Calvino Travels

Near Murchison You are a traveller. You are sat on the middle seat of a tow-truck racing down the narrow roads leading to Murchison, New Zealand. The tow-truck driver is silent. She seems annoyed that you have decided to break down on a Saturday, of all days. Your travel companions are beside you, wincing as you narrowly approach each cliff face before turning sharply. The bearded one is eating peanuts. The curly haired one is silently shaming him. The driver drops you off just outside Riverside Holiday Park next to a local graveyard. A few mourners are walking slowly among the graves. They look at you with disdain as the mechanic noisily lowers your vehicle from the truck. She attempts to start the van, creating still more noise, and after a lot of revving the car idles heavily beside the graveyard. You park up the van inside the park. At Riverside Holiday Park Murchison will be your home for the next three nights while you wait for the van to not be fixed. Murchiso...

The resulting damage of the Alpine Gardens Landslide You are a traveller. You are stranded on the side of the road on State Highway 6 somewhere in New Zealand's Southern Alps. Your companions are debating whether to leave your broken-down van and walk. The bearded one decides to run up the road to try and find some phone signal. The curly-haired one stays with the van, relaxing in a fold out chair, munching on a packet of Oreos. As the bearded one walks into the distance a pickup truck pulls in. You are saved. The bearded one runs back and puts on his best burly-man voice, addressing the mechanic. "Thought it might be the coolant, so I chucked some water in there," he squeaks, puffing out his chest. He has no idea what he's talking about. The mechanic is silent. He clearly thinks you are all idiots and you've got yourselves into this situation, but he agrees to tow you back to the shop anyway. The view from State Highway 6 The mechanic takes you ...