Kia ora and keep left!

Even upon landing at the Auckland Airport, we immediately realized that New Zealand is a very special and diverse country. We had heard of the Maori - the All Blacks and their famous pre-game haka - but we did not know how much the Maori language and culture permeated daily life. The word “Aotearoa” came up everywhere, on all the signage, and we quickly surmised that it was most likely a reference to New Zealand. In fact, the country is nearly considered to be bilingual, with Maori being an official language alongside English.

Post landing, getting all of our stuff 3D scanned for biosecurity hazards by the “pizza oven” (Mommy was rather worried about her South Pacific seashell collection, but it all passed), and settling into our pad for the first night, we picked up our car the next morning and Poppy got to try his hand at left hand side driving. We were very pleased to make it out to the North Island's main motorway and celebrate our first half-day of safe left hand side driving at McLeod's Pizza Barn and Brewery in Waipu. We enjoyed some mighty fine pizzas with plentiful unique toppings (venison sausage!) but passed on the beer this time.Read more