Day 366: 2nd year of travel?

Ozzlie the Tasmanian Tiger being
helpful (see below)

I believe we've been travelling for a year today, so it must be day 366, even though I seem to have lost some days somewhere.  If anyone is clever enough to notice it was a leap year, I have also allowed for the day we lost as we crossed the Pacific.  Anyway, on to other things.

Today was a long day that started at the house we left in Okiato and ended in Rotorua.  Over 450 kilometres through sections of New Zealand that have population densities approaching those of Europe, on roads that were meant for low population densities.  After I left Mike and Antonia at Auckland airport I did the second half of the journey in a daze.  It is always hard to drive with a handheld gps on one's knee to do the navigating.  Mine has the creative routing skills of a child and it is always worth second-guessing it, but that is a yet another thing to do, so I didn't.  Eventually, Ireached Rotorua. I had forgotten how much the places stinks - of sulphur technically, but it might just as well be rotten eggs.  It comes in gusts too, so that you can't even get used to it. 

By 6pm, it felt like at least 9pm.  I had no intention of drinking Rotorua's tap water given the pungency of its air and I was suddenly becoming conscious of the fact that I'd had next to nothing to drink all day.  I set off walking to Hell's Pizza which was just round the corner, slowly realised how big the corner was and went back for my car.  I sat and waited for my pizza wondering if I would pass out from dehydration.  Then I drove to the supermarket, which is about a mile away just across the street and bought a ten litre jerry can of water.  I think I was so thirsty that it looked like just enough. 

Somehow, I hauled the ten litres of water, the pizza and the salad up to my room.  I tried to open my jerry can of water, because drinking its contents was my top priority and discovered to my dismay that the cap was designed to be removed by big strong guys who are not dying of thirst.  I wondered if I would die before I could get help, then, amazingly enough the cap came off.  I decanted a glass of water, and started trying to fit my jerrycan into the fridge.  I removed the fridge shelves, but there was still no way!  I decided to give up before the bottle split and spilled nearly ten litres of water all over the floor.  Two more glasses of water later and it was time to attack the pizza, well, guzzle is maybe more the right word. 

At some point later on I started to notice that Hell's Pizzas are really pretty good and that I have very good taste in toppings. Immediately after, I realised that if I passed out now, it would be exhaustion rather than thirst or hunger so it was safe to do so.  I put Ozzlie, my tasmanian tiger Antonia gave me for my birthday on my pillow and went to bed.