Derf's demise

I guess things were going too smoothly. We were having a nice day out driving to Glenorchy when a snow storm suddenly hit us with a vengeance. Since we were over half way out of Queenstown we figured it'd be best to try to make it on to our destination rather than turning around. The roads looked a little white but I'd figured that snow chains weren't needed yet. Oh the benefit of hindsight.

Coming down a slope our trusty Corolla lost traction and the brakes locked up. I did all I could and managed to turn the car away from the side wall but still ended up smacking into a road sign and the guard rails. We were pretty shaken even though it was really a rather slow crash. Thankfully someone came along the road in a four wheel drive and escorted us to Glenorchy. The frustrating thing was we were just 2 minutes out of town.



Sad to say we had to say goodbye to Derf at Glenorchy. We certainly weren't game to try getting back on our own and all the locals didn't recommend trying the roads without a four wheel drive, snow chains and nerves of steel. After calling around insurance companies and rental agencies we caught a lift back into Queenstown with some nice staff from Dart River Safari.

The weather report suggests that the snow is going to continue for the next three days at least. Assuming things lift we'll probably get a coach to Dunedin and then on to Christchurch. Right now all the roads are closed out of Queenstown until the snow plows come out.

It's a horrible feeling, especially when we were having such a good time. Looks like tomorrow's going to involve talking to the police and rental car people rather than seeing the local sights but at least we're alive and well. There were apparently over 50 accidents in the area due to the storm including the death of one girl when her van drove off into lake Wanaka. Could be a lot worse.