Author: mwmiller2@outlook.com

Sometimes I’m not sure where to start because it seems that these days (actually since Trump took office) every chaotic day is a cornucopia of issues that warrant examining.   Sadly, yesterday was George Floyd’s funeral and another day of protests across this country and around the world.  The deaths from COVID 19 in the United States surpassed 107,000 and the number of infections hovers around 2 million!  Unemployment figures are through the roof and the economy is in shambles.   And that is why I have decided to talk about leadership – something the country is sorely in need of and why Donald Trump is not a leader and is not capable of leading this country.

I am not alone in these beliefs.  Yesterday, General James Mattis (ret) wrote a scathing rebuke of Trump.  Today I read another unprecedented critique from General John Allen (ret), former commander of US Forces in Afghanistan.  These men know something about leadership and the Constitution.  It is very rare for retired senior military leaders to speak out so forcefully against the Commander-in-Chief.  They are concerned and I am concerned and every single American should be concerned about the leadership vacuum during these times and the ongoing threats to our Democracy.

So, what is Trump’s leadership experience?  He ran a private company in which he was an authoritarian boss and accountable to no one.   And, he never had to get his hands dirty with anything because he had ‘fixers’ like Roy Cohn, Michael Cohen, Rudy Giuliani and a host of other lawyers and enforcers to take care of those distasteful tasks for him. He has never run a public company where he had to be accountable to a Board of Directors.  He has never run any type of government entity.  He has never been in the military.  In short, he has never really had to be a ‘leader’.  Don’t confuse ‘being the boss’ with ‘being a leader’.  They are not the same thing.  A leader is able to motivate a team of people to accomplish a goal.  A boss orders people around, oftentimes under duress.

In Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, there is a list of leadership traits.  

1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation
2. Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly
3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person
4. Ask questions instead of giving orders
5. Let the other person save face
6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement.   Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.”
7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to
8. Use encouragement.  Make the fault seem easy to correct.
9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest

Compare that list to Donald Trump’s behavior.  There is not one thing on that list that is even remotely consistent with Trump’s behavior. 

A leader is able to clearly articulate a strategy, assemble and motivate a diverse team of people, encourage honest feedback from those people regardless of whether or not that information is popular, and motivate the team to work towards a goal. 

In my experience, a true leader understands that when a project or effort is successful, it’s because of a team of people that did the heavy lifting.  The team gets the credit.  The leader’s job is simply to clearly articulate a strategy or plan, ‘run interference’ and give everyone on the team the motivation and tools necessary to do their jobs to the best of their ability.  It is always a team win.

On the other hand, when things go poorly or when there are problems, the leader owns those problems and steps up and takes responsibility for them.  No one wants excuses, finger pointing or lies.  It is the leader’s responsibility to own the problem, put together a top-notch team, come up with a plan based upon the best available data and expert advice, and solve the problem.

Trump has it completely backwards.  He always takes sole credit for anything good that happens (sometimes when he hasn’t even had anything to do with it!) and when there are problems, he completely absolves himself of all responsibility, looks for scapegoats and starts the ‘blame game’ that we have all come to know.  

In ‘Trump World’ before he became president, he was the king of his empire.   No one questioned him.  He was accountable to no one.   He owned properties and those properties were occupied by tenants or were luxury country clubs where the wealthy hung out, played golf and hob-nobbed with other members of the ‘wealth club.’    If tenants didn’t pay up, they were evicted.  If properties didn’t make money, they were sold (or filed for bankruptcy).  And if people in ‘Trump World’ displeased Trump in any way, “You’re fired!”

And now, Trump views the United States of America as his latest property acquisition (perhaps more like a plantation!) and he is trying to govern the same way he ran his business – unaccountable to anyone, using Federal officers to keep the place neat and tidy,  expecting the property to be profitable for him (and a few rich friends!), expecting everyone around him to agree with and essentially idolize him and be thankful that we are ‘allowed’ to live on his property, and stay quietly in our places as tenants on his property.   It should surprise no one that this is the way he views the world and the way he governs.  He doesn’t know anything else.   And that’s probably why he is so adamant to build ‘the wall’ – he wants to emblazon it with neon signs that say ‘Trump’ like on all of his other properties!! 

But the country needs more than a landlord!  This country needs a leader – a person who is able to bring people together rather than divide them; a person who is able to clearly articulate a strategy (Make America Great Again is a slogan, not a strategy!); a person who welcomes and respects diverse opinions;  a person who wants to make the lives of EVERY single person living in this country better;  and America needs a person who is more interested in leading a nation through a crisis than in worrying about scoring points for the next election.

Donald Trump is not a leader by almost any measure.  He is a landlord.  Welcome to Trump World!  And if this man is re-elected, American democracy as we have known it (warts and all) for over two hundred years will likely be ‘Gone With The Wind’.  And Trump will simply respond, “Frankly, people, I don’t give a damn!”

As promised yesterday, the text of a letter of mine that was published in the Bozeman Chronicle is included below.  To set the context, Mr. Arnone and I have clashed before.  He is a regular letter writer to the Chronicle and sometimes I feel compelled to respond.  He is obviously a diehard Trump fan and is one of those who will be loyal no matter what Trump does.  I understand its kind of pointless to respond as he will never change his mind, but like I said, I refuse to remain silent any longer. 

Mr. Arnone, in his letter, “The Democratic Party has become our worst enemy,” has once again demonstrated why he is such a big Trump fan.  He engages in the same type of childish behavior of name calling, insults, propagating mistruths and divisive rhetoric as his hero, Donald Trump.   There have been a few times in this country when people could actually have a civil conversation about how to solve the massive issues facing this country and come to some kind of reasonable compromise to begin solving real problems.   The current divisive environment propagated by Trump and his faithful followers like Mr. Arnone, is not conducive to solving problems.   Smart people continuously question authorities, media and their own beliefs and are willing to change those beliefs based upon gaining more knowledge.  Mr. Arnone seems to blindly follow Trump even though he is constantly trampling on the Constitution, the rule of law and every form of civilized behavior that we wish to impart to our children.  And the Republican led Senate continues to enable him in his effort to eviscerate the checks and balances system set up in our Constitution.   So, if Mr. Arnone really thinks the Democratic party is our worst enemy, then I can only assume that he wants to live in an autocracy where President Trump can do whatever he wants with impunity – just like Putin, Erdogan, etc.  Since Mr. Arnone is such a huge Trump fan,  I would suggest that he attend the Republican National Convention to be held in North Carolina (perhaps!) in a packed arena with 50,000 other Trump acolytes, most of whom will be refusing to wear masks (because ‘if Trump ain’t wearing a mask, I ain’t wearing a mask!’) during this pandemic so he can show is unwavering support for this man. 

And speaking of the Republican National Convention, President Trump is angry with the governor of North Carolina because he will not, in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, guarantee that he will allow the arena slated for the event to be filled to capacity.   There is irrefutable medical evidence that social distancing and wearing masks helps slow the spread of COVID-19.  And yet, the President is insistent that the venue be filled to capacity – some 50,000 people sitting cheek to jowl (most without masks, no doubt!) and it is almost a 100 percent probability that some of those people will be asymptomatic carriers of the virus. 

Donald Trump is the Republican nominee.  There is no doubt about that.  What is the purpose of jamming 50,000 people into a closed space, against all of the best medical and scientific advice?  The answer is clear.  Donald Trump wants to bask in the adulation of his fans.  He wants to listen to his minions praise him effusively before his ‘acceptance’ speech.   This is a needless and potentially dangerous sacrifice of lives that serves no useful purpose other than to stroke the ego of Donald Trump. 

This is the type of stunt that you’d expect from Kim Jong Un.  If anyone still believes that Donald Trump cares at all about the country or its people this should clearly dispel that myth.  Putting peoples’ lives at risk so can soak up fawning adulation shows Trump for the sick, megalomaniac he is.

There is so much more to say but I will leave it there for today.  After the stinging rebuke of Trump by his former Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis (ret) yesterday, everyone in this country should understand how dire things are.  People with the integrity, reputation and gravitas of General Mattis don’t make statements like he did unless they believe something is seriously amiss.  I encourage everyone to read General Mattis’s statement.

A friend of mine turned me on to a daily newsletter put out by Heather Cox Richardson, who is a professor of history at Boston College.  Her daily blogs are thoughtful and I encourage people to subscribe.  Thanks, Jenny!

heathercoxrichardson@substack.com       

Lastly, I would like to remind everyone that Donald Trump and all public officials work for us, We The People, and they serve at our pleasure.  Sometimes I think politicians, and particularly Donald Trump, think that we are all here to do their bidding.   We, as the ‘Board of Directors’ of this organization have the power to make changes.  Speak up.  Speak out.  And vote!!!!

I usually don’t watch Trump’s speeches but I made an exception Monday night and while I was hoping for some kind of a message of healing, empathy and understanding, that turned out to be a pipe dream.  Instead there was the ‘strongman’ speech as one might expect from Putin, Erdogan or some of other autocrats that Trump seems to like so much.  There was nothing to address the ‘why’ of the protests.  Again, let me be clear, I do not support violence, property destruction and looting.  However, the failure to address the underlying causes of this ongoing situation and focus almost entirely on the violence just shows that in Trump’s world, every single situation, foreign and domestic, can only be dealt with through confrontation, bullying and force.   ‘The Art of the Deal’ is a myth. Empathy is as rare as a unicorn.

And while the speech inflamed rather than calmed the situation the real travesty of the night was the photo op at St. John’s church which required mounted police and other riot geared officers to use flash bang grenades, tear gas and batons to move a peaceful protest out of the way so Trump could walk to the church for a photo op while holding a Bible.  This is what dictators do!

“Marc Polymeropoulos, who formerly ran CIA operations in Europe and Asia, was among several former agency officials who recoiled at images of Trump hoisting a Bible in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington after authorities fired rubber bullets and tear gas to clear the president’s path of protesters.

“It reminded me of what I reported on for years in the third world,” Polymeropoulos said on Twitter. Referring to the despotic leaders of Iraq, Syria and Libya, he said: “Saddam. Bashar. Qaddafi. They all did this.”    [Washington Post]

Trump’s speech was beneath the dignity of the office of the President (and certainly the gratuitous reference to the Second Amendment was grossly inappropriate!).  The aggressive movement of the peaceful protestors for a photo op was beneath the dignity of the office of the President.  The photo of Trump holding a Bible in front of St. Johns church was a travesty and the height of hypocrisy given that he has demonstrated on multiple occasions he has virtually no moral compass.

Think about this – all of this unrest is the result of racial injustice and the fact a black man was murdered (there is no more appropriate word) in broad daylight by a white police officer.  And how many people of color did you see in the photo op with the President?  Zero!!   It was just a bunch of mostly old white guys.  What the hell is wrong with this picture?   Trump can talk all he wants and the GOP can talk all they want about how they are inclusive and supportive of diversity – bullshit!   The photo of Trump and his entourage tells you all you need to know.

And that brings me to my final point for today.  I have no doubt that Trump is a dangerous man that, in spite of his rhetoric, doesn’t give one whit about the United States of America – he cares about power and money.  However, the even scarier part of the political landscape today is that so many Republican Congressmen are silent in the face of ongoing assaults on our democracy.  And, further, twist themselves into knots to rationalize and justify behavior that, in any other administration, would be deemed completely unacceptable.  These enablers are just as responsible for the current state of polarization and unrest in this country as the President himself. 

George Will is a long-time conservative columnist who has solid ‘conservative’ credentials.  In the spirit of full disclosure, George Will left the Republican party in 2016 because he saw the direction it was going.  However, he was a conservative long before Trump ever showed up on the stage.  The following are recent quotes from George Will.  He says it much better than I could.

“In life’s unforgiving arithmetic, we are the sum of our choices. Congressional Republicans have made theirs for more than 1,200 days. We cannot know all the measures necessary to restore the nation’s domestic health and international standing, but we know the first step: Senate Republicans must be routed, as condign punishment for their Vichyite collaboration, leaving the Republican remnant to wonder: Was it sensible to sacrifice dignity, such as it ever was, and to shed principles, if convictions so easily jettisoned could be dignified as principles, for … what? Praying people should pray, and all others should hope: May I never crave anything as much as these people crave membership in the world’s most risible deliberative body.”  

“The measures necessary for restoration of national equilibrium are many and will be protracted far beyond his removal. One such measure must be the removal of those in Congress who, unlike the sycophantic mediocrities who cosset him in the White House, will not disappear “magically,” as Eric Trump said the coronavirus would. Voters must dispatch his congressional enablers, especially the senators who still gambol around his ankles with a canine hunger for petting.”    George Will

And now I think I’ll go for a real bike ride to enjoy the beautiful Montana countryside!  Be safe, everyone!

I wake up almost every morning these days in a state of mental exhaustion wondering which brick will be pulled from the foundation of our democracy and how much more polarized this nation can become.   Will another Inspector General be fired for doing their job of investigating wrong doing by government officials or will it be yet another assault on the idea of a free press.  Or perhaps another Twitter storm full of lies and misinformation about baseless conspiracies and bigoted rhetoric.   Will it be another attack on the intelligence organizations of this country and deference to people like Vladimir Putin.   Or perhaps this administration will offend yet another of our allies.  And in the latest fiasco, this administration chose to throw gasoline on the fires of racial unrest rather than try to address the real underlying problem? (And just to be clear, I do not support riots and looting – but there is a legitimate underlying problem that needs to be addressed!)

 I have never, in my 67 years felt so depressed and concerned about the direction this country is taking.  I was born before the Cuban missile crisis.  I lived through the era of Vietnam protests.  I lived in Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots.    And then, of course, there was the tragedy of 9/11.   I racked up over 5 million air miles during my career travelling to over 30 countries all over the globe.  I lived in Kuwait for 1 ½ years (right next to a mosque) and lived in France for 7 months.  I have spent a great deal of time in several countries in Asia and North Africa.  I have seen and experienced a lot.  And yet, here I am, sometimes just overwhelmed by the ongoing chaos, constant flood of lies, total disregard for the rule of law and the constitution, and the petulant, childish behavior of this president. 

I ask myself every day, “What can I do?”  Of course, I read and I vote but that just doesn’t feel like enough.  So, I decided to resurrect my blog from my bicycle adventure down Route 66 from Chicago back to Los Angeles and then my subsequent trip to New Zealand.  This won’t be about a bicycle adventure but will simply be a place to post my thoughts.  It will be my catharsis.   One of my all time favorite books is, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” by Robert Pirsig.  This will be kind of like my mental bicycle ride.   Prior to one knee replacement, one fractured vertebra and ACL/torn meniscus surgery on the other knee, I was an avid runner and used to tell people that running was my ‘therapy’.  When things got crazy, I always felt better after going out and running a few miles.  Now bicycling has replaced running as my therapy.  Weather permitting, I still try to go out for 20 to 30 mile bike ride several days a week.   This blog will serve as my mental bike ride.

I don’t really know how often I will post these ‘mental bike rides’ and I really don’t care if anyone reads this.  If people do read it, I don’t expect everyone to share my views.  I suspect, given the climate permeating our society today, that people who disagree with me will feel compelled to spew hate and vitriol this direction – that’s fine, it’s a free country at least for the time being.  I truly believe that silence in the face of everything going on is complicity.  It is my country too.  And just because I disagree with this administration does not mean that I am not a patriot.  I will not be silent any longer and watch the country that I love be dismantled brick by brick and turned into an autocratic, bigoted, intolerant and irrelevant player on the world stage. 

It’s been a very busy time in Sydney.  It’s a large city and there is much to see and do.  I just barely scratched the surface.  After my whirlwind tour of the city the first day, I decided for day two, I would hop on the bus again and jump off at the stop near the Sydney Fish Market and just take a long leisurely walk back to my hotel and stop at several of the plans I had passed on the bus tour the day before.

The fish market was great.  There were several large warehouses where the wholesale trade takes place and then one large building open to the public.  There were many different vendors selling all kinds of fresh fish (If only I had a BBQ in my hotel room!) and there were all kinds of places to buy seafood to eat right there.  I was there about 10:30 am and the place was very busy.  I could have walked out of the building absolutely stuffed but I already had lunch plans.  However, I felt compelled to at least sample something so I got some grilled octopus on a stick – kind of like octopus kabobs!  Delicious!

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I then walked over to Darling Harbor, which was a little less than a mile away.  It’s a very picturesque little harbor with all kinds of shops, restaurants, museums – not to mention great people watching!  I wandered around a while and finally found a little cafe where I could have lunch and watch the world go by.   It was about a mile and a half walk back to my hotel but it took me through the Central Business District which was a beehive of activity.  Great fun!

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After grabbing a coffee back near my hotel, I walked over to the Sydney Opera House, which was just short distance away.  It really is a magnificent building.  I have heard from multiple sources that the Backstage Tour, although a bit pricey, is well worth the money.   Unfortunately, by the time I heard that, they were sold out for most of the month of December.  So, if you’re going to be in Sydney and want to do that, plan ahead!

The next day was the infamous Sydney Harbor Bridge climb.   It was fun and I’m glad I did it.  You get a stunning 360 degree view of Sydney when you are clipped to a catwalk 500 feet above the water!  I learned all kinds of factoids from the guide – including the fact that a new company took over the lease as of October ( after 20 years) so who knows how things will operate going forward.   The whole thing moves little slow for my tastes but it was still worth doing. You can’t beat the views!

Yesterday I took an excursion out to the Blue Mountains, about two hours outside of Sydney.  Unfortunately the weather was not very cooperative and we ran into some low clouds which put a little bit of a damper on things.  But, we were still able to see some very pretty country.  I’m sure when the sun is shining, the views must be spectacular.  We were able to take a few short little hikes and see some pretty country.

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On the way back to the city, we stopped at a wildlife park – I didn’t even know it was on the agenda!  It was fun to get up close and personal to some of Australia’s indigenous wildlife.  It’s interesting that there’s is virtually no wildlife ( including no poisonous snakes) that can kill you in New Zealand and here in Australia, there are all kinds of things that can kill you! 

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So now it’s time to wrap things up, repack my bags and get ready to head to the airport about 24 hours from now.  I suspect this will be the last post for a while.  It’s time for me to get back to the real world.  It’s been a great trip- no regrets.  But I’m looking forward to spending the holidays with Jordan and seeing some of my friends in LA before I head back to Montana- and begin to plan the next adventure!  So, thanks for coming along.  Bikingwithmike.com signing off!  Outbound soon SYD to LAX.  

First of all, I have to say these Aussies have their customs act together!  The only person I talked to during the whole process was an officer who asked me about my bike while I was waiting for my luggage ( I declared it on my customs form).  Once satisfied, he stamped my form and I collected my luggage and off I went.  It was entirely automated!  A piece of cake.  After having stood in many customs lines at various places in the world, I was seriously impressed!

It had been a long day so I grabbed a bite at a place near my hotel and settled in for the night.  I went to sleep thinking that I would just take it easy today – that didn’t quite work out!

My hotel is in an area called The Rocks which is near the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge.   I knew it was going to be warm today so I decided to take a little exploratory walk early.  One thing led to another and before long I was walking across the Sydney Harbor Bridge!  Great views.

When I returned I decided that one of Sydney’s “hop on/ hop off” busses was the way to cover a lot of ground.  Once again, one thing led to other and I found myself at the famous Bondi Beach.  I walked around for a while and was contemplating what to do about lunch when I stumbled upon one of the local surf rescue groups having a fund raising BBQ.  It seemed like a better way to spend money rather than at one of the local tourist restaurants so I grabbed a snack there.

 I jumped back on the bus and finished he loop around the city.  Once back to where I started, I jumped on a boat for an hour long cruise around the harbor.  Upon returning from that, in spite of sunscreen, hat, etc. I’d spent so much time in the sun I felt like a baked potato so I found a nice cool restaurant and had my first real sit down meal of the day – at about 4pm.

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The nice thing about the hop-on/hop-off bus tour was that it allowed me to scope out a lot of the areas and sights relatively quickly so now I have a really good idea where I will go tomorrow.   And most of the places I want to go are within a mile or two so I’ll probably just take a walk and then if I get tired or sunbaked, I’ll jump on the bus.  I have to save a little bit of energy since the day after that I’m suppose to climb to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge!  As I vividly recall, when I was recently in New Zealand and I climbed up something high, I had to jump off into the water – hopefully that’s not the same drill here!  😃

I was trying to think of something interesting to do in “the adventure capital of the world” on my last day in New Zealand!  After reviewing many options, I decided to go canyoning.  

I spent two hours climbing around a canyon with a river running through it – zip lining, rappelling down cliffs, zip lining halfway across a river and then dropping into the river via rope, jumping off of a 25 foot cliff into a pool of cold river water, sliding down water chutes, etc.  

I was at least 20 years older than the next youngest person but managed to keep up.  And I jumped and some of the others did not.  All of that said, it was a real workout for me and I emerged tired and a bit sore.  It was a challenge but a lot of fun. Good group of people and tremendous guides.  What a way to wrap up a great visit to New Zealand.

Now I’m all packed and will head to the airport for my flight to Sydney in about three hours.  I have nothing planned in Sydney for a couple days and am looking forward to just chilling out and walking around the city.  

I decided to take a trip to Milford Sound as it is one of the iconic places associated with New Zealand.  I was a bit hesitant because, unless you fly ( more on that later), it is a very long day – about 13 or 14 hours door to door!

While I could have driven, it is a very long tortuous drive and I decided I’d prefer to look at the scenery if I was going to do this.  There are many tour operators going from Queenstown to Milford Sound, most driving large buses.  After a bit of online sleuthing, I opted to go with a Company, BBQ Bus to Milford Sound, and was very happy with the choice.  They operate small 16 passenger buses, have great guides/drivers who are very engaging and it made a long trip much more enjoyable.

The drive down to Milford Sound takes about 4 hours.  We made a few short stops along the way for photo ops and “ bio breaks”.  We had one longer stop where we had a very nice lunch of BBQ’d lamb and chicken kabobs.

Once at Milford, we boarded a small boat and headed out for a cruise that lasted about 1 hour 45 minutes.  Although Milford Sound has over 250 rain days a year and gets over 25 feet of annual rainfall!, we were extremely fortunate in that we had clear blue skies!  Perfect timing!

It truly is a beautiful place.  I was glad I made the trip.  After the cruise, it was time to hop on our little bus for the long trip back to Queenstown.  The other option for returning is to fly out of the little airport at Milford Sound.  They operate small, 12 passenger prop planes to and from Queenstown.  The 4 hour bus trip turns into a 45 minute flight.

That said, the flights are not cheap.  I think the driver said that they are on the order of $400NZ one way.  The flight back to Queenstown would have been more expensive than my trip to Sydney tomorrow.  However, on a day like yesterday with clear blue skies, it might have been worth it just for the scenery! Flying through the mountains would have been spectacular.  But, alas, I jumped on the bus and got back to my hotel in Queenstown about 9 pm.  It was a good trip – no regrets!

Today is my last day in Queenstown and my last day in New Zealand.  I hop my flight to Sydney tomorrow and will be LA bound one week from today.  So, I guess I’ll go see what kind of mischief I can get into today!

It’s been nice to stay in one place for a few days.  Queenstown is a beautiful place – the adventure capital of the world they call it!   On Monday afternoon I just walked around and explored the town a bit.

On Tuesday the clouds were low and it looked a bit gloomy but then it cleared up and I took the gondola up to one of the hills above Queenstown.  Fantastic views!  Just a stunning place.  It’s also the launching point for parasailing, bungy jumping, downhill mountain biking, etc.   Lots of adrenalin going up and down this mountain!

And today was my first Queenstown adventure.  I opted for one of the iconic jet boat rides.  It was a kick!  See video link below!  There are some jet boats that operate in the lake, but Shotover Jets has an exclusive license on a segment of the river and shooting through these canyons is the way to go!

http://Smileflingr.com/SHJT/SHJT5GUL75VN

Tomorrow it’s off to Milford Sound which is an all day excursion – but I don’t have to drive!

So after a couple hundred miles on a bicycle, driving 340 miles on the North Island, taking a three hour ferry ride and driving 860 miles on the South Island I arrived in Queenstown today, three weeks and a day after arriving in Auckland.  This is my final destination in New Zealand but I will be here for the next 4 days just relaxing and playing ( starting with a jet boat ride in a couple of days)!

My car is completely unloaded, including my bike box, and the car is safely parked in the garage where it will likely stay until I make the 4 mile drive to the airport on Saturday.  I won’t have a rental car for the few days I will be in Sydney so I am hanging up my “driving on the left side” license for the time being.  It’s been fun.  It’s been an adventure and I’ve actually enjoyed driving here – most of the time!

The drive from Franz Josef Glacier to Queenstown was probably one of the most scenic highways I have ever driven.  There were times when the road was both windy and steep with occasional places with a posted speed limit of 15 kpm ( 10 miles per hour)!  And there were many one lane bridges which are so common here.  That said, the scenery was amazing for essentially the entire 250 mile trip.

At times you were driving through lush forests along the coast.  And then there were stretches where you’d be looking at soaring snow capped mountains or driving past huge, beautiful lakes.  At times the road reminded me of the Hana Highway on Maui.  Other times it reminded me of the Pacific Coast Highway in Northern California.  Throw in a little bit of the Beartooth Highway in Montana and you’ve got a really nice drive! They don’t call it “The Great Coastal Road” for no reason.

And the descent into Queenstown is definitely not for the faint of heart!  There were so many tight switchbacks that I felt like I was on a scaled up version of Lombard Street in San Francisco!

But I’m here and it’s now time to relax.  My apartment is a 5 minute walk to the main part of town where I have already found the Starbucks and several interesting looking restaurants.   Happy to be in Queenstown.  More in a couple of days.