Sweet as! (as the Kiwi's like to say)

Auckland, NZ. We made the most of our short time (1 day) in the city. They have a cool CBD (central business district, this was the first time I’d heard of this abbreviation), a cool harbor and waterfront. We ate dinner at Tanuki’s Cave for Yakitori tapas.  The name suited the place well because you went down a narrow flight of stairs below a building to get to it, but it was a little hidden gem. We decided to get a real Kiwi experience though and rented a car to get out of the city for the weekend.

Left is right. This was our first experience driving on the left side of the road. It definitely took some mental concentration to reverse everything you know about driving. Everything in the car and on the roads is the opposite. I drove first and Melissa laughed every time I went to turn on the turn signal, but instead would turn on the windshield wipers.  The turn signal is now on my right and the windshield wiper controls on my left. Eventually we pulled into a parking lot to switch driving places for a while. As we exited the parking lot, I waited with sweet anticipation as Melissa made that first turn and hit the windshield wipers as well.  Ha ha ha… we laughed the whole time we were driving.

Dean and Gina. This is the hip and handsome couple who invited us to their rad house in the Hawkes Bay area. It is a picturesque area of coastline, farmland, wineries and green rolling hills dotted with sheep and cattle. We loved spending time with them and their three children, Ocean, Jesse and Tayler. The whole family is incredibly talented in different ways and they all have perfect hair!  

They spoiled us with fabulous tunes, fresh eggs from their hens for breakfast     and introduced us to Melissa’s 

new favorite fruit, feijoas. We also spent the day at a few of their local wineries and a cider house. We had a great time with them and hope to see them again on our travels or in SD!

    

Rotorua. Some like it hot and we’re part of that crowd. Rotorua is known for its geothermal activity and hot springs. The whole town has a sulfur smell, but it’s well worth the visit. We took time to relax in some of the hot mineral springs and watched Lady Knox, a local geyser explode 50 feet into the air.  It was the perfect ending to our last day and then we were headed back up to Auckland for the airport.  Well, almost perfect.

Officer Number RLJ779. He patrols the roads enforcing the local laws and things like speed limits. I’ve gone my whole life without getting a speeding ticket until NZ. I got my first one going 121 kph in a 100 zone (75 mph in a 62 mph).  I was informed there was a zero tolerance for speeding.  Ah, first time for everything.  Melissa was pretty happy this happened to me and not her.  She is the speedster and says I would not have let her hear the end of it.  True.

// Written from Melbourne, Australia