Page 20 - Mistified Update June 2020_Neat

It was late afternoon and it was pouring rain when I
pulled into a small roadside restaurant. As I looked at
my map, I noticed a Maori man, with tattooed scrolls on
the lower portion of his face and lip, seated at the other
side of the restaurant. I cringed; he looked very scary to
me at the time.
I ordered some coffee and in desperation asked the
waitress if she knew where Havenlee youth hostel was.

Much to my surprise she was rather rude and
abruptly said, she never heard of it, as she strolled over
to engage in conversation with the tattooed faced man.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I just felt
very uncomfortable and glad to get back in my car and
on my way.

It was still raining, and the visibility was almost
zero. Then a miracle, I spotted an old worn sign on a
tree with some letters missing … “H VEN EE”

I’m now thinking “Voila” maybe my luck had just
changed, as I turned onto a narrow gravel road which
took me over a very rickety looking one lane bridge
above a raging river and onto a dirt road.

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