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Published: July 12th 2006
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Well, I'm back at my temporary home (Gillian and Russ's) in Sydney battling a really nasty cold, which started the morning after my birthday party. Probably had something to do with a few late nights in Queenstown and a late night Jul 1. . .
My last 2 weeks in NZ were fabulous. Aukland is quite nice. Like Vancouver, but without the mountains and all of the weather. I managed to find rugby tickets, so sat in the Terraces to watch the June 17 battle between Ireland and the All Blacks. Apologies to all of my Irish friends, but I cheered for the All Blacks - when in Rome. . . It was a great time. I didn't really know anyone in Aukland, so I went by myself and sat with a couple of boys from Hamilton, who were nice enough to answer my questions about some of the rules (like what is handling in the ruck?). It rained throughout the entire game, which I was a little unprepared for. In Van, most of the stadiums are covered, because it rains 3/4 of the year, not so in Auckland. I did have my gortex jacket on, but had a known,
The Haka
All Blacks vs Ireland, Eden Park Stadium, Auckland I would have worn my rain pants as well! The game was a bit messy because of the rain, but the Irish gave the All Blacks a good run - making it close at one point (20-17), but then the All Blacks pulled out a try in the last 10 minutes and the game ended at 27-17.
From Auckland I went up to Bay of Islands (Paihia) where the weather was not much warmer (damn cold according to the locals) but without rain. In Paihia, I spent a day on a trip up to the nornthern tip of NZ, Cape Reinga, a day on a yacht (I'm thinking about taking up sailing), a morning horseback ride (1st time on a horse since I was 4 - good for the inner legs), an afternoon hike, and a morning on a dolphin cruise. Once again I couldn't swim with the dolphins - this time the pod had babies. Bay of Islands is one of the most beautiful places in NZ and activity central!
From Bay of Islands, I bussed back down to Auckland to overnight before my flight back down to Queenstown on Fri, June 23. There I met Kelli
and Andrea for a week of winter festival and skiing. We went to a hockey game our first night in Queenstown (my first game in 4 years) - The Canadian Moose vs. the Queenstown Rangers - and it wasn't as one-sided as one would expect - and not particularly stellar hockey - but who can complain. Of course the Moose scraped out a 3-2 win (a Canadian loss here would be like losing to Switzerland in the Olympics - oh wait a sec . . .) and there were a couple of good fights.
On Saturday we started skiing. After 4 1/2 years away from the slopes, I found things weren't too bad. I took a couple of lessons and after a day I was back to the level I was at the last time I skiied and I could get down the 2 black runs that were open on Coranet Peak. Still not a fan of the moguls though. We spent our full 6 days at Coranet Peak. Our passes were good for the Remarkables as well, but we had heard the snow was not very good there and I would rather ski in good conditions.
Of
Marge, I Forgot Where I Parked the Merc
Somebody got caught in the tide at 90 Mile Beach. This may be a recognized highway in NZ, but you gotta know when to go! course a week in Queenstown would not be complete without partaking in a little bit of the apres ski atmosphere, especially considereing it was winter festival as well. We saw a couple of bands playing on the stages at the mardi gras - didn't stay out too late because it was pretty darn cold - and enjoyed the various pubs. Wednesday night saw us at the Buffalo Club, which had a pretty decent cover band playing (and the second night of hearing Stairway to Heaven covered). Thursday night we started at Winnies (the roof of this bar opens up when the fireplace gets too hot, which is pretty cool) and moved on from there. Andrea had almost ordered a beer from me to a cute guy across the bar - I got that stopped in time. Andrea is all about creating opportunities. I'm about just lookin.
Anyways, I made it back to Sydney on June 30 after various flight delays. July 1 saw the big party at the Point. Jill and I celecrated our birthdays and the fact that we were leaving Ernst & Young. She turned 29 again and I think this year I turned 27. (Interestingly, I
couldn't buy a bottle of wine at a grocery store in Queenstown because I didn't have my passport with me. Apparently I look under 25 - two drivers liscences indicating I was born in 1974 and the grey starting in my hair didn't help my cause any.) After the festivities at the Point, we headed across to the casino to catch the England and Portugal game. Poor England!
My trip to NZ was fantastic and I had that funny feeling in my stomache, like I was leaving home, when I left. Could be a place where I will end up when I am finished with my travels. I can picture myself with an apartment in Mission Bay (Auckland) and a bach in either Bay of Islands, Hahei, or Ragaln (or all 3!)
I've got just over a week in Sydney to get over this cold, see some friends, and get my stuff shipped back to my parents place in Canada. Then I am on the road again for the Australian leg of my tour.
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