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"Gidday", from down in New Zealand.
I am Lyndon and I have lived for almost all of my 30-something years in a town called Masterton,
which is approximately 100 kilometres (60 miles) north-east of our capital city, Wellington.
Unlike a lot of the other contributors, I am not a well-known artist, photographer or web site
designer, etc. I am just a VW owner with too much time on his hands and a growing collection of
VW memorabilia. My very first car that I bought, back in 1987, was a fibreglass beach buggy,
built with a Beetle chassis and running gear, including a 1600 engine. It was great fun and I
learnt quite a lot about cars in the three months that I owned it. Unfortunately, I crashed it
and the insurance company decided that it wasn't worth fixing.
After that, it seemed like a good idea to drive something BIG and SOLID, so I moved away from
VWs and have owned Australian vehicles since. Until January 1999, that is. I was bored with
the car I had, after driving it for about nine years (it had 398 000 kms on it when I sold it!!),
so starting looking for something else.
I decided early on that whatever I got, it had to have character. I also wanted something big.
Almost straight away, it came to me. Kombi! So, I started looking, and a couple of weeks later
I had one. It is a 1981 Brazilian PanelWagen, with a single port 1600 and license plates that
read "NOHURY". Since buying it (her?), we have travelled together over almost all of New Zealand.
In January this year we even drove up Baldwin Street in Dunedin. Baldwin Street is listed by
'Guinness Book of Records' as the steepest street in the world.
I work as a First Aid Instructor for New Zealand Red Cross and, like my lovely (& understanding)
wife, Vicki, I am a volunteer Ambulance Officer. Besides those, I spend most of my time camping,
photographing, hiking and web surfing. I am also a committee member for the Kombined VW Club
(check our site at;
www.homepages.paradise.net.nz/sbonsey/vwclub) and have just become a 'virtual' member of
the Rusty Bay Owners Club. (They can be found at
www.rustybay.co.uk ).
With the VW runs I have attended and the general travelling that I do, I have decided that
there are two types of VW owners in the world. The first type is what everyone at this
(and other) site is. They own VWs because they feel the passion and the bond between themselves
and their vehicles. They mostly have a good sense of humour and are very down to earth and
friendly, no matter what they do and where they come from. You see these people all the time
on the roads. They are the ones who beep their horns and flash their lights at you, while
waving, even though you are a complete stranger.
Then there is the other type of VW owner. These people seem to drive VWs reluctantly and
without choice. They don't acknowledge the waves or the flashing of lights. It is up to the
rest of us to enlighten these people and help them to become believers.
I think people like Alexander are helping us to achieve this every day. After all, Volkswagen
isn't just a motor vehicle; it's a lifestyle and a culture.
Spread the faith.
Lyndon.
Meet the Family: Lyndon, Vicky, Max the Dog and "NOHURY".
[Sent by Lyndon Hookham on 07NOV2000]
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