along hwy. 1 I should have turned at Tokorua onto Hwy. 32 but I kept going and eventually lost my way at Kinleith. Finally I found the right road and proceeded up between the Whanganui and Tonagariro forests . Then it happened, something that all drivers say will never happen to them. They swear it will never happen to them. They'd be too embarrassed to admit it. No ,it wasn't that I was lost but I had run out of petrol.....on a Mt. top road......in the middle of the night. The orange warning light told me the bad news and I thought for a moment I could make it all the way to Okahune, but I still had to find the motel in the dark. Too risky, so I pulled onto the side of the road. Not much room, no real shoulder. I was about 20 miles from a warm bed for the night. I sat for a long time in the car with the engine off and interior lights on and thought I could flag someone down but traffic was virtually non existant. Like the TV character ' Dougal' in 'Father Ted', who when asked for his advice with a car problem told 'Ted' , "best sleep on it, you'll see things differently in the morning".

So I turned off all lights and sat there in the pitch black on a moonless night. Then I noticed at the end of the facing road the stars were twinkling in a constellation called Crux, the Southern Cross, pointing out the road for me. I never realised how large that constellation was when I stepped out of the car to retrieve some warm clothing in the boot. Suddenly I saw a thoroughy unbelievable sight. The whole night sky was a blaze of multicoloured twinkling stars. More stars than I've ever seen before in any location I've travelled to and an errie white glow skirted all the way around the horizon as if some cosmic god had backlit it. I stood transfixed by this and had difficulty making out familiar constellations. The milky way was clearly pronounced . I asked myself , is this how the Neolithics saw the night sky 5000 years ago? If so, it was a magical spectacle. New Zealand has an Ozone depletion problem brought on by the Ozone hole over Antarctica and no pollution problems. Would this have mirrored conditions in Neolithic times? With that thought I settled down in the back seat fully prepared for a cold night.

No sooner than I lay down than headlights streamed into the car and I heard the sound of car brakes. I sat up like Dracula in a coffin and got out of the car. A Range Rover was on the opposite side of the road. I asked if they were the park ranger when I heard radio static from a CB device. The man replied he was the police and wanted to know what the problem was. After I told him my predicament, he suggested I might have enough petrol to get to Okahune but I wasn't taking any chances. He radioed the Motel when I gave him the phone number and then drove off saying the motel owner would be up with a can of petrol for me. Again Kiwi hospitality reigned supreme. I was shortly in pitch black again as the Range Rover's headlights disappeared down the mountain. About 20 minutes later the motel owner arrived , petrol in tow, filled me up and asked to follow him down to the motel. I was saved. Being the only visitor that day, the choice of accomodation was all mine. The motel owner had refurbished old railway carriages into units on his property (see below)