The notebook, entitled Diary of Experiences and Training 1999, reveals the author's love of jogging, football and foreign women. Photo / Greg Bowker
The notebook, entitled Diary of Experiences and Training 1999, reveals the author's love of jogging, football and foreign women. Photo / Greg Bowker
• Dog-eared diary of romantic adventures in NZ in 1999 • Found in the back of a campervan by tourists • Author didn't leave his name but had love of footy and foreign girls • Man mentioned in the diary contacts Herald with info
There has been a breakthrough in the search for the mystery author of a dog-eared diary that was found in a campervan in Queenstown and has excited media around the world.
The diary, titled Diary of Experiences and Training 1999, detailed a British traveller's journey around New Zealand, Thailand and Nepal but revealed little of its author, beyond his birthday, his love of football, fitness and foreign girls.
The well-worn Warwick 1B4 exercise book, complete with its fair share of stains and watermarks was handed to the Herald in an attempt to try and track down the author.
To add to the mystery, the author finished off the year in his diary somewhere in northern England - leaving no explanation as to how it may have ended up back in New Zealand.
Since the Herald published the original report, the story has gone global with media in the UK joining the hunt. And now there has been a breakthrough.
Jimmy Johnson, a hut warden from Norwich mentioned in the diary, contacted the Herald and offered some leads as to how the diary author could be tracked down.
Mr Johnson had spent the evening of March 10, with the author and a few other travellers on Mt Ngauruhoe.
While he said he doesn't remember the man, he's given a few leads as to how the diary author could be tracked down. "I'm afraid one night in 1999, would not stand out over any of the probably thousands of other nights," he said. "I have met thousands of visitors to the Tongariro Northern Circuit and unfortunately cannot remember that person."
The book was falling apart and heavily stained.
He said the place they had spent the night in and would have been part of the Tongariro Northern Circuit.
Mr Johnson added the Department of Conservation national office held all hut books from the circuit in its archives and that these were available to the public.
"It would narrow the person down by looking at book entries from the 10th and 12th and presumably another hut in between on the 11th. The four hut books for those dates in 1999 you would need to look at would be Ketetahi, Mangatepopo, Oturere and Waihohonu."
The author's handwriting is hard to decipher. Photo / Greg Bowker
The diary was found by Romain Toulouzet and his partner Claire while they were travelling around New Zealand in the campervan.
"It was between the fridge and the chair...We opened it, but we didn't read it."
Instead Mr Toulouzet handed the diary over to staff at Mighty Cars and Campers. The staff, intrigued with the mystery man, hoped going public with the find would help reunite the diary with its owner.
Communications Coordinator for Tourism Holdings Limited, the parent company of Mighty Cars and Campers, Olivia Bellini, said the man appeared to have a great time travelling around New Zealand.
"We'd love to return the journal to its owner and find out more about his travels around New Zealand as I am sure he'll have a lot of great stories to share."
Romantic side
The author, believed to be a Manchester United fan, was away from home for a total of 22 ½ months, celebrating his birthday on April 12.
The diary, recounts the man's regular exercise regime, along with little tidbits of his travels throughout the first half of 1999. It begins with a brief recount of a mountain bike trail in Nelson on January 31, 1999 and continues with short descriptions of his time travelling around the country to places, like Nelson, Kaikoura, the West Coast, Southland, Rotorua and the Coromandel Peninsula.
The mystery man recounted stories of his hiking adventures, wildlife encounters, swimming with the dolphins and meetings with travellers and locals.
His diary also exposed his romantic side, with descriptions of a "beautiful" Brazilian girl, a Hungarian girl who he described as "beautiful with high cheek bones" and a girl from Seattle that he spent the night with. Here's an extract on his night of passion:
7/3. Bus into Christchurch. 5 1/4m run (Hagley Park). Spend eve with Kim from Seattle. Lovely girl. One thing led to another and ended up going to bed with her. Stayed at her B&B. 8/3. Unfortunately had 7am bus to catch from my backpacker several km's away so left warm bed and woman shortly after 5. Jogged along dark streets and made bus.
The writer eventually left New Zealand on March 24 for Bangkok, before getting on an overnight bus to Chiang Mai. He spent the next few days in Thailand before flying to Kathmandu on April 5.
He spent the next month trekking around the area, celebrating his birthday in the Nepalese mountains, before ending his adventure celebrating a Manchester United win back in Kathmandu. "Found out United through to the final of European cup - piss up with the lads in the pm, dancing etc."
The football fan then flew back home to Manchester, via Bangkok and London on the first of May, where he was greeted by "Mum, Daniel, Edward, Sarah and Nick".
Not long after that he commented he was having a tough time getting back to "normality" - the last diary entrance to make reference to his personal life.
The remainder of the mystery writer's diary continued to detail his fitness excursions up until it ended on December 31, 1999.
His final diary entries indicated he was likely living somewhere in northern England at the time of the last diary entry.
The hunt for the mystery diary writer hit a road block, when it was hoped records at the Department of Conservation would reveal a clue as to the man's identity.
A DoC spokesman has checked the office at the Whakapapa Village, which holds hut log books from the Tongariro National Circuit where the mystery man spent some time in early 1999.
However, the oldest hut log book the office has only goes back as far as 2008.
Jan 31: First diary entry: am weights leg + torso pm 35 min cycle (MTB) Brookvall + Tantragee Saddle. Feb 1: Nelson to Kaikoura Feb 6: Ascent of Avalanche Peak Feb 8: Franz Josef Glacier tour Feb 19: Stayed in Aspiring hut with a Brazilian girl, Israelian girl, Paul and Luciano. Feb 26: Drove Peggy down to Te Anau Mar 1: Kayaked in Milford Sounds with someone called George - from Kentucky. Mar 7: Spent evening in a Christchurch Bed and Breakfast with a girl from Seattle. Mar 10: Met John from Hebden on Mt Ngauruhoe and spent the evening with him and Jimmy Johnson (warden from Norwich), Erica and her sister Hungary, Chris from Seattle and Lorenzo from California. Mar 12: Conversed with Sam (warden) and Mark and Declan from Auckland. Mar 14 - 16: Met up with Sally and drove to Rotorua, followed by a trip to the Coromandel's Cathedral Cove. Mar 24: New Zealand-Bangkok. April 5: Bangkok - Kathmandu. April 7: Kathmandu to Lukla April 12: Celebrated birthday on a hike with a Kiwi man called Mark. April 26: End of trekking adventure spent celebrating a United Manchester win. May 1: Kathmandu-Bangkok-London. Train up to Manchester. Greeted by Mum, Daniel, Edward, Sarah and Nick. Jun 13: The start of a return to normality Dec 31: Diary ends.
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