2015/01/10) …about 8:30am …THE day started like as usual, open your eyes, crawling out of the tent, searching your stuff for making breakfast or more important the first coffee. Coffee, the most important mission after getting up. The both german girls and my travel partner was already awake and made coffee for us. But i missed something…my burner cup. I forgot them at the place, where we sat together, drunk lots of beer and wine, listen to music and had fun. I walked, still sleepy, to the buddies with their trailer-tent where we had fun last night and got about 2-3m to their tent.
WHAT WAS THAT?? Their Pitbull dog came out of their tent, ran around the corner, didn’t stopped, didn’t growl, didn’t barked and jumped into my direction. That happened so fast that i only could face my elbow between my face and the up flying mouth of the Pitbull dog. I was totally shocked, adrenaline was pumped through my body. What happened? It felt like a soft bite from a dog when he tries to play and just softly bites you without any injuries. Luckily the dog released immediately and i checked my arm. I have never saw a wound big and bloody like this. Blood was pumping out of the arm an i thought that this fucking dog hit some of my veins. While fleeing away from the dog i stumbled and crawled more out of his distance, because he was on a very long leash.
Stumbling back to the car and cursing like i never did before, the other asked what happened because they haven’t seen that. My traveler gave first aid and gave me some dressings and pads to cover the wound. The owner and the friends of the dog came buy and was “surprised” what happened. “The dog never bitten someone before” they said. They where not really helpful, even asking them (because they where locals) where the next hospital was, they didn’t know. Sadly there was no phone signal to call the emergency. We let everything behind us, didn’t packed or locked our tent and i told my travel partner that she has to drive me to the next Hospital which seemed to be in Kaitaia. It was now very difficult for me to stay awake and talk to her, i was just before passing out. My mind was totally awake, i didn’t felt any pain, my t-shirt and pads was covered in blood but my eyes couldn’t track anymore and everything faded out to grey.
At this point i was so happy, that i wasn’t traveling alone and picked up someone. My luck, she is a nurse in Germany and knows how to handle with such situations. She kept talking to me and gave some stupid orders, that i should tell her the way to the hospital based on the GPS on my phone (of course it was easy, there was only one road to Kaitaia) which helped me not to think about the wound. Arrived at the hospital and told the short story while holding my blood covered right hand it was more ironic that the lady at the desk told me that i should fill out this form first. HOW!?!?! That was my arm i’m used to write. Is this the way that every emergency is handled? Again i was lucky that i was traveling with her and she did all that forms for me. It take about an hour before the doc came they inspected the wound. An hour before somebody really checks what happened? Weird!!
They cut some skin and fat out, stitched it and i got a dressing and a bandage. At all they where really friendly and even same shocked as me what and where it happened. Next stop was at a pharmacy to get my antibiotics and some more dressings to cover it the next days. After a short lunch, i was so hungry, she drove back to the campground, the so great looking campground, free DOC campground and therefore without any registration of the campers. Before we left she talked to the both other German girls and they told her that they will stay until we came back. Now we are back, our stuff lay around as we have left. The two girls, our witnesses where gone! Why? WHY? Oh wait, even the locals with the dog are gone!!!!!!! GONE!!!!!!! THANKS!!!
She was more upset then i was, i stayed more calm and tried to make the “best” out of it. We packed everything into the car and i booked a cabin and a real bed for the night at the Shipwreck Beach. Arrived, i was so happy to lay down and i really wished a ice cold beer. A backpacker who worked there and saw my arm, heard the story supplied me my first and of course ice cold Steinlager without asking him for one. Even on this campground, an official one, a Pitbull dog not on a leash and i was really sacred. He understood my situation on took him on a leash during the whole stay. Finally i was happy to have a night in a good bed and tried to fell a sleep, which wasn’t that easy with an arm that hurts with every little movement…