We picked up our rental car this morning. It’s a Prius.  None of us have ever driven a hybrid.  We asked the nice rental car man for instructions.  He explained how to start it.  We followed his instructions and duly set off, heading south.  Google said it would take us 4 hours plus, to get to New Plymouth.  We figured that with a quick lunch stop, we’d be there around 3.30-4pm.

The first section was on a standard highway, towards Hamilton.  There was nothing much to indicate we were in New Zealand.  The place names, much like ours, are either reflective of British settlement – Christchurch, Wellington, Invercargill, Blenheim etc – or indigenous – but Maori rather than Aboriginal.  The terrain and vegetation is only subtly different.  There was not a sheep in sight (in fact we spotted our first sheep at 2.30pm, 21 hours after arriving in the country.  Perhaps they’ve all been turned into lamb chops, and eaten).  We did see some Pouwhenua, or land poles – wooden carved poles marking Maori land boundaries or places of significance.

Things changed after we turned off Highway 1, near Hamilton.  The road narrowed to one lane in each direction, and as is the way with most NZ roads, hugged the contours.  And here, there were plenty of contours to be hugged.  The distinctive hills increased in height and steepness, and the vegetation grew thicker and more tropical.

With thoughts of lunch, we pulled over outside a café in a small town, and Pete turned off th engine. Big mistake!  Having decided to drive on, we all looked at each other blankly when Pete said “anyone remember how to start this?”  Something about brake pedals, power on switches and green dashboard lights.  I pulled the manual out of the glove box – it was all in Japanese.  The only member of the travelling party who reads Japanese is Captain Kumamon – a small stuffed bear – and he can’t speak.  Besides, being a sea captain, cars are not his area of expertise.

I resorted to Google, which gave us the required information; to our relief, the engine hummed gently and we moved forward.  We thought about leaving the engine running whenever we stop somewhere, but 2 weeks of that would get tedious.  We pressed on to Otorohanga, a rather nice little town where we were spoiled for choice when it came to eating.  We found ourselves inside the “O Café” – appropriate for a bunch of hungry orienteers.  Fortified, we switched drivers, with me taking the wheel, and mastering the ignition system of the car.

We joined State Highway 3, assuming it would be a bigger and more direct route. Silly us – aftr numerous trips to NZ you’d think we’d know better.  We made our way through several dramatic gorges, with some truly spectacular sheer cliffs, while I made mental notes never to orienteer here. 

Eventually we reached the coast, at Awakino, where a timber truck had lost its load.  Turning due south, once again we optimistically hoped for a flatter road.  Soon afterwards, I handed the reins to Ilze.  It all started well, with glimpses of a gorgeous turquoise ocean.  But then we went inland again, and up and over the steepest, tightest section yet, at Mt Messenger, where they are constructing a tunnel.  Unfortunately it won’t be finished by the time we drive back this way in 5 days time. It was all stunning viewing for the passengers, but not so much fun for the driver.

Finally we dropped down to the bottom of the hill, where the road straightened.  We relaxed and Ilze sped up – only to hit the first of several long queues for roadworks.  Combined with the ever increasing traffic, it was stop-start all the way to New Plymouth.  We thought we were never going to arrive!  It took us over 6 hours, and it was 5pm by the time we pulled into the driveway of our new home.  We fell out of the car with relief.

Captain Kumamon is busy looking out of the bedroom window at his new surrounds – this is country no 3 for him.  He likes it – it reminds him of Japan, but he is wondering where all the Shinkansen are? We would have loved the option of a bullet train today, instead of the never ending drive.