The Final Reckoning

Well, it's all over now. I'm back in NZ trying to adjust back to normality (whatever that's supposed to be) and shake off the melancholy that always seems to follow these big trips away. I say 'always', I've only done this twice, but I can sense a pattern forming...

It was a funny last week. I connected with a new friend in a way I hadn't expected and then, just as things were getting interesting, I had to leave. As it happens, she was due to be leaving Canada too about a week later, for a 6 month job in Tanzania, so we were always going to be up against it, but I will be watching with even more interest than any of you to see what developments may occur.

All this meant was that I had one more reason to be reluctant about leaving, to add to the plethora of others I had been gathering up over the previous 4 months or so. I suspect I will be returning to Canada sooner rather than later, if I can wrangle something through work. Watch this space.

In the meantime, I guess I should record some facts and figures, for my own sake if you're not that interested, in an attempt to freak me out. I have already guessed that I could have saved a small fortune had I flown about the place and rented cars for less time in different places, but we live and learn.

So, what do you want to know - or rather, what do I want to remember?? Let's try this:

Time in Canada	104 days
Time on the road	69 days
Total distance covered, inc local trips	21, 672 km (13466.4 miles)
Distance covered on long haul (approx)	20, 672 km (12845 miles)
Furthest east travelled	Tofino on Vancouver Island
Furthest west travelled	Cape Spear, Newfoundland
Furthest north travelled	Edmonton and the road between there and Jasper
Furthest south travelled	Chicago and then a bit further round the bottom of Lake Michigan
Rental cost for 3 mths, 3 wks, 2 days	About $6500
Number of fuel stops	37
Cost of fuel	$2573
Number of punctures	1 – a giant bolt in the tyre!
Number of breakdowns	0 – but I did have to stop to let the brakes cool down one time
Dents added to the car	0
Different places stayed	54
Times camped out	18 – 10 in the car, 6 canoeing, 2 on a ferry
Hitchhikers picked up	6
Hitchhikers murdered and dumped in the bushes	0
Longest day behind the wheel	13 hours
Largest distance covered in a day (approx)	700 miles (1126.5 km)
Number of moose seen	3
Bears	About a dozen, including 1 grizzly.
Beavers	0
Lynx	1
Buffalo	Hundreds!
New friends made	Lots
Old friends reunited	Even more
Hospitality debts collected	All of them, with unasked-for interest
Hospitality debts now owed	Far too many. I will pay you all back.

And that's about it. If I think of any more interesting stats I will add them in, but I reckon that ought to do it for now (I just thought of another: number of speeding tickets: 0 - and that's despite blatantly disregarding most of the speed limits in north America. Yup, I'm a right rebelly one, me).

Up coming attractions for future entries could include a return to Canada, South America or even Africa, so watch this space. Thanks once again for your company. I feel like its not been quite as exciting for everyone concerned as the South American version, but I hope it brightened your day now and again. If you feel the urge to continue travelling, you could do worse than check out my brother's blog (see the link on my page) Riding in the Tracks of Giants. He is now heading south through the US of A, aiming for Central America. Lucky bugger. Hasta luego, amigos.