Friday, January 23, 2009

Driving Upside Down

I started the day out with IEP's orientation, nine stories above the nearest Starbuck's.  I misestimated my packing time, so I didn't have time to grab a bite beforehand.  It was about three hours long and I was about ready to gnaw a limb or two off by the end of it.  Other than that it was all right.  Just about everyone at IEP had come from abroad, loved it and stayed.

There was a lot of fluff to start out-- the kiwi accent, quirks of a culture very similar to ours (though I'm being a bit unfair calling that fluff-- not everyone there was American or Canadian, just most of us), etc.  Then we started going over all the attractions around the islands and holy smokes there are a lot of them.  There are so many, in fact, that any attempt to give a comprehensive list becomes downright tedious by the thirtieth gorgeous forest/unique geothermal spot/scary place to jump off.  Especially if you haven't eaten anything yet.  The best part, by far, was the description the German guy gave of New Zealand's rail system.  Positively sodden with distain.

Afterwards, I ran a few errands around Auckland (sunglasses, phone) and met up with Mike and his new ride.  It looked amazingly solid for a $900 car (more like $1400 after mechanics, insurace et al)-- all red steel and practicality, like an old Volvo.  Incidentally, I have a new favorite road (we'll see how long it lasts when I get to the South Island): New Zealand route 25 around the Coromandel Peninsula.  Both as a technical driving road and a scenic trip, it's staggering-- a well-maintained road switching back along a lovely (and incredibly varied) mountainous coastline. For about 150 km. And so, a mess of photos (the first two are one spot's view from both directions):



Fo' real, dough. See also:





It was also a frustrating and scary road, when driven by a city boy who's rusty with a stick shift and doesn't have all the reference points for driving lefty internalized yet.  We didn't crash, but I spent more time six inches away from beautiful precipices than the rest of my life combined.

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