new zealand 2007 - day 1

Jeremy and I began the day in Sydney, waking early with Kell who kindly drove us to the airport at an hour when there was barely any traffic on the roads. We hugged our friend goodbye and proceeded to the Emirates check-in. Emirates was a truly pleasant airline to fly. It was only three hours to Christchurch, but I do not recall a more comfortable 3-hour flight in coach. After getting through immigration and customs, we picked up maps and Jeremy called EZY Rentals for a shuttle pick up. As soon as we stepped outside, we realized we had entered a different season. Australia was summer, New Zealand felt like autumn. The air was refreshingly chilly (about 50F) and the blue skies were blanketed with puffy clouds. The driver told us it had snowed in the mountains the previous day and that there were scattered showers that day. We were elated. Our rental, the El Cheapo, was a tiny, red Toyota Echo with over 200,000 kilometers. We dubbed it, The Tomato.

In Christchurch, we picked up supplies at the local supermarket and began our drive up route 73 to Arthur's Pass National Park. We arrived by 5:30 pm and camped across the street from the Visitor Center where there were kitchen and toilet facilities. The evening was cold, but wonderful. We dined on a cold dinner since we forgot to purchase matches and the general store had closed. I don't think we had much appetite after the enormous meal in Sydney. We slept soundly and for a long time.