My first night being In New Zealand has definitely been a rollercoaster. When I get off the plane my first thought was "I hope I make it in time to pick up the camper" and from there I really put myself into zoom mode. I even went ahead and asked someone at the desk to make sure that I was going in the right direction. The email that mighty campers sent me didn't have very good directions. I wanted to make sure that I knew where I was going. So I asked the lady at the airport information desk where to go and she was kind enough to direct me to the correct door and tell me which courtesy van to get on. 

Once I got to the correct door and got into the van it was quite easy. I sat back as they drove me over to the rental place which was about a ten minute drive from the airport. From there they let us out, helped us with our bags and then directed us inside. When I got to the reception desk I could feel the jet lag catching up and quite honestly I wasn't sure how I was going to get through the next hour but knew that I was going to have to will myself through it. The lady asked for my name, checked me in and handed me some paperwork along with a tablet. Then I was directed to sit down at a table while I waited for a representative. So I sat down,watched the videos that they had ready for me and from there I waited. 

When the lady finally came around to me she didn't seem all that pleased. She sat down, smiled one of those unsure smiles and introduced herself. From there I was walked through the liability, the guarantee with my insurance I purchased and then they told me that they charge by the miles you drive. That was when I was caught off guard. She explained that every 1000 kilometers you drive they charge $62. She estimated from my drive I would be driving around 4,000 kilometers. I was shook. I was processing how I was gonna pay for this whole thing when she suddenly told me they have a plan for $240 that would cover everything and it would be a better deal for me in the long run. I went with the deal. 

From there I signed some papers, they swiped my card and I was walked out to the camper van. It was definitely small. Smaller then the suburban that my family has which made me feel 100x better about driving it. She walked me through all the details and gave me directions on where all the plugs where, what I had in the van and didn't have and told me that if need be I have snow chains. She prayed I wouldn't need them but she also seemed totally unsure of me in general. 

By the time it was all done I can say that I was super nervous about the whole thing. The lady was not impressed that I was by myself. In fact she seemed worried about it and almost unwilling to really let me go but she had to cause I already paid and there really wasn't anything she could do now to turn things back. I was in New Zealand and I was here to stay until October 13th. 

Once i Had the keys I got in the van and I can say it was quite daunting to the eye. I was unsure if I was going to be able to drive it and I felt like I might puke when I put the key in but I knew that one way or the other I was going to have to leave the parking lot. So with much nervousness I started the van and started the slow drive to the store to buy some groceries. 

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Stay tuned for more.