The First Week

The New Zealand Adventure Begins!

Just Getting Here

Not nearly as bad as we had dreaded! We slept more on the long flight (LAX to Auckland) than thought we would/could. The 5 hour layover in Auckland to allow for us to be driven across town for a review of Ralph's original documents by a Medical Council of NZ official went smoothly. All flights were on time. Worst part was Los Angeles. Had to leave secured area to find a bus and get to a terminal far far away for Air New Zealand, then go through security again. From the moment we left our home in The Villages until we walked in the door of our new home in Palmerston North was 31 hours. The hospital liaison, Christine Wood, met us at the airport and drove us home where a rental car awaited us in the driveway and several days worth of food was in the refrigerator. Christine has been wonderful every step of the way.

The House

Fully furnished places are very hard to find as rentals here but Christine came through for us with a very comfortable home in a great location. We have 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, a laundry room, and most creature comforts. The hospital is 1.5 miles away. Downtown is about 2 miles and other convenient shopping about a mile. We have a beautiful garden area with a BBQ and outdoor furniture.

The Town

From The Lonely Planet re Palmerston North: “A visiting John Cleese scoffed, 'If you ever do want to kill yourself, but lack the courage, I think a visit to Palmerston North will do the trick.' The city exacted revenge by naming a rubbish dump after him.” We read this back in Florida and didn't know what to expect but figured we would be so close to beautiful places we could visit in Ralph's off time that we could tolerate the town. Hah! It's been a very pleasant surprise to find that we like the town. It's home to Massey University, the largest in NZ with 35,000 students, but also a rural place. Reminds us a little of Harrisonburg, VA where we used to live. The town square and shopping Plaza are the hub and you get the feel of a good sized city when there. There are cafes and restaurants galore and the food is incredible. The town also has a paved river walk for joggers and cyclists that runs about 6 or 7 miles through the whole area and is beautiful. It's also quickly accessible for us from our house. The landlords left 2 bikes for us to use as well.

Driving on the Left Side of the Road

Frightening in the beginning, but we're getting better at it. I let Ralph have all the fun at first but then started driving too on the 4^th day. So many things to remember, so many ways to get killed! We both turn on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal almost every time. Everything is reversed---gear shift, seat belts. There are lots of roundabouts here and they go the wrong way. :) We both tend to drive too close to the edge of the road---hard to gauge position in the lane. The third day we were here we decided to go see Manawatu Gorge since it's only about 9 miles away. The speed limit is 100 kph (60 mph) and folks were going that on a winding road with sheer dropoffs to the left. I thought we were going to get to see the bottom of the Gorge and take the guardrail with us a few times...... We did a little hike there eventually and it was very nice.

Money, Money, Money

It's a small island country a long way from anywhere else (nearest point in NZ to Australia about 1200 miles) and everything must be imported that can't be produced locally and it does jack up the price. Gas is 3 times more expensive. Bought contact lense solution for 7 times the cost of the Wal-Mart brand back home. Most food items that aren't local seem to be about 1.5 to 2 times more expensive. But seafood is fairly reasonable and tastes like it just was caught a few hours before, which it probably was. Cell phones and broadband are ridiculously expensive. You pay for the amount of broadband that you actually use (I'm typing this off-line). It's taken a week but we now have 2 cell phones, a land line , internet and satellite TV. The satellite TV has some US shows on it. We saw a college game or two on Sunday and NFL highlights on Monday, thanks to the 17 hour time difference.

Ralph's Job

He started yesterday and will be in orientation for 2 weeks. That includes a lot of shadowing someone else to learn how they do things here. This system is crazy different from the American one. I'll let him report on the job when he actually starts to understand it! He rode his bike to work today since it's so close and also because they have a real parking shortage at the hospital.

Weekend Plans

Don't have them finalized yet but Ralph has a 3 day weekend coming up! We are anxious and excited to go see some beautiful countryside. Tried to go to Whanganui National Park and drive the river road there as well as take a jet boat tour, but weather prohibited. Might do that this weekend as well as drive up to Taupo Lake and New Plymouth.

The Weather

Today is a gorgeous spring day with a high of 66 degrees. We are in early spring here and everything is in full bloom. Summer in the Southern Hemisphere is primarily Dec-February, also the height of the tourist season. Looking forward to seeing places that are too cold for now!

Contact Information

Home address is 12A Manson Street, Terrace End, Palmerston North, NZ 4410.

Home phone number is 64-6-358-2165.

Ralph's cell 64-0210-704-397

Mary's cell 64-0210-225-3745