Saturday, March 1
International flight seemed rather painless. For all the distance it is nice to end up only a few hours off normal (in addition to losing a day in there somewhere). As we were waiting for our flight in LA someone (Allison) walked up to us and said, "Hey, aren't you the guys from the Internet?" Well, "Yes" of course was the answer. She was on her way to do some biking in NZ as well and had found project NZ in a search of info.
First entry comes to you via the Auckland airport. We are plugged in for a few minutes while waiting for our flight down to Christchurch. Our two plane rides down to Invercargill will accomplish in three hours what it will take us nearly 30 days to achieve by bike. Weather rainy, but warm. Definite tropical feeling in the air. Learning to walk on the right (left) side of the sidewalks. Not something I really thought about as being a problem until actually encountered it. You can easily distinguish who is a local and who is not this way -- a subtle sign of nationality.
Off to Invercargill in a few minutes.... Evening (Invercargill) -- at the Southern Comfort (no apparent relation to the adult beverage). I would say a pretty much classic hostel experience for our first time out. The hostel is a great old house -- huge windows, tin ceilings, and beautiful flower beds. Our room, though, happens to be outside this marvelous house. We have been relegated (happily, I think) to the "playhouse" -- a shed-like structure out in the garden. My (John) rear wheel got a bit banged up on one of the flights and will require some attention from a bike doctor. But, for now I will ride with an injured cycle (mostly seeing as it is the weekend and everything is closed).