North and south, east and west have mysteriously re-aligned themselves. The sun now appears in the NORTHERN sky.
Auckland sits astride an isthmus which is very narrow - between the Manukau Harbour (to the west) and the Waitemata Harbour (to the east). Auckland Central City and Port is on the Waitemata - as is Rangitoto and Mission Bay.
Bethell's Beach is to the north of the Manukau Harbour on the west of the island.
New Zealand is a long thin country in two major islands - the North Island and the South Island (we never said we were imaginative) - which means only one time zone for the whole country. The Maori names are much more poetic - Te Ika a Maui and Te Wai Pounamu.
(Maori language/place names site)
Buses and Trains
Local buses in Auckland are yellow and a pain in the A.
http://aucklandnz.com/bustrain.html
Tourist buses are plentiful.
http://www.go-nz.com/getaround/bus.htm
Trains are not much used to transport people - but can be used to get down to Wellington with little trouble - a good overnight trip, or a relaxing and scenic all-day trip on the Overlander.
http://www.tranzrailtravel.co.nz/
Driving in New Zealand
We drive on the left-side of the road. The cars have the steering wheels etc on the right-side. Panicked already?? It's not so hard - at least the foot controls are the in the same order (clutch-brake-accelerator). Every year tourists manage to kill themselves and us by driving on the wrong side of the road - if you are a confident driver then you just need to concentrate a little more than usual.
You need carry your own driver's licence and passsport at all times when driving.
Auckland traffic is abysmal by any standards - but once outside the city traffic is usually light. Just remember a third of New Zealand's population live in Auckland - that's nearly one million people and they all drive all the time.
Kiwi drivers are not very good - we drive too fast for the roads and the conditions and just LOVE to overtake. Apart from Auckland's highway system, most roads throughout the country are two-way (single lane each way). Add the hilly nature of the country, and you can easily double driving times for known distances. No fast freeways here.
The speed limit is 100 kilometres per hour - approximately 60 mph. In towns the speed limit is 50kph or approx 30mph.
Hiring a Car
Easy to do. All rentals are automatic transmissions.
Universal Currency Converter http://www.xe.net/ucc/
Auckland Weather (in fahrenheit) http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/Auckland_NZ_f.html