The Rugby World Cup (RWC) and NZ North island

A team of rugby tragics, all of whom had been to France in 2007, decided to go to NZ for the 2011 RWC. We opted for 5 campervans so that we could see the sites, get to the games and also not have to continuously pack and unpack. Helen and I arrived a few days earlier which we spent at the Bay of Islands. We struck some great weather and took the ferry to Russell.

There are some great properties along the foreshore and with the late afternoon light it was a wonderful stroll. All very calming and relaxing.However there is evidence that in bygone years life was not quite as calm.

We had a drink in a nearby pub decorated with All Black flags and quickly got into the mood of the country with some pleasant banter with the locals. It became immediately clear that the next few weeks were going to be anything but calm.

A few days later we picked up two children and three grandchildren from Auckland (the calmness was then completely dissipated) and headed for the near by caravan park. Aimee (now three) sees herself as a boarder however I was more attracted by her Brumbies shirt. We watched the first round match against Italy which was won 32-6 and then headed off for a few days at Taupo in the mountains. We headed for the hot pools and with a bit of sun you could be forgiven for thinking this was the middle of summer (however the photographer was well wrapped up).

Some found the pools very relaxing.

Despite Taupo being very cold, windy and quite wet we had a great time as there were so many places to visit. Four days later we headed back to Auckland and caught up with the rest of the Campervan team (we had 5 in total) at Western Park. Although the site was not the greatest the owner went out of his way to help allowing us to use his bus for transport, driving with us to navigate close to the ground and arranged for parking a few hundred metres from the stadium (including parking for two vans so the grandchildren could be near by with the babysitter). He wanted to ensure he did all he could to make our trip as enjoyable as possible – New Zealanders have a great culture.

We followed his recommendation for a pre-match lunch (great pies) and went back subsequently for breakfast.

The match was one of the highlights of the pool matches against Ireland. The photo below you can tell was before the match as we lost 22-10.

After this second visit to Auckland we headed to Rotorua via Taupo. The weather was clear and we had to keep stopping to take photos of the snow clad mountains. It is true that when you live in a place that the view is taken for granted – the cows seem more concerned with eating.
At Rotorua we explored Hells Gate. Some of the pool temperatures were up to 140ºC. The local Maoris, on return from battle, used to mend their wounds by sitting in the Kakahi falls.

You get a feel for how thin the earths crust is with the amount of steam being generated - mind you the ghostly face coming out on the right may be even more sinister... or maybe it is just trying to get away from the molten mud bubbling up.Towards the end of the day Helen and I opted for some quieter time at the Museum of Art and History. We were too late to see the displays but did manage a peaceful cup of tea. The building and flowers with the low light are jig saw material.

In contrast to Taupo we had some great weather in Rotorua. Here are Kate and Alan and other posers with our three vans at the site.
We decided to take the Skyline chair lift up Mt. Ngongotaha which has great views over the city

Apart from the scenery the other major attraction is a Luge ride. Kate and Alan and then Michael with Kellan and myself with Baedden just had to give this a go. Baeddan just yelled with excitement the whole way down (it was a good 5+ minute ride). Great stuff!

At Helen’s insistence we stayed in the more sedate Napier. As we arrived late afternoon Kate texted and invited us to a wine tasting centre as this is Hawke’s Bay territory. We were introduced to some excellent wine including a late harvest Merlot desert wine – need to get more of this….

Napier is on the sea and has a wonderful frontage and garden that encourages perambulation.

The town suffered severe damage due to an earthquake in 1931. It was then rebuilt in the Art Deco architecture of the time. There are many great examples however, the inside of the ABS bank welcomes visitors and is stunning.
The theme of wine and food continued with Helen and I having lunch at a small boutique vineyard called Black Barn. A great lunch, wines and view over the vines meant that we left for Wellington rather later in the day then planned – but it was worth it.

Wellington was a stopover for the match against USA which resulted in a comfortable win 67 – 5. The Americans were a great supporters many of whom had clearly spent some time and money getting kitted out with sensational outfits. The regular chant of OOO ESSS AAAY really added to the atmosphere.

The next day we took the ferry to the South Island and left a cool windy Wellington and arrived 3 hours later to a warmer sunny Picton with its spectacular views. The boys enjoyed travelling on the deck and getting blown about. Downstairs we had some great entertainment while Aimee threw an imaginary object into a brown paper bag. She and the boys found this very entertaining – many of the adjoining passengers also found this far more interesting than their books or sleeping!

After setting up the ‘vans (plugging in the power and turning on the gas) we had a picnic lunch. The grandchildren prefer to digest their food running around between mouthfuls. We now had almost 2 weeks to explore the South Island.

Fiji – The Anchorage

After the wedding we decided that we would stay on in Fiji (additional warm days prior to the World Cup in NZ). We stayed at a small hotel near a diving centre. While enjoying a welcoming drink at the bar we heard what appeared to be a train approaching. It was a sugar train that ran through the middle of the resort and separated the units from the bar.
We had anticipated that the trains would run to some sort of schedule but we were forgetting Fiji time. During the week we saw an engine jump off the tracks and on a number of occasions derailed loaded wagons with sugar cane everywhere. Our idea of a timetable was a bit optimistic. As a result we had trains running through the resort at any time including the middle of the night which although quaint did detract from sleep.

The climate is great for plants and we visited the Sleeping Giants orchid garden. I had no idea of how many orchids there are. We wondered along a bank of them with large differences in size

and the variety of colours were hard to imagine.

Further back in the garden was a rain forest. The buttress roots on this tree were more of the hurdling than tripping over variety.

One of the reasons for moving to the Anchorage was the adjoining resort had a dive base. Their offshore location was Beachcombers island which was an hour boat ride. Unfortunately there were high winds and quite rough conditions which made going ashore on the island a hazardous affair – especially if you were staying on the island and had bags to off load. The entertainment factor for those onshore at the bar was however good value. I decided that the weather and unprotected dive sites did not warrant getting wet and feedback from some of the divers who did go suggested this was a good decision.

Back on the mainland we visited Nadi where there is a quite spectacular Hindu temple. As the guard insisted on us removing our shoes some 50 metres from the temple and the concrete was too hot to walk on for our more sensitive feet we opted for pictures from afar.

We also spent a day with a hire car and went round the island. Some spectacular views on the way and pretty challenging road works up in the mountains resulted in us arriving in Suva in time for a late lunch. The museum is in a large garden and houses a number of canoes. The Polynesians sailed all over the Pacific in these small vessels sometimes for months at a time navigating by the stars, wind, birds and sea conditions long before compasses, sextons and sea sickness tablets were available.

Armed with a suitable tan to upset New Zealanders we left for Auckland at the start of September.

Fiji and the wedding of the year

We were lucky enough to be invited to Ben (Alan and Kate Scandrett's son) wedding to Chantal in Fiji. This was also a great opportunity to warm up prior to the relative cold of New Zealand and the World Cup. The wedding was based at the Intercontinental Hotel which was frankly magnificent. It appeared that every North facing window had spectacular views. This is from the restaurant (one of three) where the reception was held. Blue sea, white sand, 30 degrees and a range of cocktails that could not be faulted – a pretty good start to our stay.
The wedding took place on the grassy slopes overlooking the sea. The bridal party was led out by a well but diversely dressed group. The contrast from matching grass tops and skirts to Jake’s matching tie and hatband and Charlie’s flowing silk layered dress was all pretty eye-catching.

However, the best dressed was without doubt the person on the ……right….

Chantel looked lovely and the trauma for Ben of nursing the dress from Canada several months prior to the wedding was worth the effort.

I will leave pictures of the actual wedding for the participants to publish – suffice to say it was great and Chantal in particular seemed to bubble through the whole ceremony which was a joy to watch. The registry office backdrop took a lot of beating.

After the ceremony we were on our own to participate in cocktails (we only needed telling once) while the professional photographers earned their keep. Some of the girls were in fine spirit but also thinking of a couple of absentees (Carol - who Jan has her arm around - and Ivan who unfortunately were not able to travel).

Prior to the reception we were fortunate to be able to take some photos as the sun set. It is hard to imagine a more romantic setting.

The evening meal, wines and speeches seemed to go very quickly and then it was time for the newly weds to take the dance floor. After this move it was apparent that some had done this before as Chantal did not end up flat on her back.

As the evening got hotter some decided the best way to cool off was to go for a swim. However, although they may have felt cool some were anything but…..

The following day some of us visited the local village (where many are employed at the hotel). After walking round with our guide giving a description of village life (including tribal laws) we were invited to have some coconut juice. It was very refreshing although not the easiest cup to drink out of.

We were also invited to participate in a welcoming ceremony and while I was away to the side taking some photos, our motley group nominated me as our chief. We met in the village hall and participated in some Kava. I was also presented with a magnificent garland which was some sort of compensation for being put in the front of our group. You can see that Kava has little effect.

The resort also included a magnificent golf course which has many holes with views of the sea. The bunker on this par 3 also included trees and coral to add to its attraction (distraction).

Some of the inland holes took advantage of extremely high tees dropping several hundred feet to the fairway (hard to pick up in the photo). The fairways were narrow and if missed the ball was lost. Together with some pretty strong winds this made the course one of the toughest I have played. Most were lucky not to lose several balls.

Not that that was an issue for the locals as at regular intervals pre-loved balls could be bought. There were none for sale in the golf shop so another local industry thrived. Familiar faces from the village kept popping up at the golf course, village tour, and hotel ceremonies (sun setting etc).

On our first golf round I partnered Bryan from Canada (Chantel’s sister Jessica’s partner). He could hit a ball a long way but not always down the middle. Having lost quite a few balls the stall at the fifth hole was timely and some $10 worth of balls were bought. By the 8th (and a few more balls dedicated to the bush) word had got ahead and Bryan was expected. A young girl ran up, checked his name and then realised it was appropriate to make a great fuss of him. Needless to say this demand and selective supply was successful in a further $10 being spent!

The hotel had several pools. One was for children while another nearest the ocean was strictly adults only. The pool appeared to flow into the sea. The cocktails helped with the illusion.

We tried all of the restaurants over the five days. Here we are with Jan and Ian and Chantal’s folks from Canada (Jim and Coleen). They were both great company who handled the shock of the somewhat raucous Australian contingent with aplomb.

Apart from golf and swimming the main activity seemed to be finding a suitable spot for drinking and chatting. On one evening Ian was concerned that he did not return to Australia with any wine which is the sort of invite that is impossible to decline.

There is little more one can say about the location – it was photographic at any time of the day or night.

We count ourselves very lucky to have been invited to such a great occasion and trip. The location, weather, food and drink could not be bettered but the top billing was without doubt the company.

Canada – Perfect dejavue

We left UK and headed for Canada where cousin Pamela and Robin picked us up from Montreal and took us to Perth (Ontario). We had a relaxing couple of days to catch up before embarking on a three day boat trip through Ottawa. We took the boat for a quick spin before loading it onto the trailer and heading for a basin near Ottawa. We slipped the boat into the water where it then decided not to start. After a couple of hours of power boosting it continued to reject our starting attempts. A bit of dejavue given this happened the last time we visited Perth (see 2009 blog!). Robin was not impressed and vowed that this boat will shortly be traded in for a more reliable one.

We decided to continue with the trip by road and on foot. We stopped off at the Hilton Casino where the reception is decorated with huge Chihuly chandeliers. Impressive, but fortunately too large for our home.

The Hilton is built on the edge of an old quarry which now forms a lake and is part of the waterway system. The views were great. The second boat below was being towed so starting failures are not uncommon (well it gave Robin some heart). In the left background is part of a large pontoon where a firework display occurs every few days during August.

We decided to go on a 6 kms walk into town largely along the waterfront. It was a perfect day in the mid 20s.

We passed through perfect gardens.

And walked across the Alexander bridge with a view to the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

And in the other direction the locks leading up into the Rideau canal system which were overlooked by the Parliament buildings and old library.

After a great lunch by the canal we took a taxi back to the hotel, picked up the car and moved to our next stop at the Chateau. This is the largest log cabin in Canada. Set on the banks of the river Ottawa it is perfect.

Drinks on the bank at sunset were also perfect.

The reception is in the hub of the building which has a number of spokes leading off. These house the bedrooms. The centre piece of the hub is a huge chimney 3 floors high. It must be pretty warm in winter and the lighting gave it a very warm feel in summer.

We had a French waiter at our evening meal who asked the usual questions

How was your day? “Good” and received the response “Perfect”.
How was the wine? “Excellent” “Perfect”.
The food? “Very flavourful” “Perfect”.

We thought this was rather a quaint French mannerism. However, breakfast with new waiters was the same, checking out was the same. How was your stay “Very enjoyable” “Perfect”.

We decided on the way home to spend a few hours in the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The entry hall is huge and accommodates a number of totem poles.

The domed ceiling overlooking the atrium to the end staircase is particularly colourful.

We opted for the hall that takes you through a history of Canada. It comprises a series of scenes which you weave in and out of with every corner opening up to some new bit of history.

Of course the school room attracted particular attention – can you imagine teaching these two? Meanwhile Robin is flagrantly cheating.

The façade of the museum has a Guggenheim feel about it (see Bilbao blog 2010)

Outside there is a great view from the fountain across the river to the Parliament Houses.

On the way back to Perth we called into a Scottish restaurant. Again we were hailed with “perfect” so clearly this is the Canadian word of the year.

Pam and Robin ensured our stay in Canada was truly relaxing (just perfect) and prepared us for the long haul home. We plan to return as soon as the new boat has arrived!