E for Effort!

Alright, we have made a few changes since we got here. we rented a campervan for two days and tried it out until absolutely enough signs or things went wrong to make it positively certain that we weren't supposed to be driving that. as you heard, i was thrown into the fire first by driving it 8 kilos b/c we didn't have julie's driver's license renewal yet. so to avoid $600 fine for expired driver's lisence, we opted for the "more reasonable route" --ME DRIVING. can you believe? i have never driven a standard stick shift in my life other than in a parking lot. i have never driven a large vehicle like a camper van and i have never driven on the left side of the road. after stalling out a few times and coming close to some near death experiences, we parked 8 kilos later and both loudly sighed with relief that it was over. then we got out of the car and noticed a strange smell of burned clutch or transmission or something. i guess it was good for my first time considering everything, right?

things progressively got worse. julie took over driving. she is used to a standard stick shift but in a car that is the size of a go cart, not a camper van. her hardest thing was dealing with the left side of the road. she has never driven mountains either.

just in time to boost our confidence for driving, our australian neighbors had to tell us a story to make us be careful b/c they heard about a group of tourists in a campervan who were looking up at scenery and got off the road and fell off the mountain and all died. my heart sank. i did not have a peace about her driving and for sure i wasn't going to.

then, as if our lack of confidence and complete fear of driving wasn't enough of a sign, we had TWO OBVIOUS INCIDENTS THAT PUT THE SUBJECT TO REST. we went to the grocery store and julie drove. i guess we both momentarily forgot that she was driving a camper van because we proceed to enter a parking garage until we hear a loud CRUNCH. yes, that was the top of the campervan being crunched into the roof of the parking garage. oh, is that why that sign is there that we saw afterwards, "absolutely no campervans in parking garage." hmm, a little late. common sense would have helped if we had it. we obviously were tired.

as soon as we finally get parked about 30 minutes later, we go into the store and julie is shaking. we already had purchased full coverage insurance so we knew we were not liable for the damages. thank you, Lord.

after our lengthy parking experience, we had to somehow get the thing out of the parking lot. well, these lovely people decided to help us guide the car back. i'm in front talking to julie about which direction to go. these people were behind helping, then we heard another CRUNCH. we were shocked. how did that happen? apparently, the people helping behind really weren't helping. what can you do? it was minor damage to the rear light, but still. we again were thankful the insurance covered it.

so, we went to plan B. it was time to get rid of the campervan and start over with another form of transportation. we went to the airport and talked to the campervan staff. i mentioned renting a car, but julie absolutely could not do the left side of the road driving. honestly, it was way too stressful just sitting in the car. i'm so thankful for the girl at that desk. she mentioned a way to go around new zealand called the Kiwi Experience. that's what we've been doing now. it's awesome. we get on buses that are organized for backpackers and they take us on a set tour. our tour will be for 14 days to see all the main places someone should see. we can sit back and relax in the bus and truly take in the scenery. we also have professional drivers. everything is so much better about this. plus, we are meeting really great people along the way.