Yes, I'm here! The pre-amble is over. On to the "amble". Landed, had to stop (more on that in a moment) and had to drive another 3.5 hours to the hotel. I was so wired from the three cups of coffee on the flight that being tired was not an issue. Driving on the wrong side was not an issue - it never is. But just like previous trips to Australia, getting into the right side of the car - yeah, that's hard. Once you sit on the right side and have a steering wheel, remembering where to look and where to drive is not that hard. But when you go to a car (or return to it) ... it probably always seems like I am checking if there is something on the passenger seat. Once I got out of airport/ rush hour traffic, New Zealand got remote pretty fast. I was on Highway 1, which generally means it is a main road, but it was one lane in each direction with poorly lit signs in sparsely populated rural locations once we got an hour from the airport. About those signs, they look EXACTLY like US signs. Same green color, same font, just the same. I'll take a picture later, but if you drove through Oregon, took a picture, and compared it to one on my way to Hamilton, you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart (aside from the oncoming traffic on your right). One of the things when you're driving in Canada or Germany or Australia is that it feels just a little foreign because of everything you see on the road. Now they do put the speed limit in a white field inside a red circle Euro-style, but the exit signs are straight fro the US. Where was I? Oh yes, the middle of nowhere. Yeah, a national speed limit of 100 KM went from seeming unnecessarily low to "hauling ass in the sticks" (in the dark) pretty quickly. Shortly before reaching my hotel, I got to a police checkpoint (they were checking for drinking and driving, not taking down a local rebel cell or anything). They asked me to say my address into the breathalyzer, which seemed novel (to me at least). When I did, he laughed that I was a long way from home. Of course, when I checked in, they asked if I was related to "the big guy". I may claim to be the Prime Minister's illegitimate child.
Have any of you ever picked up a rental car and found that the tire warning is on? So I did and I dreaded the interaction ahead - I had a full tank (i.e. no need to fill up and get air) and no cash (I've resolved that). In the US, that means I have no way of getting air in the tires. But here, not only is it no problem (no fee), but they let you electronically dial up the pressure and tell you when it's there. Check this out - set it at 35 psi, walk around the car, stick each tire, and it will beep at you when you get to 35 and not over inflate it. Now this is not some breakthrough technology requiring a trendy misspelled name, high priced launch parties with Kanye, and an equity play for the eventual IPO (did I just go a little too San Francisco there?), it's just an easy win that makes life better.
So I checked in and got an awesome upgrade: apartment sized room with a living room, kitchen, laundry facilities (let's try that a little later than my first day in the country). This brings me to a truism: being elite matters where nobody else is. If you're elite flying United from San Francisco - Chicago (two United hubs) on a Monday morning or Thursday evening, you will never get upgraded and you may be in a middle seat. Everyone else on that flight is a business person who is "elite" flying their preferred airline on their company's dime. On the other hand, if you are "elite" with United and fly to Hawaii or Orlando, you're likely to get upgraded because many others onboard are on their only flight of the year or even flying their non-preferred airline because they are bringing the whole family and this flight was $120 less per person (times 4). I got my status staying at Hampton Inns - there are no Hampton Inns in here. I am in a country with 5 Hilton properties total (2 next door to each other in Queenstown). So that means (basically) no Kiwis are Hilton elite, so look for me to push my luck at a couple more properties. Here's the view from our balcony table this morning (where I started writing this post this afternoon, until the rain rolled in).
One of the best feelings after a long flight, limited sleep, and finally getting to bed is waking up in sync with your new country. Victoria and I didn't wake up at 3am or noon, but a nice, workable 6:15am. Throw in a really good breakfast and you've got a great start to the day. This morning I put about 10,000 steps on the Fitbit, which translates into at least 15,000 toddler steps, so Victoria is out for a while as I watch some Friday afternoon (Thursday night) NFL and type this - San Diego is just kicking field goals.
This may become a recurring theme - we stumbled into a Lord of the Rings location. At the front desk, I asked if there was anything we MUST see in Taupo. The nice young lady at the front desk asks "Did you see 'The Hobbit'? You know that scene where they fight going down the rapids? That was filmed a few kilometers away". Here is the scene as I see it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzSlLWF5Hjg , but it may be NZ Youtube and you may not be able to see it. If so, search "Hobbit Barrel Ride". Anyhow, they have reservoir, they release the water 3 times a day, and when they do it is dramatic. When we got to the car park outside the Aratiatia Rapids, Victoria said "Daddy, there is a rooster". I asked, "Do you want to pose with him?" "No, he would rather be alone," she projected, as the rooster followed her...
As for the rapids themselves, here are a few before and after shots once the water was released:
Here is a before picture and an after video:
And that takes us back to the car park, where our friend the rooster was continuing to get over his social anxiety. Victoria was still not appreciating it. Spoiler alert, we had chicken for lunch (not this exact chicken, but the sentiment was clear).
Have any of you ever picked up a rental car and found that the tire warning is on? So I did and I dreaded the interaction ahead - I had a full tank (i.e. no need to fill up and get air) and no cash (I've resolved that). In the US, that means I have no way of getting air in the tires. But here, not only is it no problem (no fee), but they let you electronically dial up the pressure and tell you when it's there. Check this out - set it at 35 psi, walk around the car, stick each tire, and it will beep at you when you get to 35 and not over inflate it. Now this is not some breakthrough technology requiring a trendy misspelled name, high priced launch parties with Kanye, and an equity play for the eventual IPO (did I just go a little too San Francisco there?), it's just an easy win that makes life better.
So I checked in and got an awesome upgrade: apartment sized room with a living room, kitchen, laundry facilities (let's try that a little later than my first day in the country). This brings me to a truism: being elite matters where nobody else is. If you're elite flying United from San Francisco - Chicago (two United hubs) on a Monday morning or Thursday evening, you will never get upgraded and you may be in a middle seat. Everyone else on that flight is a business person who is "elite" flying their preferred airline on their company's dime. On the other hand, if you are "elite" with United and fly to Hawaii or Orlando, you're likely to get upgraded because many others onboard are on their only flight of the year or even flying their non-preferred airline because they are bringing the whole family and this flight was $120 less per person (times 4). I got my status staying at Hampton Inns - there are no Hampton Inns in here. I am in a country with 5 Hilton properties total (2 next door to each other in Queenstown). So that means (basically) no Kiwis are Hilton elite, so look for me to push my luck at a couple more properties. Here's the view from our balcony table this morning (where I started writing this post this afternoon, until the rain rolled in).
One of the best feelings after a long flight, limited sleep, and finally getting to bed is waking up in sync with your new country. Victoria and I didn't wake up at 3am or noon, but a nice, workable 6:15am. Throw in a really good breakfast and you've got a great start to the day. This morning I put about 10,000 steps on the Fitbit, which translates into at least 15,000 toddler steps, so Victoria is out for a while as I watch some Friday afternoon (Thursday night) NFL and type this - San Diego is just kicking field goals.
This may become a recurring theme - we stumbled into a Lord of the Rings location. At the front desk, I asked if there was anything we MUST see in Taupo. The nice young lady at the front desk asks "Did you see 'The Hobbit'? You know that scene where they fight going down the rapids? That was filmed a few kilometers away". Here is the scene as I see it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzSlLWF5Hjg , but it may be NZ Youtube and you may not be able to see it. If so, search "Hobbit Barrel Ride". Anyhow, they have reservoir, they release the water 3 times a day, and when they do it is dramatic. When we got to the car park outside the Aratiatia Rapids, Victoria said "Daddy, there is a rooster". I asked, "Do you want to pose with him?" "No, he would rather be alone," she projected, as the rooster followed her...
As for the rapids themselves, here are a few before and after shots once the water was released:
Here is a before picture and an after video:
And that takes us back to the car park, where our friend the rooster was continuing to get over his social anxiety. Victoria was still not appreciating it. Spoiler alert, we had chicken for lunch (not this exact chicken, but the sentiment was clear).
From here, we went to the nearby Haka Falls. Not really a waterfall and more like a raging set of rapids. Very cool and powerful, but let's just say it's a quick visit...
And that took us to the nearby Craters of the Moon, a geothermal wonderland of fumaroles, geysers, and bubbling mud pits. The sulfur smell was never that strong and it made a good hand warmer:
Lots of things to see. Kind of a mini-Yosemite. This whole region is surrounded by geothermal power plants, big bits of steam rising in the distance without a factory underneath, and even a hot springs pool next to our hotel (note the steam, easily mistaken for morning fog).
Anyhow, we wrapped up an exhausting morning with a playground, mostly avoiding the rain. For a small town, they've got a really big, nice playground with a lot of nice equipment and even massive chess pieces.
But the rain has come in. We'll see what we can do tonight, then we're off to Wellington in the morning. Wellington is supposed to be "a lot like San Francisco". We'll see about that., but it is the seat of government and our last stop until we cross over to the South Island. Either way, I'd love to meet the PM.
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