The great petrol chase race
Petrol here is about half the price of back in the UK. We bought a full tank in one of towns after we left Akorai Mt Cook and a tank in our hire car takes around 500km. All the uppy-downy driving subtly drains the tank. In our case we drove past a couple of petrol stations with an almost half-full tank of petrol as we came out of the mountains and headed to the west coast to see the Franz Josef Glacier. No "No petrol for the next 180km" signs at any of them...
About 1/2 an hour later, just after we'd stopped at yet another stunning viewpoint, the petrol light flashed on.
And stayed on.
And stayed on.
The sun started to set.
"No probs" we agreed, we'll find another petrol station amongst these small amusingly named towns we're passing through. "Look, they're all on our trusy map." Only, these "towns" would have all made a hamlet look positively huge.
Time passed and the gauge edged closer to zero.
It got darker.
Rory slowed down a bit to conserve what petrol was left. We stopped at a farm and Rory was offered diesel (no use) and the suggestion that we "just keep going and if you get stuck someone will pass by eventually give you a lift in town (Fox Glacier in this case)."
More time passed and the gauge reached zero.
"No probs!" I said, there's a freephone number here in the owner's manual if we get stuck, we can call them."
It got to proper night-time.
Did I mention neither of us could get a mobile phone connection?
Some more time passed and the gauge not only reached zero but waved at it as it continued on its journey downwards.
So there we were, running on fumes, in the middle of nowhere in one of the least-populated areas of one of the least-populated countries in the Modern World.
We were resigned to the car running out of petrol at any second and having to either wait for 3 hours or try and hike 10-15 miles. We kept saying things like:
"At least we're in a developed country" and
"At least they have no large predators in the bush" and
"At least we have crisps and chocolate and warm clothes".
************************************************************************
Then we had a miracle.
We actually reached the town.
In the car.
We had 2 litres left in the tank (which we only found out when we filled it up FULL again.) We had run for over 180km (over 100 miles) on the little yellow petrol light.
Unsurprisingly, we are now both fans of Ford Mondeos and their ridiculously early petrol warning systems. :)
About 1/2 an hour later, just after we'd stopped at yet another stunning viewpoint, the petrol light flashed on.
And stayed on.
And stayed on.
The sun started to set.
"No probs" we agreed, we'll find another petrol station amongst these small amusingly named towns we're passing through. "Look, they're all on our trusy map." Only, these "towns" would have all made a hamlet look positively huge.
Time passed and the gauge edged closer to zero.
It got darker.
Rory slowed down a bit to conserve what petrol was left. We stopped at a farm and Rory was offered diesel (no use) and the suggestion that we "just keep going and if you get stuck someone will pass by eventually give you a lift in town (Fox Glacier in this case)."
More time passed and the gauge reached zero.
"No probs!" I said, there's a freephone number here in the owner's manual if we get stuck, we can call them."
It got to proper night-time.
Did I mention neither of us could get a mobile phone connection?
Some more time passed and the gauge not only reached zero but waved at it as it continued on its journey downwards.
So there we were, running on fumes, in the middle of nowhere in one of the least-populated areas of one of the least-populated countries in the Modern World.
We were resigned to the car running out of petrol at any second and having to either wait for 3 hours or try and hike 10-15 miles. We kept saying things like:
"At least we're in a developed country" and
"At least they have no large predators in the bush" and
"At least we have crisps and chocolate and warm clothes".
************************************************************************
Then we had a miracle.
We actually reached the town.
In the car.
We had 2 litres left in the tank (which we only found out when we filled it up FULL again.) We had run for over 180km (over 100 miles) on the little yellow petrol light.
Unsurprisingly, we are now both fans of Ford Mondeos and their ridiculously early petrol warning systems. :)
posted by Cathers at 6:34 pm
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