Driving on the Wrong Side

Today was my day off, so a few of the staff and I took a drive to Reefton, one of the closer towns to Maruia Springs (45 min). I had my first experience with right-hand drive and driving in the left lane, but all went smoothly. Though a bit confusing at first, within minutes of driving I had a full feel of where on the road the car was. Reefton was a really tiny town, but compared to the isolation of Maruia Springs it was a nice change. We played pool, and walked about the town (which took no time at all...). As we strolled down the main stretch, off in the distance I recognized the unmistakable glimmer of concrete transition. Before I would make sense of what I was seeing, my feet uncontrollably took off in that direction. 20 seconds later I was standing in the entrance  of a surprisingly large skatepark for such a tiny town. I thanked the gods of concrete and made my way in to see what I was missing out on. So many rails, so many ledges and boxes, two big bowls, and a perrrrrfect little miniramp. If I hadn't been with others I would have driven back to get my board. I will definitely be heading back there very soon, for even as I type, my legs are getting restless. 

Nearly in tears of joy, I made my way back to the car where the others were waiting. We hurried back home so Niina could make it back for work, but we had a big surprise when we pulled into the parking lot. 

Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai had just arrived and was unloading his car. (His giant red chef hat makes him look A LOT taller on tv...) Aside from being quite a bit shorter than I expected, he was extremely friendly, and though he was sporting a shirt of himself, he was rather modest. 

 Reefton main stretch

 There's a lot more than could fit in the pictures

 Take, Niina, Yusuke

Local Drunk / Fly Killer Extraordinaire 

Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai