The Great Southern Man is no myth..........

[Billy T]

We've just met one!

Mrs T and I have just returned from the deep South (we went all the way to Slope Point, which is the southernmost point on the South Island) but our base was at Kaka Point south of Balclutha. While there, late one afternoon we drove down to Nugget Point to see the lighthouse etc but the weather turned bad with cold rain starting as we arrived, so we headed back around 4:30pm. Cellphone coverage at Kaka Point was very patchy, so Mrs T was monitoring the signal as I drove and when she found a hot-spot we pulled over to make a scheduled call to our daughter in Oz. The road was narrow as and it was getting dark, so I left the lights on, but 10 minutes later, when I tried to start the car, the battery was too low and wouldn't even pull in the starter solenoid.

So, there we were on an isolated road that lead to nowhere but a lighthouse and bugger-all else, battery flat, it is rapidly getting dark, transmission stuck in Park and I was starting to have visions of being there for hours while a tow truck & trailer drove out from Balcutha, but after about 15 minutes a FWD came along with two guys in it. They stopped, poked around under the bonnet for a while and after much thought they decided that the battery was flat, but they had no jumper leads and the local farmhouse was deserted!

A short while later a somewhat larger FWD came along and in the southern tradition, pulled over without being asked. Out jumped a real ‘Southern man’ in regulation hat, swanni, shorts and work boots. He pulled out a gigantic tool kit, dumped it on the road, kicked the lid open (literally, two kicks, one each end) then pulled out the biggest set of jumper leads I’ve ever seen, hooked them up, the car started, then he threw the leads back into the tool kit, kicked it shut, tossed it into the back of his ute and away he went, and I swear he never said a single word during the whole exercise.

It would have made a great commercial for something, but definitely not rental car batteries.

The things that happen when you don't have a movie camera with you!

Cheers

Billy 8-{)

[Trev]

[wratterus]

Nice.

[beetle]

Wow..................... we should clone him....

[Richard]

Was it SP8s???

[Marnie]

Salt of the earth.
Billy, those jumbo jets you may have seen are actually mosquitos!!

[Billy T]

Salt of the earth.

Billy, those jumbo jets you may have seen are actually mosquitos!!

I reckon, and I saw one with landing lights as well!

Those Southern Mossies mean business.............and when they've finished drinking, the buggers walk home in packs too,
so it's wise to keep your ankles covered in case they get thirsty again!

Cheers

Billy 8-{)

[Myth]

I remember when I was a kid going across to Milford Sound (yes I was raised in Southland but sadly am a blight to the true Southern man ).
Anyway, the sand-flies over there are huge; and they had an appetite to match

[Arnie]

Hi Billy I am now in Nelson but I have Rele's all over the Catlins. Spent many holidays there, an awesome place to tour. They do have some fine days, but the locals are fantastic as you found out, most of mine are around Owaka, but my only living Aunt lives on the banks of the Clutha river close to the mouth. Fantastic White Bait.