MISERABLE WEEK-END.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 80, 15 January 1940, Page 4

MISERABLE WEEK-END.

CAMPING IN THE RAIN. LONG SERIES OF TRIALS, Darkness, and the wind and the rain combined to £iake the lives oi a camping party of five Ashburton people at the mouth of the Ashburton River thoroughly miserable over the weekend, and after a series of misadventures they gave in to the elements and scurried home last evening, wet, weary and wrathful. Two tents were pitched on the top of one of the terraces and though the rain was heavy it was hoped by the occupants of the camp that it would clear off soon., (Their hopes were doomed for the rain came down heavier than ever and the wind sprang up, and the ground got softer and softer and the tent pegs looser and looser till in the evening of the first day, the pegs came adrift and the two men in the party braved flip weather to effect repairs. In the darkness and the wind some of the pegs were lost and while one man held the ropes of the wildly flapping canvas the other hunted around, for new pegs. Dressed only in pyjamas, the men soon felt the effects of the cold wind but they had to go on with their job, though lots of their gear became very wet before comparative peace was restored.

The wetting of clothing and items of equipment did not make for perfect camping, apart from the dismal outlook, but the party seems to have enjoyed itself in a reasonable degree till Sunday afternoon, when the* men decided to go for water for the tea of a final meal.

They went to their car but its engine refused to function, and it was not till the men had been delving into its vitals for about two and a-half hours that the engine came to life. In the heavy rain, lashed by the winds, which persistently blew the bonnet down on the necks of the men as they dived in after sparking plugs and wires terminals, the men found time to laugh at the spectacle they presented. At last they got| going and obtained the water, but on the wav back the 1 car jibbed at the slippery climb and chains had to he fitted. Starting again, the car went a few yards and then the chains dug deeply into the ground and the wheels bqgan to sink. After much trouble the vehicle was released from its self-made grave and the camp was reached. Perhaps the vehicle had at last taken notice of tho talking to it received !

The meal was in progress when tho tent blew down once more and that ended the week-end for the party, except, of course, for the run home, which was not much of a thrill because everything and everybody was wet, hut it was not long before they were all happily seated before the fire.