the wonders of new zealand7 , south Island

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jim and di

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Posts
841
Location
Sun Citu, Hilton Head, SC
Well we are at the end of our first week down under. Driving is a process,left side of the road, steering from the right, looking for a mirror on the right but its on the left and I wore out a set of wipers trying to getting the turn signals to work.
However, this place is a candy store for the eyes, we are now in the southern Alps snow covered peaks and new views at every turn. Lots of C  and B RVs but Diane wanted this to be a B&B TRIP
The roads are excellent and lots of places for RV parking. Tomorrow a cruse ship in Doubtful Sound then we start North
 
Sounds like a great trip Jim. NZ is one place I've wanted to visit for many years, but never made it down there. Hope we get to see some photos.
 
Yup, they drive on the wrong side of the road in the U.K. and Japan as well. When I picked the wife up at Lakenheath back in the 60's I was driving a Alfa Romeo Roadster that I brought over from the States.[Left Hand Drive] and she was sitting in the suicide seat. The worst part was after being there for three years I got behind the wheel here in the States and had to be reminded at the Gate that I was on the wrong side of the road. Some people need to learn that right is right, and left is wrong! ;D
 
Quite a few more countries drive on the left  ;)
 
Japan is the only non Commonwealth country I am aware of that drives on the left.
 
Here's a 'right/left by country' list:

http://www.i18nguy.com/driver-side.html#countrytable

It still blows my mind when I recall Sweden switching from left to right in the 60's; They made the switch over a weekend, with a LOT of planning and preparation.
 
I sailed all the way around New Zealand in 1986. I skippered one of the cruise ships in Milford Sound for a month to relieve a skipper that hadn't had a vacation in 2 years. I loved Fiordland (except for the Sand Flies).

We were the 1st American Yacht to ever circumnavigate both islands in NZ....... We stayed in Fiordland for 4 months then I sailed alone to Antarctica in Dec and returned in January. We bought a car in Christchurch and spent 3 months touring the South Island in a tent...... those were good times.
 

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Wavery said:
... then I sailed alone to Antarctica in Dec and returned in January.
Now that just blows my mind. I am jealous. I took the liberty of trying to improve your slides. They are such classic shots. I hope you like them, if not then ignore them.
 

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Thanks Tom......I saved them.......

I'm not that talented and as you might imagine, I have thousands of them (I'll try not to bore people by posting too many over time  ::)).

I had my old VHS tapes put on DVDs about 6 years ago. About 30 out of 50 VHS tapes didn't survive the trip. The one's that did need to be re-done in HD and cleaned somehow.
 
My husband isn't to far away from you.  He is in Malawan, in East Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, in Indonesia.  They have lots of Australians that work there.  He has taken up diving there and says its beautiful.  Been there about a year and a half, not sure if he will be much longer.  However, he works in a camp in the jungle, so doesn't get to see as much as he would like.  He does get to Balipapan on occasion though.  He belongs to the Hashtown Harriers and a local dive club.

He drives on the left side of the road and each time he comes home has a time adjusting.   
 
PatrioticStabilist said:
He drives on the left side of the road and each time he comes home has a time adjusting. 
Watch him on left turns when he gets home  :eek:......... they are the worst for awhile.... :p
 
Yes, he is gone for 10 weeks and home about 2.  I see him go out of the driveway and turn into the other side of the road, he catches himself pretty quick.  Luckily this is a sort of country road, but he really has to watch. However over there he said there are not much rules to the road, mainly how to avoid the car size potholes.
 
I chuckle at the left/right stuff. I lived for 32 years in a left-side drive country, 33 years in a right-side drive country, and spent many years traveling between right/left/any side countries on several continents. If there's other traffic around, it's pretty easy to switch, especially when the steering wheel is on the correct side of the vehicle. Caught myself just a few times over the years, almost always when there was no other traffic around.

I don't do any-side drive though  :eek:

Meanwhile, anyone notice which side you mail carrier drives vs where the steering wheel is  ;)
 
I bet its beautiful there, would love a trip like that myself.  Just sounds wonderful, enjoy.
 
Co-incidentally, last evening my other half was watching Househunters International on TV, and my ears perked up when I heard "Wellington, NZ". Of course, this is the south end of North Island, whereas Jim and Di are visiting South Island. But I still enjoyed watching the few clips of neighborhoods, both on the beach and further inland.
 
Tom said:
Co-incidentally, last evening my other half was watching Househunters International on TV, and my ears perked up when I heard "Wellington, NZ". Of course, this is the south end of North Island, whereas Jim and Di are visiting South Island. But I still enjoyed watching the few clips of neighborhoods, both on the beach and further inland.
If it weren't for the fact that we have grandkids (14), we would retire in NZ..... We fell in love with a small town on the north end of the South Island called "Nelson". The climate is quite close to SoCal and it's just a beautiful, peaceful place. Wellington weather is more like San Fransisco..... wet & rainy.... funny because it's just 50 miles north but it's the other side of the Cook Straight. The Cook Straight develops it's own weather systems and is the nastiest piece of water on the planet.
 
Aye, we have our share of micro-climates here in the SF Bay area. In my youth, before I understood the climate variation, I thought I'd like to emigrate to NZ. One "attraction" was that the climate was similar to the UK; Where we lived it was more like Seattle weather.
 
Tom said:
Aye, we have our share of micro-climates here in the SF Bay area. In my youth, before I understood the climate variation, I thought I'd like to emigrate to NZ. One "attraction" was that the climate was similar to the UK; Where we lived it was more like Seattle weather.
NZ is quite a unique little part of the planet. For being so small.... it has the largest variation of climates that one could imagine. The North Island (north of Wellington) has quite a temperate climate most of the year... a lot like SoCal.... The South Island goes from 300" of annual rainfall in Fiordland to like 20" in Christchurch. Nelson has about 40" of rainfall.

When taking the ferry across the Cook Straight, it's common to start out with a beautiful day on the South side, go through a horrific storm going across the straight and end up in Wellington with rain. The Cook Straight Ferries carry entire trains on-board and are designed specifically for the Cook Straight. A few times a year, the Ferry will leave Wellington for the 3 hour crossing to the South Island and will encounter an unpredicted storm (micro-burst) with 80+kts of wind that will force the ferry to alter course to Christchurch....... 200 miles south..... This is not the norm but I'll tell you... it isn't unusual either....... I've sailed across that channel 8 times on my boat...... it is always an interesting trip... It doesn't help that the current can reach 8kts at times with the wind apposing the current..... :eek:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPjWMDAYWZs
 
Aye, that will cause a little chop. Must have been interesting to figure out the insurance liability for that on-deck mess.
 
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