Sinistra (or On the Left) – Ken

“Swing wide on right; for left stay tight” has been my mantra since we picked up the car.

So far, it has been working. We haven’t had any concerns with driving on the left side of the road.

After picking up our car, a Toyota Yaris cross-over, at the rental shop about 10 blocks from our hotel, I did what I once learned at a driving course I took. I talked to myself as I drove.

“Lights are green, see the pedestrians on the left side of the road, keep on the left-hand side of the road and – swing wide on right” all were part of the conversation. Fortunately, nothing happened and I easily made it back to the hotel.

Also, we had an opportune choice of hotels in Auckland as it only took one left turn onto a major street to get us onto the freeway and on our way.

It was interesting figuring out the minor controls as the signal lights are on the right side of the steering column while the washers are on the left. More than once I have wiped the windows while trying to signal a turn! The only thing I am still getting confused with is turning to my left to put on my seat-belt, and looking to shift to reverse with my right hand when the gear shift is on my left.

The country roads and highways have been great to drive. Much like Hawaii, the country roads are narrow and twisty, however because there is little traffic, I can take the corners at my pace. The city roundabouts have been less daunting than I anticipated and are easy to manage. We have run into a couple of series of roundabouts that were at first confusing, but the maps program has kept us on the right course. And, as a hybrid, we have been getting great milage (4.1L/100Km or about 68 MPG) and only filled up once.

Now, the only thing I need to do is to get the car to stop rating my driving! 😂