Hello, New Zealand (from Jan. 10)

A pretty uneventful day. The bus ride, airport wait, and flight all went smoothly. On arrival it took us a while to get our car and find our hotel. We checked in about 6 PM, then went out to pick up some grub. This evening we will do some more detailed planning for tomorrow.

Still no good Internet options. We have all this info typed and all these pictures to post, but we have not yet found a way to do it. We can get on the Internet, but we have not yet found a way to paste what we have onto the blog. We don’t want to start over, and we want to post some pictures, so we will keep searching for the right service.

Driving on the left hand side is quite a challenge. I am used to driving with confidence and without having to think too much. Suddenly, I am a beginner again. I have to be tentative and think my way through everything. It is quite an eye opener. My co-pilot’s gasps of alarm help to keep me on my toes. I keep reaching for the shifter with my right hand and grasping at air; I keep turning on the windshield wipers when I want to signal a turn; I keep drifting to the left because I feel too close to the centre line; I get disoriented looking to the left to find my rear view mirror; I always want to check to my left first at intersections, when the immediate traffic is actually coming from the right; and I can’t get comfortable with where my left front fender is when pulling into a parking space or around an obstacle. Other than that, there’s nothing to it!