Magic, and left is right?

Airplanes are magic. We are so accustom to flying that I think we often forget how truly amazing it is to be transported from once place on earth to a completely different place in a matter of hours. Even though I understand all the mechanics and physics of air travel, it still never fails to amaze me when I step off a plane to a completely different world. I was thinking on the flight last night how if you took someone from a hundred or more years ago, put them in a seat in a long metal tube for a few hours (assuming the windows were covered!) and they then stepped off in another part of the world, they would think you were a witch! It is an experience that is completely unimaginable at any other time in history other then the most recent few years. Anyway, the magic did its trick, and after an amazingly painless flight, we magically found ourselves in the Auckland airport! We have rented a minivan that will serve as transportation as well as sleeping accommodations. Of course the hardest part is the fact that they drive on the wrong side of the road here, although they seem convinced that it’s the correct side! We traveled west out of Auckland to a jetty of land called the Coromandel Peninsula. About 2 hours outside of Auckland, an amazing thing happed, the world became more gorgeous then usual! Driving along the lush green mountains where they slide gracefully it to the ocean, the water a stunning shade of turquoise, islands in the distance. Absolutely beautiful! We are camped tonight at a place just north of Coromandel Town, right next to the beach, and the weather has been sunny and wonderful all day. We just got some travel advice from a French couple camped next door, but we’re still unsure where we are headed tomorrow and the remainder of the trip.