No Permission Needed!
It's always annoying when regulations change around one.
When I was first planning my vacation, I checked the appropriate websites and discovered that I needed an International Driving Permit to drive in New Zealand, which would just be issued alongside my current valid driver's license. Interestingly, I noted that particular rule seemed to have gone into effect only at the beginning of the year. I figured that another piece of (fairly cheap) paperwork was no big deal, and decided to just stop by a AAA office at some point to get one.
Time passed, and I never got around to it, and I finally decided that I needed to get it today, since it would be about my last free day. I'd considered getting one over a lunch break, but it's end of month. No way. Before trotting off to my nearest AAA office, I decided to look at the actual regulations on the governmental website one more time.
The regulations changed again. Sometime late July, best as I can tell. Only one word seems to have been changed. The phrase that formerly read "current and valid overseas driver license and international driving permit" now reads "current and valid overseas driver license or international driving permit" (emphasis mine).
Oh well. I still need to get my car's routine maintenance and have a couple of recall notices fixed, and run off to Dalton to return a package to evangelos, and actually do some workfoo while there. And it's cheaper this way.
On a much more positive note, the mental countdown has started. I suspect it'll be the main thing getting me through next week. :)
When I was first planning my vacation, I checked the appropriate websites and discovered that I needed an International Driving Permit to drive in New Zealand, which would just be issued alongside my current valid driver's license. Interestingly, I noted that particular rule seemed to have gone into effect only at the beginning of the year. I figured that another piece of (fairly cheap) paperwork was no big deal, and decided to just stop by a AAA office at some point to get one.
Time passed, and I never got around to it, and I finally decided that I needed to get it today, since it would be about my last free day. I'd considered getting one over a lunch break, but it's end of month. No way. Before trotting off to my nearest AAA office, I decided to look at the actual regulations on the governmental website one more time.
The regulations changed again. Sometime late July, best as I can tell. Only one word seems to have been changed. The phrase that formerly read "current and valid overseas driver license and international driving permit" now reads "current and valid overseas driver license or international driving permit" (emphasis mine).
Oh well. I still need to get my car's routine maintenance and have a couple of recall notices fixed, and run off to Dalton to return a package to evangelos, and actually do some workfoo while there. And it's cheaper this way.
On a much more positive note, the mental countdown has started. I suspect it'll be the main thing getting me through next week. :)