A Trip Across the (Date) Line...

Auckland, New Zealand

April 23, 2007

S 36.51.035
E 174.46.074

We lost a day on our journey to New Zealand by crossing the International Date Line--that helps the budget! Our plane touched down a little after 5:00 AM local time on April 23rd after departing at 9:00 PM PDT on April 21st.

The plane was fairly empty allowing us to share the empty seat between us. We tossed books, newspapers and other stuff on the ground below our feet on the spare seat; this allowed us to stretch out a little more and actually get some real sleep. Still… needless to say, we were pretty groggy when we got off the plane due to the 3 AM wake-up and stumbled through the airport terminal.

We decided to rent a car in New Zealand since everything is spread out and public transit really isn’t an alternative for visiting some of the more remote areas. Plus, since Shelby and Dustin are joining us tomorrow we can all ride in the same rig and really explore New Zealand together… ROAD TRIP! We’ve never rented a car outside of the US and Canada and have never driven on the opposite side of the road—this would be a first.

Marc decided he wanted to drive and I would navigate. Those who know me also know I am not a very good passenger. I inherited some very nervous passenger traits from my mother and tend to panic at inappropriate times. I usually control my fears by not looking at the road—either reading or enjoying the scenery, but since I was the navigator I had to pay attention!

It was still dark when we pulled out of the parking lot airport, Marc hit the blinker to indicate the left turn, but instead the windshield wipers went on; the wiper’s control is where us Americans think the blinkers “should” be. He quickly realized the blinker lever was on the other side of the steering column and signaled his left-turn… the windshield wipers continued for a few at least a dozen more swipes, swearing under his breath he finally got them under control. This was just the beginning.

As navigator, I not only had to provide the directions ahead of time…i.e. turn right in 1 KM, but I also had to help remind him which lane to be in when turning. When it was time for our first turn, which was a left, I said, “stay close, stay close,” as Marc hit the wipers again to indicate his turn, he naturally headed towards the head-on traffic—the volume of my voice quickly increased as I was still saying, “stay close, stay close, stay close!” He realized his error and avoided a fender bender, but was again swearing… “What the fuck… stay close, stay close to what? (Marc’s words) How about turn into the near lane or stay left?” He wasn’t mad at me he was just frustrated and tired.

We decided to take a scenic drive north of Auckland before checking into our hotel. Since it was only 7:00 AM when we left the airport we figured we had at least 5 hours before we could check-in. The driving challenges continued as we headed north and the motorway turned into a two lane road.

This is when the nervous passenger in me really came out—I reminded Marc he has a whole car to the left of him as he was hugging the hills and nearly scrapping the side reflectors. At the same time it felt like cars were careening at us head-on since we aren’t used to the configuration. I was doing my best to not panic and make Marc even more nervous, so I finally just started laughing—what else could I do?

After about an hour of driving on the “wrong” side of the road we made it to a quaint town north of Auckland called Warkworth; just in time for morning coffee at a little café overlooking the river. We briefly explored the small town (2500 pop.) before jumping back in the car and driving a little further north to see the Dome Forest; an area of lush green coastal forest that was clear-cut 90 years ago and is now close to a full recovery. A short climb to a lookout point, providing distant views of the ocean and Auckland, was a perfect way to loosen our legs after the long flight.

As we made our way back to Auckland we stopped at some artsy little towns with fresh cheese, honey and other wholesome ingredients. At each stop I had to remind Marc when turning right… turn into the left lane. To make things even more confusing, the Yield arrows on the pavement actually appear to be arrows directing traffic One-Way. There were a couple instances where Marc nearly slammed on the brakes because he thought he was headed down a One-Way street and then realized that the arrow simply meant that he needed to Yield at the intersection ahead. I’ll let you just imagine the swear words when that happened.

When we finally made it to our hotel we decided to spend the rest of the day on foot and explore Auckland. We will have enough time for driving during the rest of the trip!