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I took this trip via charter bus as a lot of travel here is done that way. The roads are very, very, very narrow and twisty. Where the American way seems to be to level and change the landscape to the road, New Zealand takes the wind our way around nature approach. It amazed me that the major roads that you would use to travel between larger cities would be only two lanes (one in each direction) and at times have no shoulder at all. It made the warning at the beginning of the trip that it was the law to wear your seatbelt on the bus pretty understandable and easy to comply with.
Palmerston North is not on the usual tourist route but I am excited to start my housesitting here and get to know more about the people in real New Zealand that most people just visiting for a couple weeks would never see. Palmerston North is considered a city and I was quite surprised to learn it has over 80,000 people. Especially after being there for awhile! It houses a University and several other smaller colleges but feels just as laid back and small as home town Nebraska.
One of the habits I now have is to google the top 10 things to see in any town I come to here in New Zealand. Palmerston North had several ideas come up including the world famous rose gardens, a national rugby museum as well as several walking and biking tracks that are well quite popular. I actually arrived at one of the recommended things to visit, the Palmerston North Square in the heart of the town. It is really beautiful and there were some good shops and the town library spread around it. It worked out quite well that this was only a 10 minute bike ride from the house.
I am also excited to meet some people who are not travelers, although my main companions for the next couple weeks will likely be Doug and Tia, the cat and dog I am looking after. But between those two, the bike I was lucky enough to be left (so thankful for that!) and my camera I should stay busy!
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