We took an arduous but rewarding bike ride through Central Otago, riding on the former Central Otago Railway Line which has been repurposed as a bike trail, and then back to our car via a trail with a little more adventure and shade next to the river. While the biking was challenging in the direct sun of the Southern Hemisphere in December, it was easy compared to my return to driving a car.
After biking over 20km (see map) and
getting the subsequent rubber legs, it was my turn to drive. I was happy to take my turn, but I soon
realized there were several factors that would make this more like a video game
where you try not to die while things jump out of the bushes and from behind
rocks, very big mountainous-size rocks.
First problem: the
mountains. Where does an Iowa gal get practice driving that crazy winding switchback
pattern? She doesn’t, unless she’s
transported to a perfectly lovely scenic place and is enjoying herself until
someone asks her to drive. It was the day after Christmas (Boxing Day to this
part of the world) so I suppose the traffic could have been far worse, but that
wasn’t the problem. I hadn’t driven in
the last 3.5 years so it all felt rather strange to begin with, what with no
back-seat-driving to do. The combination of driving on the wrong side of the
road, on strange, challenging terrain with signs that posted numbers requiring
a mathematical formula to understand all resulted in a rather tense beginning. Rather like I was hoping not to kill myself
and the 2 family members on board, while dealing with a gash on the palm of my
left hand (biking mishap/fall) and trying to remember that every time I tried
to use the blinkers I was greeted by a wave from the wipers, which are where
the blinkers belong.
It was approaching sunset, well, kind of, because the sun
doesn’t completely set here until about 10:15, but nonetheless the sun was in
that dangerous place in the sky that creates glare wherever you look. Plus my sunglasses don’t fit so well, so as I
sweated out my anxiety, my sunglasses in turn slid down my nose until I was
left defenseless and rather blind. Oh, and did I mention the gearshift is also
on my left instead of my right? I did a
lot of shifting in nothing but air for the first few tense minutes, then would
do it again with the real gearshift. After
a while it seemed less odd, but never normal. Whatever made the British so
contrary so as to decide they should drive the opposite of everyone else, and
then spread it around the world when they were busy grabbling land and
settlements? Could there be a logical answer?
I think not.
First problem: the
mountains. Where does an Iowa gal get practice driving that crazy winding switchback
pattern? She doesn’t, unless she’s
transported to a perfectly lovely scenic place and is enjoying herself until
someone asks her to drive. It was the day after Christmas (Boxing Day to this
part of the world) so I suppose the traffic could have been far worse, but that
wasn’t the problem. I hadn’t driven in
the last 3.5 years so it all felt rather strange to begin with, what with no
back-seat-driving to do. The combination of driving on the wrong side of the
road, on strange, challenging terrain with signs that posted numbers requiring
a mathematical formula to understand all resulted in a rather tense beginning. Rather like I was hoping not to kill myself
and the 2 family members on board, while dealing with a gash on the palm of my
left hand (biking mishap/fall) and trying to remember that every time I tried
to use the blinkers I was greeted by a wave from the wipers, which are where
the blinkers belong. 
It was approaching sunset, well, kind of, because the sun
doesn’t completely set here until about 10:15, but nonetheless the sun was in
that dangerous place in the sky that creates glare wherever you look. Plus my sunglasses don’t fit so well, so as I
sweated out my anxiety, my sunglasses in turn slid down my nose until I was
left defenseless and rather blind. Oh, and did I mention the gearshift is also
on my left instead of my right? I did a
lot of shifting in nothing but air for the first few tense minutes, then would
do it again with the real gearshift. After
a while it seemed less odd, but never normal. Whatever made the British so
contrary so as to decide they should drive the opposite of everyone else, and
then spread it around the world when they were busy grabbling land and
settlements? Could there be a logical answer?
I think not. 
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