Lucrative College Rugby.
College rugby, the equivalent of high school rugby in the UK, is big in New Zealand. So much so that Sky TV broadcasts matches live through Sky’s Rugby Channel (a subscription only channel which is available for $100 p.a. on top of the standard sports package cost o of $300 p.a.) Continue reading
Welsh team paddle a traditional waka on the Waikato river in Hamilton.
I knocked-off work early this afternoon and travelled down to Hamilton with a lady from Tourism NZ to join the Wales squad on their day off in Hamilton. Through my contacts in Tourism NZ I had arranged for the squad to paddle a waka (Māori war canoes) down the Waikato river Continue reading
Wales face the last haka at the House of Pain.
Up at 05.45 for a 07.45 flight to the Dunedin. The flight was uneventful apart from the presence of half of NZ’s media. In Dunedin we checked into the Living Space hotel which perhaps could be better named ‘only just enough living space’ hotel as the room
is literally one and a half times the size of the bed and we have to orchestrate movements before executing them (but a bargain at £32 per night). Continue reading
Samoan head v Welsh head. There is only going to be one winner.
Haka at Eden Park with a mean-looking Ma’a Nonu.
For a Welshman temporarily living in New Zealand, international rugby fixtures at Eden Park are the first thing booked into a busy diary. And, with our youngest daughter staying with friends for the evening, we head head to Eden Park with our $50 tickets (£20) for the un-covered stands at the Cricket Avenue end of the to watch the All Blacks v Australia in a crucial game which both sides need to win to win the Tri-Nations tournament. Torrential rain is forecasted Continue reading
Keith Murdock leaving the Angel Hotel, Cardiff
In 1972 the All Blacks toured Britain, Ireland, France and North America. A tour which saw them play 32 fixture with the ABS running out winners in 25, losing 5 and drawing 2. Unusually, by modern standards, the tour spanned Christmas and the New Year with the ABs playing the Combined Services on boxing day at Twickenham (and all conducted in the amateur era).
Count down clock at the Britomart, downtown Auckland.
It goes without saying that Rugby is massive in New Zealand. 5000 people attended the All Blacks last training session before they departed to France or the Rugby World Cup and a further 2000 people turn-up at the airport for their departure with the Air New Zealand ground crew doing the haka before they took-off on an Air New Zealand aeroplane with a specially commissioned black paint job. Continue reading
New outfits bought in Apia market.
We head back from Savai’i to Opolu and Aggie Greys. After the 3 hour journey we have a dip in the pool before visiting the two markets in Apia. It is very warm despite the shade of the canopy over the market stalls. The girls choose Samoan dresses from the market which will be worn at the Samoan cultural dinner that we are attending that evening.
Fun with out taxi driver (right) at sliding rock.
We have a week ahead of us in Samoa so lots of time to explore. After breakfast and a dip in the pool we take a taxi to ‘sliding rock’ which is a series of connected natural pools through which a river runs . Between the pools the river flows of smooth slippery rock that you can slide down.
A warm welcome to Aggie Greys, Apia.
We finished packing after work and left for the airport at 9.00pm to catch the flight to Samoa. The flight was at 05.00 am Saturday morning. We ‘blagged’ our way into the Air New Zealand Gold Card lounge and the time passed very quickly before the 4 hr flight to Samoa. Sometime in the early hours we crossed the international date-line which propelled us back into Friday. We landed at Apia airport at around 5am (still Friday) Continue reading
NewZealandly 