No Fuel

This was our first day of traveling. We got off to an early start. Up at 4:30, showered, packed and headed for 6:00 a.m. breakfast. We were on the road by 6:30 as planned. The first hour of driving found us traveling through farm country not to dissimilar to Saskatchewan. A mixture of grain fields and ranching land was common. The second hour found us in an area that reminded me of the farmlands we would pass through from Fort McLeod to Waterton Park. The third hour we entered a much dryer area that much reminded me of parts of the Okanagan Valley. During the fourth hour of traveling all hell broke loose. We had just reached the summit of a hill when the driver (Theo) pulled over, stopped, and the engine was not running. A report came over the intercom from our guide (Janet) “due to a fuel gauge malfunction, we have run out of fuel”. Wow, here we are in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere, and we are out of fuel. We got off the truck and Theo headed off down the highway with a fuel canister to get fuel at the next town. Shortly after he headed off a small truck stopped and picked him up. About 45 minutes later he arrived back with some fuel. The fuel was poured into the tank and an attempt to start the vehicle was made to no avail. Theo suggested that pushing the vehicle to a point where it would start rolling down the hill might facilitate a start. What a sight - here we are, all 20 of us, pushing this great big bus. Once again to no avail. A few of us, being familiar with diesel engines, suggested that perhaps there was air in the fuel filter and lines leading to the injector pump. Fortunately, the engine was equipped with a manual fuel pump which allowed us to clear the air from the fuel lines and after a couple of attempts the engine started and we were once again on our way.

We arrived at our destination (Orange River) about 4:00 p.m. and set up camp. It wasn’t long afterward that our spaghetti and meat sauce was ready. We all sat around and sipped on wine and beer and had a great time.

What a wonderful time I am having. I got a little tipsy from the wine which kind of loosened me up and some of the members got a great kick out of me with the stories I told about some of our experiences fishing up north and camping trips we have done over the years.

A few of the members are going canoeing on the river tomorrow, but I have decided to stay at the camp and rearrange my backpack to make things easier and more efficient.

Most go. They are calling me over for a beer before retiring for the night.