Notes from New Zealand 2

While we've left Russell's and are now on a few days holiday before our next Workaway placement, the legend lingers on. I wanted to tell you a couple more of his gems before we say Goodbye to this gregarious host :

- Russell and Mitch's property is down a winding dirt road a couple of kilometres from Opua in the Bay of Islands.They're completely off the grid, using solar for electricity and collecting their rain water. "No bills," says Parsimonious Russell, "we save money for good wine." He was very serious about that; reminding us to have short showers and re-use Adelaide's bath water for the plants. Very Australian of him, really.

- Until 25 years ago, Russell was a dairy farmer. At that point he changed his lifestyle to fulfil his dream of sailing the ocean blue. He began helping a friend build a tall-ship. You heard me, a tall ship. He learnt on the job. Hm-hmmm, he learnt how to rig out a 60 foot tall ship. She became the S. Tucker Thompson. He sailed her around the world and ran day sails for years in the Bay of Islands. A few years ago he gifted her to a trust for NZ youth and so she sails now. Commercial day trips in summer for the likes of the Newluks and winter trips for NZ kids.

- As we drove to Russell and Mitch's for the first time, it was a dull and rainy evening. Russell had told me to phone him on our way as the driveway was "a bit of a mess."

"I get the sense," I told Mountain Dad, "that he wants to direct us on a detour, he must be working on the main driveway or something."

It was true in essence, he has been working on his driveway. For the past 11 years. And he probably should have a detour but the bush is so thick and the lot is extremely steep. This driveway is so steep and with such a sharp corner at the top, that it gave me the shakes for about five minutes after my first solo summit.

Russell met us at the bottom of the drive on that first rainy evening. He said he'd drive us up and told us it was important to not stop halfway as it was crucial you didn't need to back down it. He reversed down the road for a run up. And reversed some more. And some more. When it seemed the driveway was a mere speck in the distance he stopped, slipped our hire car into first and took off. We shot down the road and hit the drive at full throttle. The underbelly of the car ground out a couple of times as we flew up the ascent, but Russell didn't hesitate. 

And we spun out halfway.

After that incredible flight we didn't even make it and we all sat anxiously in silence as Russell did the very thin he told us not to, and backed down the vertical, dirt drive.

On the second attempt we made it because he flew at it with even more gusto. At the top a little voice piped up: "Scary road." 

From that time on our Little Ladie would start preparing for the driveway kilometres before we were even near. "Hold on tight!" she'd suggest, pulling her teddies or toys close to her chest.

- On Mountain Dad's first ascent of the drive-of-terror, he reversed all the way up, as Russell had suggested. Something about brakes on the front wheels being easier to use if we had to roll down again for a second try. "That's the easiest way to make sure you make it up," he solemnly advised.

On our  final evening with Russell and Mitch, our merry host told us he'd never actually seen someone back the whole way up. He was most impressed with Shea's driving skills. Mountain Dad was flabbergasted, something that Russell repeatedly and with great humour, evoked in us.