Driving in New Zealand

Dear Family and Friends,


I have to hand it to Chuck.  He has done an excellent job of driving here.  New Zealand is like so many other countries that were under British rule.  They drive on the opposite side of the road than we are used to.  The steering wheel is on the opposite side of the car.

After the first couple of hours Chuck had it all down.  Unfortunately for him, I have been on pins and needles the last six weeks.  It always seems to me that we are driving on the wrong side of the road.  Many times I have sucked wind and then realized that we are where we should be.  Thank God, Chuck is very calm about all of this.

There are so many foreigners who rent cars and drive here, that the rental car had a sign on the rear view mirror reminding you to keep to the left of the road.  They even have arrows painted in the road every once in awhile to remind which side you should be driving on.

There are many one way bridges here.  I was able to deal with them alright because you come to a complete stop and look before proceeding.  But the bridge pictured below was just too much over the top.

A one lane bridge that is shared with the train.  What a stomach churner!

One of the delights in driving here is when you are lucky enough to be at the right place and right time to see sheep being herded across the highway.

 

It took us a minute to stop and for me to get out of the car, focus and take a picture.  I guess you could say I caught the "tail end" of the action.

Renting a car and driving here has been perfect for us.  We wouldn't have done it any other way.  We have been able to take the roads we wanted and stop at places that are not on the tourist route.

Love,

Nancy