Day 10 New Zealand Insights

In keeping with my Insights From the Road tradition, I've compiled a list of New Zealand Insights.

1) You can even get sunburned in the rain!
2) The chances of seeing a Kiwi Bird in the wild are slim to none. However, seeing dead hedgehogs on the side of the road is as common as dead opossums at home.
3) Clerks in stores always tell you the total then say "Thanks". As in, "5 and 20 thanks".
4) Staying in a Holiday Park can hardly be called camping.
5) In light of #4, a fuel canister for cooking is just extra weight to carry.
6) After 10 days, one can pretty much ignore the constant sound of the cicadas.
7) Shoes appear to be optional (many barefoot people--even in stores and cafes).
8) You can accumulate alot of money in coins ($2 and $1) that you forget to spend.
9) New Zealanders are "sign happy". There are signs for everything. Even how to merge into traffic ("Merge With a Zip"). On the upside, it makes it pretty easy to get around!
And finally...
10) Getting on the road early is hard because it doesn't get light outside until about 6:30am.