Move along

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Balance… $0.00

Crap. The numbers don’t work for me anymore.

I am at the southern most point, the end, of New Zealand and the travel cash has finally dried up. Well, it’s got me this far. But I still have Tim’s car, a tank full of petrol and my pack. I spend the last of my wallet cash on sending some heavy things home – so I can walk if I have to – and some bare food.

Camping out here is not an option as there’s a severe weather warning so I set the car up for a night’s shelter. I am out of cooking gas, so meals for the next few days are Nutella spread over dry super noodles and more of the same.

It is night, raining hard. A beam of torchlight cuts through the car window, skipping over the folded backseats and there’s a loud banging on the door. A security guard has found me and he wants to seize the car. It takes 5 minutes to talk him down.

Time to leave Te Anue. I drive off into the night, pointing the engine north. Without money it feels great to keep moving.