Hubby really, really, really wants to go there. He loves the geography. It IS truly something from a fantasy! Maybe we'll all come over and start a Reagan revolution in New Zealand!
Do you all drive like the English, on the left hand side?
Yes, they drive on the left hand side in NZ, AU, JPN, SA, and of course the UK.
Beware of ex-Californian leftists! We have a number of them here and there are rumours of more to come because the US is moving away from liberalism and NZ is so leftist that we even have an official no-nukes policy (No nuclear-propelled, or armed military frigates/aircraft carriers, etc can land in this country).
Here is an essential weblog site to get the NZ news from a politically conservative angle:
http://www.nzpundit.com
Yes, we drive on the left and traffic signs are half way between British and American conventions, although we use metric system for distance. In general, signs are a little different from their American counterparts but not too different to cause significant hiccups. (eg we call the "Yield" signs "Give Way" signs and is written as such on the signs themselves) Here is a webpage of our official Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA, equiv to your states' DMV) about road rules in NZ:
http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/roadcode/index.html
It should be a good reference for you if you have any problems about NZ's road rules.