25. Traveling by camper van (Part 1) - Day 1 of the journey

When the various items I used to carry were transformed into numbers in my financial account, making me feel more agile, I would gather and donate the excessive items that came with the camper van to the backpackers I used to stay with. I hoped this would help lighten the car's load, and those items would be more useful in a place with more people. This included the extra bedsheets, various kitchen utensils, etc.

          There's another issue that inevitably came up: the car has an oil leak, but it's not a major problem. What needs to be done is to check the oil level every day and keep topping it up when it's at a concerning level. I tried to take the car to get fixed, but it might not have helped much. I don't know if I wasted money on the repairs, but I felt like it's better at that time, at least that's how I felt.

          Regarding the passenger-side roof, which had a slight leak, I solved the problem by buying a tube of silicone sealant commonly used for bathroom glass installation and applying it. This worked very well and was 100% waterproof when exposed to rain.

          Before the trip, I tried practicing sleeping in the car by parking in front of the house for one night to see how I would feel sleeping in a smaller space. If I needed to use the restroom, I would go inside the house. I did this to see if there was anything else I needed for the trip and as a final test to see if I was really ready. After that night, I felt more confident and ready to the fullest extent.

          And one spring morning, my blue-green sleeper car headed west. My goal at that time was to get as far away as possible from where I had been, along with a personal curiosity about what awaited me on the west side of the North Island...

          This wasn't a main highway; in fact, you could call it a rural road. It's a two-lane asphalt road that winds between the eastern town of Hastings and the western town of Taihape. Unlike a major highway, the road isn't straight; it meanders and undulates along the contours of the mountains. The constant sights, no matter which direction you're traveling, are the light green fields of grass and the leaves on the large trees lining the road, whose colors don't seem that different from the grasslands. Large cows with thick, fluffy coats and white sheep bleating are a common sight in the rural landscape of this country.

          I stopped my car along the way when I saw signs for national parks with nature trails available. When I say this, you might think these parks are bustling with tourists. Not at all. In many places where I stopped to go for a walk, there were hardly any cars parked, and it seemed like I was the only one walking in the forest.

          That's because many of these places aren't famous tourist attractions that people flock to. They might just be community forests that local people conserve and maintain, with a group of retirees and local elementary school students leading the conservation efforts. How do I know all this? Because I like to read the signs or boards that they put up in front of each place. I feel that these are lovely activities where senior citizens can come together to do good things in nature with the children in the community. It really adds color to the lives of the elderly and instills a love of nature in the children. This makes places like this, which I'd seen in many places in this country, very charming in my eyes, even though they may not be widely known to tourists. This shows that the people in this country truly recognize the importance of nature.

          I kept driving like this until late afternoon, and the fuel was almost down to the red line. It was at that moment that I understood why the previous owner had an empty spare fuel tank in the car. I had always thought that gas stations were ubiquitous in cities, but driving on rural roads with few communities in sight meant I hadn't seen a gas station for a while. My phone and spare battery were dead, and the car's charging system wasn't working. The only remaining navigation tool was the NZ map book that had been passed down through generations of car owners. Although it was in rough condition, it was incredibly useful in this offline situation.

          Another somewhat reliable way to ask for directions would be to ask the people I rarely see driving past. However, in this uncertain situation where I didn't know when my fuel will run out and whether it will be enough to reach a gas station, I was not sure how far away it is, the first thing I should do was to stop the car to cook something to eat. I've always believed that when I'm overwhelmed with uncertainty, the thing that will make things a little better is to fill my stomach. When the body gets some rest or changes position, and I drink some water to feel refreshed, things will likely improve. At that moment, it started to drizzle, the sky was overcast, and the wind was strong. Fortunately, I noticed a small shelter resembling a guard booth right on my right side, so I turned the car to park near that booth so that at least I could set up the gas stove and boil some instant noodles.

          This camper van is truly fully equipped with useful items, and the picnic gas stove is one of them. It's rectangular in shape, about the size of a single-burner gas stove used at home, weighs about two kilograms, and uses canned gas as fuel.

          Once I found a suitable spot for the stove, I started with a simple activity, my style: boiling just the right amount of water, enough for the instant noodles. Then I added the noodles, and whatever I had on hand, like sausages or canned tuna. I peeled the pumpkin and carrots and added them, trying to make small pieces so they would cook quickly. I use the word "peeled" because I didn't use a cutting board to chop them; I was too lazy to wash it. Instead, I used a small knife to slice the vegetables into small pieces, like sharpening a pencil with a knife. This way, all I had to wash after cooking was the knife and the pot. I didn't need any bowls or plates because I could eat straight from the pot with a spoon and fork.

          The process of cleaning the instant noodle pot isn't difficult at all. You just need to pour in a little water, use your fingers to scrub off the various stains, then pour the water out and add a small amount of water again, similar to a second rinse. After this round, the pot will look very clean, but if you're still not satisfied, you can repeat the process. Then, wipe it dry with a cloth, and the pot will be clean and ready for the next use. This method helps me save water when cleaning cooking equipment.

          As I ate and pondered what to do next in the shack, a local's car happened to drive by. I took the opportunity to ask about the nearby gas station, and he kindly gave me directions. This was just one of many instances where I experienced the generosity of the people here. He also told me that the gas station wasn't too far from where we were. He leaned over to check my car's fuel gage and noticed that the needle hadn't even reached the red line, so I should be able to make it to the station without any problems. He then left, asking me to keep the shack clean because it's where the community's schoolchildren sit and wait for the bus to school in the morning. I agreed and thanked him.

          Just a short conversation helped me feel much better. After packing everything properly, I quickly got in the car and continued on according to the directions I had just received. And in less than twenty minutes, I was back in the city, seeing people waving, seeing shops, seeing gas stations. Looking back to this afternoon, being in the city like this seemed to make the money in my account (no matter how much or little) useful. But in a situation far from people and convenience (in other words, when money is far from those who need it), having money might not help much. And so, I should turn the money into what I need to prepare for the journey ahead.

          The near-miss of running out of gas taught me a valuable lesson. This time, in addition to filling the tank, I also filled a spare container. I covered the mouth of the container with a plastic bag before screwing the lid on to prevent spillage when it was jostled around in the car during the trip. When I pulled out the dipstick to check the engine oil level, I saw that it was almost down to the danger line, so I went to buy some engine oil to add.

          That night, my first outdoor sleeping spot was in the public square near the community restrooms, where trains passed by. Since that spot was also a small platform for the community, I heard trains running by that night, but I slept well anyway. Perhaps it was due to exhaustion from traveling during the day. I saw it as a good experience to sleep near train tracks while trains were running. It made me think of communities where people live near train tracks, which I had wondered if it wouldn't be too noisy. Having that experience made me feel good about understanding their feelings a little more.