Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty

In the morning I want to swap my car for a smaller one. Pete had rung A2B. Result: I have to hand this one in, there’s no new one. Half an hour’s hassle, then I drive on with the old one. It’s off to Mount Maunganui. A New Zealander on Nananu-i-Ra had put me in touch with a contact for cheap kites.

Cruising together is on the radio. Dead animals lie on the road. Tequila’s vibrations are getting worse. The first thing I do in Mount Maunganui is look for a hostel where I can use my laptop. It only takes three hours and seven hostels. Not even the tourist information centre can help. An hour’s internet costs a whopping €8. I can’t work here. I want to earn something too.

New Zealand is making me very angry right now. Sealed lan cables, walled-in computers. No open wifi anywhere. Searched for two hours. Cut off from the net. Fish without water.

I ended up buying an hour for €8 in my hostel. Nobody told me that I would be charged in full if I logged out after five minutes. Today I spent just under €150. No unnecessary jokes, just travelling alone.

I try to contact Glenn, the kite salesman. I bought a phone card for €20. To use it, I need – no joke – another NZ Telekom phone card. A minute later I’m out €3 and end up on an answering machine. No kite today. New Zealand is costing me. My last nerve.

I look at the veins on my arms. They are protruding alarmingly. I’m on full steam, on the verge of beating someone to death or reenacting Falling Down. I have to do something.

Mount Maunganui would be so beautiful. Even the wind is blowing. Summer starts early here. Old seaside resort. Active volcanoes off the coast, swimming with dolphins. Drunken kids driving tuned pick-up trucks and vintage cars on the streets. Bay of plenty makes your wallet empty.

The Mount Maunganui peninsula ends in a small volcano. I run the 300 metres to the top. Once I get there, I’m wet and still on 180. The sun is setting, but I don’t have an eye for anything beautiful today. It’s all coming so thick that it must be a task. It can’t be any other way.