Finally in Christchurch

It was such a GR8 feeling driving my car again, leaving Hawea at 8am and going to my container to drop my Bike and some other stuff off. Then at 9 I was finally on my way to Christchurch 6 weeks later than originally planned.

I stopped off at Tekapo for lunch by the lake which was nice, it was quiet too. Then I drove on and from Burkes pass the transmission started to play up, I was just over halfway to my destination and it was fine in the top gears but through the town’s it would stutter a little I could feel it through my accelerator pedal having issues engaging at times.

I got to Kirsten’s who has a steep drive which I got up OK then unloaded all my stuff. I drove back down her steep drive and at the bottom to park up I had trouble reversing then going forward, feeling pissed off about it all I had a bad nights sleep and while awake for 3 hours I decided to phone the AA in the morning. They came and checked it and it wouldn’t go forward so they put it on their truck and drove it to a local Transmission place recommended by Alpine Auto’s in Wanaka.

A week later they sorted the oil leak, tested it and said it would only go backwards so it is now going to be trucked back to Wanaka where they said they can’t work on it till next year GRRRRR, but I’m going to Canada in two weeks so I won’t see it till next April 2022 when I come back from Canada and England. 🙁

So after the AA took my car away because I have AA plus I was entitled to a loan car, (above) so I loaded my winter gear and stuff I don’t need at Kirsten’s and drove to my brother Gary’s place in Amberley and dropped the car back on Monday morning, they also supplied a taxi to and from the Hertz loan car place in the city 🙂

Had a nice weekend with Gary and Chris and saw Donna and family before we went to the Brew Moon for a pizza dinner washed down with nice local Hopehead IPA.

Back at Kirsten’s

Started the week sanding and scrapping the wall above, the whole house was painted black until I started on it this time last year, this is the last big wall rest is just windows which are getting sanded and oiled.

The above photo was on Friday with the weather boards filled and primed ready for two coats of the olive Green which Kirsten is going to paint. This coming week I’ll do the wall to the right round the cornet and fine sand and fill the doors in the photo and put some trim around the frame.

Over the weekend in Sumner

Above and below is Sumner beach, above is looking South East ish and below looking North west ish. Spent the weekend walking Sadie, Kirsten’s little black pug along the beach, a very social walk with everybody’s dog’s walking with the owners, went to Lyttleton’s market Saturday morning for lunch and caught up with a few friend’s. Its a nice transition being by the beach from winter ski-ing in NZ to winter ski-ing in Canada where I will hopefully be heading in two weeks Covid permitting.

With my car out of action again I don’t want to be here waiting for it to be fixed AGAIN, already been through that so I hope Canada will happen, 🙂

And also HOPE my car will be ready in April when I get back. 🙁

🙂