Our lassez-faire attitude to this trip meant no advance planning and had some definite drawbacks.
We had planned on renting a camper van in New Zealand for maximum flexibility… and to save the costs of Hotels/Hostels – now we find in Auckland that there are no camper vans to be had the month of February! It is summer and the International Cricket World Cup is on for Pete’s sake!
Here is a picture of the camper van which Uli had his heart set on…
I can’t say I am that disappointed that we did not get to rent this van. It is about as inconspicuous as driving a tank…
The next plan was to rent a car. It turns out - in order to rent a car from Avis, Herz or Budget, you need an International License… which, of course, we do not have. So, thanks to a lovely kiwi couple we met on the Cook Islands we found a rental company, “Rint-a-Dint” (Rent a Dent) that would rent us a car with only a certified translation of our license… for much less $ than the big companies. Internet research helped us find an official translator for our license at 40$ a pop. We will see what kind of car we get tomorrow at the local “rent a dent” office.
This brings me around to the lovely way that New Zealanders pronounce an “e” – “yes” is “yis” and “Excellent” is “ixcellent”… and of course, “rint – a –dint” is “rent a dent”. You get the picture.
Here are a few impressions of Auckland.
Local kids are jumping off the pier and swimming in the harbor… generally harbors are not that clean but they do not seem to care.
At the Auckland Art Museum … Uli was in the bubble…
Me relaxing in a particularly attractive pose… that bench was slippery!
Here is a picture of the camper van which Uli had his heart set on…
I can’t say I am that disappointed that we did not get to rent this van. It is about as inconspicuous as driving a tank…
The next plan was to rent a car. It turns out - in order to rent a car from Avis, Herz or Budget, you need an International License… which, of course, we do not have. So, thanks to a lovely kiwi couple we met on the Cook Islands we found a rental company, “Rint-a-Dint” (Rent a Dent) that would rent us a car with only a certified translation of our license… for much less $ than the big companies. Internet research helped us find an official translator for our license at 40$ a pop. We will see what kind of car we get tomorrow at the local “rent a dent” office.
This brings me around to the lovely way that New Zealanders pronounce an “e” – “yes” is “yis” and “Excellent” is “ixcellent”… and of course, “rint – a –dint” is “rent a dent”. You get the picture.
Here are a few impressions of Auckland.
Local kids are jumping off the pier and swimming in the harbor… generally harbors are not that clean but they do not seem to care.
At the Auckland Art Museum … Uli was in the bubble…
Me relaxing in a particularly attractive pose… that bench was slippery!
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