Onward to New Zealand (106)!

My flight from Bangkok to Auckland was on time and uneventful. I passed through immigration and customs without any issues, and picked up my rental car. I haven't driven since January 1st, and haven't driven on the left side of the road since I lived in Jamaica a little over 11 years ago.

I drove to the hotel in Auckland, got all checked in and then spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening running errands. The next morning I was out of the hotel and on my way to Rotorua. The drive was very nice. About 15 minutes outside of town, the traffic thinned to almost nothing and the GPS unit in the car took me on scenic highways rather than the main freeway. It was dryer than I thought it would be. I was expecting more greenery... I was also expecting the people here to wear shoes, but most don't. I still haven't gotten to the bottom of this, but even in restaurants people just come and go without shoes on...

I got to my hotel late in the afternoon, got checked in and settled, and then headed into town for a street festival the woman at reception had told me about. It's a cute little town on a large lake with an island in the center of the lake. It's volcanic in origin. Tomorrow I have a helicopter ride over the lake, so that will be nice to have a birds-eye view!