The best kind of accident

I had an accident last night.. a rain storm came up suddenly and wind knocked a large branch out of a tree on top of my car. Luckily the branch landed mostly horizontally, severely bowing the roof and bonnet - so the worst of it was a shower of glass. Completely unhurt, except for a hundred little red spots on my arms and knees :)

The car is no good, and I declined the insurance so my excess is large. Anyone who knows me, will know that I am simply happy to be alive. Money comes and goes.

The true heroes of this tale are the many locals who stopped to offer help, and one incredible local farmer who stayed with me until the police arrived.. calming me down, keeping me dry and doing all the things I would have done if I hadn't fallen to pieces; cleaning the branch off the highway and pulling the car completely off the road.

Then the police officer himself, granted he is probably used to seeing this sort of thing, was fabulous. He loaded all my luggage and drove me all the way back to Waitomo Caves village! Not to mention, he turned out to be a really charming guy.

Thank you to the locals of Waitomo and Te Kuiti.