A Land of Surprises

“For a country that prides itself on being a nuclear free zone, New Zealand sure makes strange ice cream!” So said John Jesson, one of our tour guides. The first day of the official ride was a mixed bag, and by the time we made it to the ice cream, we didn’t even know where we’d lay our heads that night.

As we enjoyed a delicious kickoff dinner at the top of the Skyline Tower, Cyclone Wilma ripped through the North Island, leaving more than 8” of rain, and much flooding and destruction in her wake. We pulled out of Auckland the following morning, beginning our first day of riding on the left, through the city, onto the motorway (interstate) headed for the Coromandel peninsula.

Wilma, however, had other plans. As we tried detour after detour, it became obvious that Coromandel was not to be. While Hugh enjoyed his radioactive ice cream, Chris Gladstone, our leader, worked it out for us to spend a second night in Rotorua, where we were supposed to have stayed on Sunday night anyway. So a bit of extra riding, fine. It was very windy, but little did we know what would be in store for us down the road.

Lessons from day 1:

Stay to the left!

You can whip around any old left turn, unless someone is doing it from the right.

Stay to the left.

Go around rotaries (there are thousands) clockwise.

Stay to the left.

Look for traffic to the right.

Stay to the left.

NEVER turn left on a red light.

Stay to the left.

132 looks REALLY cool on the speedometer! Yeah, yeah, it’s only kilometers, but still…

Stay to the left.

We're Here!

Or there, or somewhere in time. I have no idea how many time zones we crossed coming from Maine to Auckland, but the end result is that Stockton Springs is 18 hours behind New Zealand, which means that we jumped into tomorrow, leaving yesterday behind and skipping today altogether. Flight out from LA to Melbourne on Virgin Australia was the best airline service and comfort I've ever seen, bar none. And having the smiling faces of John and Chris at the end of an easy walk through Customs finished the trip with joy.

This is one honkin huge city! Much bigger than I expected, and featuring some billboard advertising you'd never see in the States. Can you just see this one in North Carolina? Then again, they do have Kum 'n Go gas stations...

Seriously, my grandfather was sent to Christchurch when I was a child, as an engineer to oversee the construction and startup operation of a natural condom factory there. He and Gramma loved the three or so years they lived in this country. So does that mean I'm returning to my roots?

After forcing ourselves to stay up until 8:30 last night we hit the ground running this morning, first with a brisk walk around the city, then taking the ferry across the bay to Devonport. It's a tourist mecca of shops, galleries and a few historic sites, among them Mt. Victoria, which we bravely started up.

In an effort to avoid the traffic, I opted for the lovely grass pathway that seemed to wind its way around the hill. The picture above, and the one at the start of this blog, were the result. A misty day gave everything a lush and glowing light, and turned my hair in to a frizz flame. Not too long after we stopped to take this picture, the path narrowed to just a few inches wide, and the hill got scary steep. I tried putting David in front of me, but even that didn't get my willies under control, and we turned around. (New Zealanders would say I piked out.) Too bad, as we were very close to the top. Oh well.

But the best part of the day was still to come. On our way back to the waterfront, David spotted this little picture of paradise tucked in amongst the cafes and galleries. It's our first day here, and I've already bruised my credit card on fabric! Yay!

This afternoon we meet our bikes and the rest of the group, then dinner and a good night's sleep before beginning the big ride tomorrow. Can't wait to get a good taste of these twisty roads.

It's a New Day

Yesterday's errands had me out on the road in some of the worst conditions I've seen in years -- blowing snow, falling hard, slippery surfaces, all viewed from the safe, warm driver's seat of my sturdy SUV. I do love German engineering, but would have preferred to love it from the warmth of my kitchen just then! Snow in the yard was over the dog's shoulders, and she bravely plowed a path to her preferred spot before racing back in (after digging out the dog door, covered with blowing snow moments after she left it).

What a difference a day makes! This morning's cold coastal sunrise dazzled a fresh white world with sparkles and bright shadows.

My first look out the bedroom window this morning yielded a wonderful architectural construction, the perfect angled wall of snow on the porch rail. The corner was as sharp as if constructed by my favorite carpenter, which, I guess, it was.

Clyde, the gargoyle who guards our front porch, wasn't impressed. His new white cloak did nothing to enhance his fierce aspect.

And the rose bush out front burst bravely through her blanket of white, explaining that today's diamonds sparkling from her snowy cover will be shamed by those given to her by morning's dew in June.

I love hunkering down days like yesterday, and I love rebirth days like today. Life is so full of joy, it's hard to hold it all!

The Foxes are Back!

For the last couple years, we've had a very entertaining family of foxes cavorting around the front meadow. First we'll see the adult pair, then later, in March or so, the kits will appear, rolling and bouncing and chasing each other and their parents across the grass. Last year there were three.

Two nights ago, the dogs were outside barking furiously under the waxing moon, and this morning we can see why. While we haven't seen our red friends yet, last night's dusting of fresh snow busted them out of stealth mode.