the kaimais

pikowai beach

Nigel and I took a lovely lil holiday in New Zealand. We spent some time around Te Puke checking out the beach there. On our way to see his brother we had to go over the Kaimais. A rather high mountain range....
Well we went up and up and up. And then we went down and down and......oh wait we lost our brakes! Thats right no brakes!
Nigel did a bit of race car driving. Third gear the rest of the way down using the parking brake to slow down around the tight turns.
I did a lot of praying. Praying and thinking actually. Thoughts like, "What would happen to the bus if we slammed into that cliff?, Would it be better to hit it head on or ease up on the side?, Will our propane tank explode?, Maybe I should tie Nigel into his seat so he doesn't go through the window!"
As you can see, we lived to tell about the experience. One I hope to never have again.
My heart still beats faster when I think about our roller coaster ride down the Kaimais.

ps....after the whole incident nigel tells me that he had so much adrenaline running through his body that at one point down the hill he felt himself almost blacking out! I may have to learn how to drive the bus.....