3 November

One night and a new roommate later, the day had come to pick up Regina. You're probably wondering who Regina is.

I'll try to describe her to you. She's from an older generation and therefore a bit eccentric. Her figure could be described as box-like. With her orange appearance, she can be described as highly visible. You can find a picture of her in the appendix.

Yes, picking up Regina was a longer process than expected. After waiting 2 hours for our turn, it suddenly went very quickly - too quickly. Before we knew it, we were standing alone and lost in front of our Regina with the key in hand - and now?

Where are the safety vests and the warning triangle hidden? Oh, apparently they don't exist, well in NZ you usually only come across one or two cars anyway, so they're not needed ;) (at least on the South Island :)).

Well, unfortunately the little traffic situation did not apply when we drove with Regina. Driving on the left side, sitting on the right side, left blinker - damn it was actually the windshield wiper - 3rd gear - shit it was actually the 1st, where are we actually going? Yes, there was supposed to be a road map, but we didn't have one, so we had to first search for a road map without a map. Found it in the warehouse next door, did some shopping in Countdown - we have time. The cashier asks us how we're doing and what we're doing, she asks how it is to drive the van - I say 'busy' and she says 'yeah, always busy on Fridays'. Our jaws drop -> Friday??? what time is it again? half past 4??

Quickly, quickly, quickly load everything and go!!! Too late - traffic jam, turn - traffic jam.

After 1 hour of driving, we're still in the Auckland district. The hours pass and we finally arrive at our destination in Raglan at 8:30 pm - we were supposed to arrive in the early afternoon.

During the drive, when I was no longer sitting behind the wheel with beads of sweat on my forehead, we wanted to kick off our trip with the specially burned CD. Well, the radio decided not to play anything. Nevermind, then use the phone. Quickly look at the map again - turn on the driver's cabin light quickly -> it's dark. Okay nevermind, then use a flashlight. Just before Raglan, it starts to rain -> the windshield inevitably fogs up -> turn on the front windshield ventilation -> visibility remains poor - well, the windows probably have to stay open.

After eventful hours at the holiday park in Raglan, we went to bed without lunch and dinner. It's raining so heavily that a literal lake forms around us overnight.