The worst part about visiting New Zealand and Australia is getting there. It is a very long ways to go. Our journey started with a 4 a.m. pickup to take us to Leon for the 3 1/2 hr flight to Los Angeles. Our flight to Auckland was not until 8:30 p.m. so we had the day in Los Angeles. It was just the right amount of time to visit the Getty Museum. The Getty is a very beautiful place with wonderful gardens and architecture -no expense was spared. We particularly enjoyed a 45 min tour describing how the museum complex was designed and constructed. My nephew, who lives in LA, came by to meet us for lunch so it was a pleasant way to spend our layover.Then it was back to the airport for all the security check-ins and boarding. A very full plane meant that we had no extra room to get comfortable for the 12 1/2 hr. flight to Auckland. We flew on Qantas and the flight was actually not too bad with decent food and we each had a personal video screen in the seatback in front of us. I watched "The Queen" and "Little Miss Sunshine" as well as part of "The Last King of Scotland". I got a little sleep, but not much. John can sleep anywhere so he did quite well.
Upon our arrival in Auckland we easily cleared customs and called our car rental company for pick-up. Soon we were on our way to Wellington. It's about 350 miles but NZ highways are not like our superhighways so it is much slower to get somewhere. We were too tired to travel very far so we just drove 3 hours and stopped in Rotarua which is a tourist area with mineral hot springs and a large lake. We found a very nice motel - practically new with suites and every room had a hot tub - exactly what we needed after our travels. It was still early afternoon so we visited a museum that used to be a bath house in the 1800's. They also had exhibits about a devastating volcanic eruption there that killed 120 people. It was all very interesting but we were really wiped out and after soaking in our hot tub, we crashed around 6 p.m.Next morning we awoke at 6:00 a.m. and as soon as it was light we walked a mile or so and finally found a cafe that was open for breakfast. Then we were on our way to Wellington. John was doing the driving and I was the navigator. It was a bit hairy watching him getting used to driving on the "wrong" side of the road. He did pretty well except for one right turn that was very scary . After that I kept reminding him to "keept left". It also took him a while to use the turn signal instead of the windshield wiper when making a turn.
The scenery from Auckland to Wellington was amazing - very, very green - every shade of green you can imagine. Many forests followed by rolling hills, mountains, and pastures dotted with sheep, cattle and more sheep. The highways were mostly two lanes with occasional short term passing lanes. The speed limit was never more than 100 km/hr (62 mph). We were warned by the car rental people that they are quite strict about enforcing the speed limits so we were very careful.
We arrived in the Wellington area after about 5 hours with just one stop for gas (US equiv. about $4.25/gallon). Our home exchange is just outside the city on the harbor in an area called Lower Hutt. We had good directions from our hosts and found the house without too much trouble. It is large, welcoming and comfortable with a fabulous garden. As we were unlocking the front door, the next door neighbors came by to welcome us and offer their help should we need any. They told us where the nearest grocery store was located so after dropping off our luggage we headed down the road for a few supplies for a light supper and breakfast. We relaxed and unwound and soon felt quite at home. We faded again pretty early and slept well in our comfortable bed.