Latest issue

by Jeff Hylton

He died before the ambulance could get to the address in Kelvin Heights. They arrived 47 mins too late.

She missed her flight even though her driver left Arrowtown an hour earlier than necessary. Lucky for insurance, but the holiday was ruined.

He was told that if he continued to be late for work, they would be looking for someone more reliable. Why didn’t he get up earlier? He was already leaving home in Shotover Country two hours before he started.

The concrete truck driver spent the next day hammering out the concrete bowl as the rapid set concrete had gone solid in the truck bowl. This was not the first time, and the next pour was going to have to be at midnight to avoid this problem. The neighbours were not going to be happy with the disruption.

Sadly, three people died and five were hospitalised with smoke inhalation, when their house and income apartment on Queenstown Hill caught fire. The fire men were gutted they couldn’t get there sooner even though they drove across lawns to get past the stationery traffic.

The taxi driver was good enough to turn off his meter as it hit $240 to get from the airport to Fernhill. The passengers walked from town in the end.

Kind motorists helped push her vehicle to the side of the road on Hawthorne Drive as she ran out of power and fuel in the tailback. She couldn’t get back to it until midnight.

The school bus let all the kids out for a collective walk to school on Frankton Road as the bus was stuck in traffic.

The five-hour drive to Christchurch turned into eight as leaving the waterfront of Queenstown to Cromwell took three hours.

The golfers on their bucket list golf trip consistently missed the tee off time with no idea they would have to plan so many hours ahead.

Pick up times for the Milford trips have been changed from 7.30am to 3am to be able to arrive at the boat on time.

The family from Brisbane who have been saving for two years to get to Queenstown left yesterday in tears after spending less than a few hours on the snow. They won’t be back. They said they spent nearly the entire trip in traffic and then were turned away at the base of the hill because the carparks were full. The bus alternative was even worse as they were stuck on the bus. The kids wet their pants and don’t want to come again.

Sound impossible? This is the future if one more subdivision is started, let alone the places already under way.

Now add double the tourists. We know how they love to drive and some of them are really good drivers. Not.