Some thoughts about this new style of driving......its not as challenging as I thought it would be.  I think it might be due to the body's natural self-defense instinct; it does not want to die.  I've logged over 1000 km so far and only hit one orange construction cone.  I still have a little problem with where the left front fender/bumper is, exactly.  I keep running into the rumble strips along the shoulder of the land.  I guess better those than the center line separating me from the on coming traffic!  I've driven rush hour twice in Auckland and survived.  I haven't terrified an oncoming Kiwi by driving in their lane yet and so far have remembered which way to travel through the round abouts.  Transitioning from driving on the left from the right has been much easier than I thought it would be.  I was so nervous about it but turns out, it's not as difficult as I thought it would be.  So far, so good.  The GPS has been awesome company, guiding me through towns to my goal.  It is equipped with something that tells you when you are exceeding the speed limit and that gets a little annoying.  Every time I run 6 km over the speed limit, she comes on and yells at me right away to slow down.  That's starting to get on my nerves a little but otherwise, we're getting along fine.

I'm spending the night with another IPA member from the Auckland police, Jim Wilson, and his family.  I love staying with the LEOs here, so interesting to talk about our respective departments, the things we have in common and our differences.   They don't seem to face the same threats and dangers that we do on a regular basis.  It reminds me of my earlier days of policing when there weren't so many mean people trying to kill the police.  New Zealand truly appears to be a kinder environment than what I see back home.  I am enjoying the NZ hospitality so much!