Road Trip!

Call everyone you know—Jeannie is camping! Okay, so our “tent” does have a six speed manual transmission in place of a zipper fly opening, but still, she is getting in touch with her National Geographic side. To be honest, our home for these seven days in New Zealand is nothing short of remarkable. At 2.7 meters tall (about 9 ft for those north of the hemisphere), our abode is classified as a 2-berth camper van, and is replete with fridge, dual stove top, dining table, double bed, flat screen television, DVD player, toilet, shower…everything but the kitchen sink—oh wait, there is a kitchen sink. So Jeannie’s not exactly eating grubs from the underbellies of mossy logs, but as a firm believer in baby steps, I am embracing every minute of this experience.

We became acquainted with Lau Lau, our affectionate moniker for the Ford Freedom diesel van, in Auckland on Tuesday morning. Kea Campers is the outfitter, and they have over delivered on our expectations to this point. A cheery gent, named John, picked us up from our airport hotel the morning after our arrival, and provided us with a free forty minute lift to the depot. A sturdy man with a crooked and easy grin, John used every minute of those forty to help us plan our weeklong itinerary. John has guided three-week trips across the country more than sixty times. I was his astute mentee, scribbling his wisdom in shorthand on the back of a white envelope. By the time we arrived at the depot we were proper Kiwis, ready explore the wonders of the North and South Islands.

What we weren’t ready for was driving a manual two-ton vehicle down the opposite side of the street. (Full disclosure for those who don’t know: I didn’t learn to drive a stick shift until last summer, and when I did, it certainly wasn’t with all traffic rules completely reversed!) And here’s a note to those who haven’t yet tried, changing gears with your left hand is an entirely different undertaking. I once spent two months brushing my teeth with my left hand (“just in case”), but I am far from ambidextrous. And yet, it is amazing what you can accomplish when you have no alternative—and an encouraging wife. Flustered, and captured in a moment of doubt, Jeannie fixed on me and confessed her trust in my ability, actually saying she believes there is nothing I cannot do. Never having felt quite so manly, suddenly I was confident, and away we went, bumping down the left hand side of the road, drawing honks from fellow Kiwis.