I bought a car yesterday (Monday the 5th of January), from Doc from Back to the Future, a fine fellow. Anyways, it turns out it is way too easy to buy a car here. My host and good friend here, Jane, did walk around the New Zealand car fair for 3 hours roasting under the intense sun beating through the pure air here and possibly through the hole in the ozone layer. That was the hard part, there was not a lot of official paperwork at all, but there certainly was a lot of paper changing hands in the form of NZ dollars. After going to two ATMs I felt like I had to watch my back with the stack of bills they both spit out.
Buying a car was only one of the many things I accomplished yesterday. It was a busy morning especially, and it involved 5 separate trips to the Royal Oak Kiwi Bank/post office. Yes five! First to open a bank account, but being told I needed proof of address. Second was returning with the proof of address from the doctor down the street. Third was to get an IRD (Inland Revenue Department) number for when I want to get a job anywhere in Kiwi land. Forth was to finish the IRD process after leaving to get copies at a store down the street of my identification documents. And 5th was to meet the seller at his suggested location and turn in the one piece of paper to the post office clerk. Needless to say, we were well aquatinted by this time. Finally we left Royal Oak shopping area and I purchased a cheap pay as you go phone and got insurance for the car. So basically I felt like Jason Bourne, carrying lots of money, buying an extra phone, and flashing the passport around. But really I'm just an annoying tourist!
Much more to come,
God's speed