Adventures in Driving

Today was the day Jasson and I have been both looking forward to and dreading. The last week has been pretty stressful. We were ready to move on, literally and figuratively, but first we had to rent a car and drive on the left side of the road. We spent yesterday researching driving rules and taking online driving quizzes.

Yesterday I found out that my driver's license is expired. Great. So, the driving was totally up to Jasson. (Sorry Jasson!)

We took a bus to the rental car store and picked up our car. Then Jasson carefully pulled out of the parking lot onto the left side of the road. We were both super tense, hyper-aware of every sign and speed limit. But after about 30 minutes, we started to relax.

We were driving to Matamata, a small town about 2 hours south of Auckland. The scenery looked like a greener Northern California, with sheep and cows grazing in flat fields.

As we got further out into the country, we had to pass some tractors on the road. At one point, a semi truck was coming towards us and was veering into our lane in order to pass a slow-moving tractor. Jasson swerved slightly to avoid the semi. Then a police officer appeared out of nowhere and pulled us over! 

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo

This is what the car looked like. (image source)

The officer noticed that Jasson had swerved. He held up a breathalyzer thingie to Jasson's mouth and asked him to count to ten. Then he wished us a good day and safe travels in New Zealand.

And that was the first time Jasson or I have ever been pulled over by the police.

We arrived in Matamata without further incident. I am very proud of Jasson for successfully driving on the left side of the road! We are staying in a bed & breakfast on a family-run farm. They have orchards where they grow a fruit called feijoa.

They also have some greenhouses where they grow bell peppers. It smells amazing in there! The peppers were bright red, orange and yellow, and so plump, I was dying to cook up some stir fry or fajitas with them.

We have a cozy little guesthouse to ourselves, but the kitchen is limited to a microwave and hot plate, so I don't think I'll be making any fajitas. However, our hosts have provided us with homemade feijoa jam, so that's something!

I have a feeling things are going to get better from now on.