Sunday 29 April 2012

Escape on Four Wheels

Well the gap from when the last post was made is unfortunately far too long.  My apologies to any readers out there. Recently I added a small camper-van (RV to those in North America) to my inventory of escape equipment. Now I can hit the highway when I like; to explore, research material for my writing, or just for the hell of taking a break. It is not a huge RV with all mod-cons but a small easy to drive and manoeuvre camper built on a Toyota Hiace. It can be easily parked in built up areas or at shopping malls which is a plus too.

Last week I took it away for a maiden cruise.  Would you know it but a couple of hours down the road I had a puncture? That was a good introduction to the joys of living on the road.  At least I now know where all the tools are and the jacking points on the chassis. My destination was the coastal city of Whakatane situated in New Zealand's beautiful Bay of Plenty.  The harbour front at Whakatane on a fine day is one of my most favourite places in the country.  The weather my first morning in Whakatane did not disappoint as I strolled along the harbour walk in the sunshine while the Toyota was in the tyre place having the puncture fixed and tyres swapped over.

One purpose of the escape on the road was to do further research on the book I am writing on old courthouse buildings. More on that later. It is a great feeling to be on a 'working' holiday in a beautiful place, footloose and fancy free while others are just working.