Further Wanderings

I’d LOVE to write a longer entry about this trip, but given that it’s now less than three days until I leave Wellington I’m afraid there just won’t be time, so it’ll have to be a quicky.

Though the planning for Sarah and I’s trip home had been going well, there was still one major hurdle to clear: obtaining a US visa (if you want to miss out the upcoming rant, please just skip the following paragraph.)

Apparently the US visa waiver program doesn’t apply (even if you’re otherwise eligible) if you plan on spending more than 90 days in North America (not just the USA mind… Anywhere in North America including Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.) So, despite the fact that we’ll be spending a total of 17 days in the US, Sarah had to pay a further $160 for a US visa (not to mention the $35 spent on the pay-per-minute call that is the only way to contact the US consulate.) To make matters worse, the only way to apply for a visa is to have an IN PERSON interview at the consulate in Auckland (NOT the embassy in Wellington, where we currently live) adding a further $250 and an immense pain in the butt to the whole affair.

Anyhow, despite the forgoing, we decided to make the best of a necessity and take the trip up to Auckland together, doing a bit of sightseeing on the way.
[read on]