Last Night on the North Island

January 31

Waking up at the base of a mountain was a great feeling, and the fact that we were in a comfortable lodge was even better. I slept much more soundly on the mattress than I had on the ground two nights ago. I think I will try to get a sleeping pad the next time we stop by a camping store. We had an excellent breakfast of oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar, as well as half a beer-boiled sausage each (from last night).

I drove for the first time today. While it was different to drive on the left, I've been watching the road go by on that side for three days now so it's starting to seem normal. And with the steering wheel still on the inside of the road I start to feel at home pretty quickly. What's really hard to get used to is the minor driving laws. For example: if you're turning left onto a side road you have to yield to anyone in the other lane turning right. We've been in the right-turn side of this exchange a few times and seen some confused looks on other drivers' faces as both cars waited for the other to turn.

One of the parts of New Zealand driving that really had me worried before I left is actually quite enjoyable now that I'm here: roundabouts, rare and confusing in the States, are ubiquitous here (actually, do the exist at all in the US? Maybe I've only seen them in Canada). They make intersections much easier to deal with since you only need to glance to your right to check for traffic. It's usually very easy to continue straight on a road (you don't actually drive a full semi-circle) and there are no stop signs, only yields.

Finally, we're starting to figure out some of the road markings. Upside-down triangle = yield (or “give way”, as they call it), diamond = pedestrian crossing, system for choosing the style of line to separate lanes of opposing traffic = well... we still have no idea.

We took highway (road? Route?) 3 to 1 to reach Wellington. On the way, we had lunch at “66 on 1”, an American diner that we thoroughly enjoyed. In true US-of-A tradition, we had burgers (mine was the “Harley burger”) and fries. When we reached the ocean (how cool is it that the end of our drive is always marked by the ocean?) we stopped at a small section of beach to take in the sight. A very faded sign warned us that the almost empty little lot we parked in was for residents only and that a security camera would be watching. With all the “beware camera” signs we've seen I'm starting to wonder what fraction of them are actually true. The beach was pretty and the strong wind that Wellington is known for created some cool effects on the water. We decided to head back to the car about when said wind knocked Wes off the rock he was standing on and into the water.

After we dropped our stuff off at Base Wellington, we walked around the city to see what we could see. We found out that on a Sunday evening that really isn't much. Store after store was closed and most of the ATMs we found were frozen. We found what could have been a very cool water-jet-based sculpture, but it wasn't much to look at when it was off. We did at least get to see the city, though, and as usual the very hilly landscape made it very interesting. There was a fun little residential section cascading down one of the hillsides that we only stumbled upon by chance—following the road you would never know it was there.

We ate dinner at a Malaysian restaurant and Ian and I were chastised by Zach for getting American food: chop suey. I still can't say for sure what defined the dish as chop suey—it was an assortment of meats, seafood, rice, and cabbage all smothered in the house gravy. We all enjoyed our meals and I payed the bill at the end to try to catch up on my share of payments for the group. Ian was pretty sure we didn't need to leave a tip, so we didn't, but I wished that I had double-checked that detail of New Zealand culture before I was stuck in a restaurant facing the decision.

We paid for internet back at Base Wellington—our first time being online since we left LA. I was happy to hear from friends and family as well as get the first part of this blog uploaded. It will continue to be updated in spurts until we're settled back in Auckland on February 18.

We're catching the ferry to the South Island tomorrow so stay tuned and get excited!