New Zealand Souviner

Showing Off His Souvenier

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The preparation for this road trip was extraordinary, but it ended with one of the coolest souveniers ever . . . a New Zealand driver's license.  The story goes like this:

Before we left home, both Tony and I checked the expiration date on our driver's license.  Mine expired in 2009, no problem.  Tony's expired in February of 2008.  So he went to the Oregon DMV before we left to renew his driver's license.  The Oregon DMV told him that you could only renew within 30 days of the expiration date but assured him he could renew online since he would be overseas.  Since we were living at a different address and his picture was old Tony went ahead and got a new driver's license (with the same expiration date). 

In January, Tony received a renewal notification from the Oregon DMV.  He went online to renew but couldn't find any information about online renewals.  Confused he sent an email inquiry and the response said as of January 1, 2008 the laws changed and online renewals are no longer allowed.  The new law requires filling out a form and mailing the form and a check for $30 from your overseas address . . . the renewed licensed would then be returned to the overseas address.  How was that going to work?  First, we are not carrying a checkbook.  The majority of places we have visited don't even take credit cards.  I'm sure they even know what a check is or looks like.  Second, we don't have an overseas address unless you consider the current location of our backpacks.

The Campervan

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We thought about calling to explain the situation but the Oregon DMV is only open from 9 to 5 and with the time change, it would require a call around midnight when no internet cafes are open.  Instead, we filled out the form and sent it to Dad and Jen who wrote a check and mailed it from Oregon.  By this time Tony's Oregon license was already expired.  Of course we heard nothing for weeks.

In the meantime, we arrived in New Zealand and we due to pick up a campervan in less than a week.  I was not looking forward to driving the campervan every day (and neither was Tony).  Something about my driving is scary anyway, let alone when its on the wrong (I mean left) side of the road!  Thus our first stop in New Zealand (I'm not joking) was AA.  This sounds for Automobile Association not Alcoholic Anonymous even though we were having Beer Lao withdrawls. 

AA told us Tony could obtain a New Zealand driver's license as long as he took the written and practical tests.  If he could prove he had been driving for two years or more, he only had to take the written test.  No problem, Tony's been driving since the late 80s.  Unfortunately, because he updated his Oregon driver's license, the issued date says June 22, 2007.  Even though the record created date says 1988, they wouldn't accept it . . . AA needed a full date.  They told us all they needed was a Certificate of Particulars from the Oregon DMV. 

To keep the process moving forward, Tony spent his first night in New Zealand studying the driver's code and looking at some practice questions.  The next morning he went and took the written test and passed with a 90% (the minimum passing percentage).  You could only miss three of thirty!  His favorite question:  "What do you do if you encounter a sheep in the road?"  Yes, this was actually on the text.  I guess when the sheep out number the people, this is important to know. 

We did a little research on the Certificate of Particulars.  As with everything else involving the Oregon DMV, it wasn't simple.  You had to fill out a form and mail it along with a check for $1.50 and then wait 2-4 weeks for the certificate.  This is the age of technology.  It blew me away that we couldn't just check a box, enter a credit card number and print the certificate.  How far behind was the government?

Since we couldn't get a Certificate of Particulars to prove that Tony had been driving for at least two years, Tony had to take the practical test.  The earliest date they had available was March 18.  We were scheduled to pick up the campervan on March 3.  We hunted around and ended up finding an earlier appointment in KeriKeri, a much smaller town about 2 hours north of Auckland.  We figured we would pick up the campervan and begin our trip making sure we were in KeriKeri on March 6 for the big test.  Plus since the campervan was the only vehicle we had, we figured Tony should get in a little driving practice before the big test.

I'm not sure he would admit it, but I could tell he was a little nervous.  Who wouldn't be?  Here he was having to drive on the wrong side of the road in an unfamiliar vehicle while someone critiqued him.  I definetely would have been nervous.  At least he didn't have to parallel park.  He did have to recite all potential hazards/obstacles he could see and how he would handle each from the time the instructor said start until the time the instructor said stop.  It wasn't an easy test but of course he passed!  And he had a piece of paper showing he was legal to drive for three weeks. 

During this time his license was scheduled to arrive at our New Zealand address (aka Robyn and Colin's house).  Thankfully they fibbed and said we were staying with them while in New Zealand.  They sent us a text message when they received the license and we asked them to send it to the Taupo post office.  This was our next destination.  At that time, we had no idea Kiwi's took a four-day weekend for Easter.  So of course, the day we were scheduled to arrive in Taupo was Good Friday and the post office was closed.  It was also closed Monday.  After all we had been through with the license, this came as no surprise. 

Instead of spending four days waiting around Taupo, we took a detour and ended up seeing Jack Johnson in concert on Easter.  At least something good came from the waiting.  On Tuesday, we picked up the license without issue.   Tony has been showing it off ever since.  Plus its come in handy when renting movies!  Pretty cool souvenier, huh?  Who knows what we'll have to do to reinstate his Oregon driver's license when we get home!  Knowing the Oregon DMV . . . it won't be simple.