Lookouts. Left-Side Driving. And How We Met the New Zealand Cops.

Sep 22 2022

It was way too early to be set free, even by AARP member standards. My husband and I, a very early riser and a regular riser, respectively, felt our wagons a-draggin.’ And not just because we were leaving the comfort of the Stamford penthouse, but because it was

Really.

Damn.

Early.

Even release from quarantine wasn’t enough to cull our three teens out of bed. But it was time…14 days, 20 negative COVID tests and 42 ample meals (plus “tea” snacks) later…to start our coast to coast adventure. Our destination was Greymouth, a town on the Tasman Sea, on the south island of New Zealand. A full day awaited us, taking us to scenic lookouts while testing our driving skills, and ending with making acquaintance with the Greymouth, New Zealand, cops.

But first, a dark bus ride to the Auckland Airport. Along the way, large orange construction signs apologized for the inconvenience of detours.

Very English Commonwealth.

But there were no apologies at the airport for the increased caution in place regarding COVID, yet another testament to just how seriously New Zealand was taking the pandemic. The process stands in stark contrast to the otherwise minimal airport security in place. We didn’t need to remove our shoes or present our plastic bags of shampoo and raw carrots. Not that I was carrying fresh food (this time), but TSA once had me remove my veggies from my carry-on. I guess carrots scan suspiciously on x-ray…(insert shoulder-shrug emoji here).

Three masked-up teens in the pre-dawn hours. I recommend keeping your distance. — “Wake up and put this mask on,” No one wants to hear that in pre-dawn hours. Especially teenagers.

I don’t remember the flight to Christchurch, so it must have been uneventful. Christchurch, however, is not known for being “uneventful.” Yes, this is the Christchurch that suffered near back-to-back earthquakes in late 2010 and early 2011. Then, on the Ides of March 2019, back-to-back mosque shootings sparked New Zealand’s gun reform. On a much more positive note, Christchurch is a lovely city still in the process of rebuilding, and like Auckland, we had places to be so didn’t spend much time there after our flight. But in the future we would.

Not Like Riding a Bike…Driving in Mirror Image

We needed a car. Fortunately, we had a rental arranged for us and getting the keys was surprisingly easy. Which I thought was a little too trusting, given our American accents. Because, while the rules of the road aren’t that different between New Zealand and the U.S., there is one major difference:

People drive on the left-hand side. At least the responsible motorists do. And we wanted to be in that category. However, for my husband and me this meant:

retaining all the good driving habits learned and have used over the last few decades BUT
do them all in mirror image AND
accept any and all help from your “backseat driver” who, in anyone’s worst driving nightmare gets to sit shotgun WHICH
is an ironic term given whoever is in the shotgun seat is actually there to keep your family safe from the driver’s lapse into American-style driving habits, and LASTLY
as far as I can figure no use of a shotgun in this situation is going to make safety happen.

And we had several hours of mirror-image driving ahead of us that day.

I made my husband do the driving.

Learning to drive on the left-hand side of the road. — The Author sitting behind the wheel of a righty-driver. Yes, I did eventually take the car for a spin. Now, I can successfully drive in mountains and big cities from the left-hand side of the road. And in New Zealand, that’s legal. I’ll show you how good I am at it when we get back to the U.S.

Because, contrary to my husband’s opinion, which will not be printed here because this is MY blog post, I am a pretty good navigator. I’m even better at telling my husband he’s wrong so it just made sense for me to be the one on the lookout for mistakes. But my job was made easier by the fact the turn signal was also on the opposite side of the steering wheel, and in its “usual” spot was the bar that turns on the windshield wipers. Instant feedback on that mistake everyone in the car noticed right away.

But, dang, did we have the cleanest windshield on the island, all the better to see if we turned into oncoming traffic.

Which, that day, we didn’t do.

Nugget of advice wherever you live, whatever side of the car your steering wheel is located: If you spot furiously wiping windshield wipers on a sunny day, give that driver a WIDE BERTH.

(Then, a few weeks later we found a used car to buy. And guess what? The turn signal was back on the LEFT side of the steering column so we had to get re-accustomed all over again.)

Coast to Coast in Pictures

Anyway, that day we managed to drive from the east to the west coast of the south island of New Zealand in less than a day, with several stops to enjoy the rapid change from grazing plains, to mountains, and then to rainforest. Pretty remarkable to a family from a country that takes days to drive across. Enjoy some snaps below from that amazing drive across an entire country:

(Oh, yes, the cops. That story is in the captions below.)

The stately Southern Alps seem to pop up out of the flatlands. — There are about 5 sheep per person in New Zealand. None of them are in this picture though. I think they all ran and hid because I mentioned I want my five lambs, please. Anyway, look at the Southern Alps just pop up out of the flatlands.

Arthur's Pass National Park is showcases South Island beauty. — Arthur’s Pass National Park. Made me a little homesick for Colorado. Mountains. Switchbacks. A quaint little village (by the same name) tucked into the natural beauty. The reverie was broken, though, when my teens spotted the “Welcome to Arthur’s Pass” sign with the “P” scratched out. Even that reminds me of Colorado and the fun our kids had with the name “Crested Butte.”

Gumboots required to walk through the Cave stream. Next time we'll come prepared. — Cave Stream Scenic Reserve. A stream that carved out a 594 meter cave over, well, a long time. We weren’t geared up to walk through but we did enjoy a peek inside.

Otira Gorge is a breathtaking cut through the mountains. — Otira Gorge, from the scenic lookout. In the U.S., “lookout” is the same as a “scenic overlook,” as in “Hey, LOOK OVER there!” But I love the term “lookout.” As in “LOOKOUT, that’s where you’re headed!” In this case, it’s the truth…that road is the one we took to Greymouth.

Greymouth, South Island, New Zealand, at dusk. — And here it is. Greymouth. From yes, another “lookout.” This time, as in, “Look out, the cops are coming.” We could see them, sirens blaring, coming up that road you see on the left. A few moments later, they were engaged in the tamest of all footraces after someone, the drama unfolding behind the spot from which this photo was taken, while this photo was being taken.

So that sums up our first of many road trips taken around the south island of New Zealand. Next, it was time to explore our new home and try to not stick out too much. Next week, I’ll share some of the charm of our new home. Like this little guy:

Not Like Riding a Bike…Driving in Mirror Image

Coast to Coast in Pictures

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