...I wake up to pouring rain, the first day like this since my arrival
...I wish my rental were a diesel. Diesel fuel is just over half the price of gas.
...I learn another Maori expression: "Auahi kore", meaning "No smoking"
...as I entered the Taranaki region I passed big signs, about 100m apart down the road, saying in that sequence: "WAAOOUU!!!" Then "WELCOME TO TARANAKI" and then "HOME TO LEGENDARY LIFESTYLE". As I leave it, the same signs say: "WHY???" and then "WE'D LIKE TO SEE YOU BACK!". Cool marketing!
...I get coffee at McDonald's and muse over why Starbucks need to give you additional cardboard cupholders to prevent you from burning your hands while McDonald's make their mugs thick enough so you don't burn yourself, period. I guess rain makes my thoughts more inspired than ever.
...I see the British place naming tradition in street names all over. The whole country is full of alleys, lanes, courts, drives, roads, crescents, places, avenues, closes and other thingies which essentially mean one thing only: a street.
...A drive coming the other way flashes his hi beams at me. Normally in Poland it means: "Careful! Speed check ahead!". Here it's the same. I'm so happy,..
...I drive to Wellington through a forgettable farming town of Palmerston North for one purpose only. John Cleese, of Monty Python fame, once performed there and didn't like it. He criticized the town publicly (full story here) and in retaliation the locals placed a sign naming a local garbage dump "Mt Cleese". Hilarious. And I manage to find it after asking just two people :)
...a gas station attendant in Palmerston North when asked about Taranaki smirks that out of 20 times he passed through there, only once was it not raining (!)
...I eat at Wendy's, which I remember fondly for good burgers from the US. Caution: NZ Wendy's is s***. Was it sheep meat? With wool?
...I believe New Zealand must be the only country in the world to have green bicycle paths. Not practical but looks nice :)
...There's heavy traffic so I'm diverted by google to a backcountry road to avoid it. To my good fortune on this small road a bevy of new mailbox styles reveals itself to me. See photo.
...I arrive in Wellington, at first glance find it more metropolitan and suave than Auckland (though it is smaller) but I am there so late that there is really no time for sightseeing. So I just take a photo with the Parliament and board the ferry
...I find that 13 can sometimes really be unlucky but everything depends on the point of view - while boarding the ferry I break off a side mirror against somebody's wide open door. Let's see if anyone in Picton (my port of arrival) can fix it....
...I arrive in a freedom camping area (a place where you can camp and park for free overnight) but the place is full. The guy points in the direction of supermarket where there's an outside toilet some 30 km away. I appreciate it but I'm too tired. I park at a nearby rest area under a big tree. Which will be my toilet tonight.