Ka Mate--All Blacks!!

So this blog is about 2 weeks late, but hey, better late than never.

On June 8 we went to our very first All Blacks game. We had been wanting to go, and when a friend said she had some extra tickets, we thought now was our chance. They were playing France, who is not known to be too tough a competitor, but would be a good game as who doesn't like the watch the French fail --- apologies  to any French people or lovers of the French :)

We went to our friend, Mel's, for drinks before the game and I showed up with bubbles to discover that it was hanging out in the garage with beer pong---I felt a bit under-prepared. Will jumped right in on a game of beer pong, and later on, I joined to teach the Kiwi's flip cup. I'd never had to teach anyone flip cup before, but luckily it's not too hard to teach and the group were quick learners.

We then made our way to the stadium on foot with our group being among the rowdy crowd :) I was so excited to finally see the haka (see below) live and to see the team play, especially the beast, Nonu, bulldoze through people. I was a bit disappointed that my Dan Carter was still out from a wrist(?) injury. Nevertheless it was a great time and of course, the AB's won! It is so fun having a winning team to support! We had a great time cheering in a full kiwi crowd and will be going again in September when they play rivals, South Africa. 

Pre-game ceremony

Will taking it all in

Our kiwi little brother, Sean!

Go All Blacks!

THE HAKA:
The haka is a traditional warrior dance/war cry done by the Maoris. In a very simple explanation it involves intimidating facial contortions, bulging the eyes, sticking out the tongue and hitting parts of the body. The All Blacks have been doing a pre-game haka facing their opponents since 1905!! Wow! I wouldn't want to go up against these guys on the field!



This is video from the test we went to, but the professionals got better shots than me :) Here are the words below with the translation.

Ka mate, ka mate! ka ora! ka ora! Ka mate! ka mate! ka ora! ka ora! Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā Ā, upane! ka upane! Ā, upane, ka upane, whiti te ra!

’Tis death! ‘tis death! (or: I may die) ’Tis life! ‘tis life! (or: I may live) ’Tis death! ‘tis death! ’Tis life! ‘tis life! This is the hairy man Who brought the sun and caused it to shine A step upward, another step upward! A step upward, another... the Sun shines!

It's pretty cool to have something like this as a tradition (the haka and a winning rugby team). We definitely loved seeing the AB's live and can't wait to do it again soon!

Cheers!
Will and Tally

Queen's Birthday Weekend Part II

So I left you all on the edge of your seat wondering about the second part of our trip. We left off with Kaikoura and seals. After Kaikoura, we travelled up the coast to Blenheim. 

While we were there we stayed with my co-worker’s parents. It is always nice when someone offers up their home to stay in so we not just get a feel for the area, but also people that live in that area. We had a great time staying with them and I know Will really enjoyed having a fully homemade meal every night and morning. When I say home made---I mean fresh baked bread, stewed feijoas for cereal and mushrooms straight from the field. He also enjoyed having a home-baked dessert each night with dinner. We both thoroughly enjoyed Minnie and Bella (the cat and dog).

Will and Minnie hanging out

Playing tug-o-war with Bella

He even got to practice his piano skills!

Sunday we got up early and went for a walk up the mounts nearby. Cath said they weren’t too hard to climb…Cath must be a ninja because I was huffing and puffing before I even got to the “hard part”. Nevertheless it was, once again, worth the view.

Top of Mt. Vernon

Will was getting hot walking in his pants

View of Blenheim from Mt. Vernon

Can't be on a walk in NZ without having to cross some sheep

After that we got cleaned up and went out to do some tastings. The Blenheim area is known as “Marlborough” which is one of New Zealand’s many wine regions. Marlborough is best known for their Sauvignon Blancs, but they have lots of other delicious wines as well. We had a nice time sampling the wines, poking around the vineyards and looking at the beautiful scenery all around.

Saint Clair Winery

Cloudy Bay Winery

Wither Hills

Stunning vines at Wither Hills with the sun shining through the clouds

Monday we got up and went with Sarah’s dad, Guy, and had a look at his duck blinds. I know this sounds funny, but they were way off the beaten path in really beautiful countryside.

Will and Guy walking to his duck blind

After that we hit the road for Picton, which is where we caught the ferry to Wellington. Because New Zealand is one large small town, we ran into a girl we’ve met in Auckland, Cora. It was fun to catch up with her as she was finishing up her time in NZ and heading back for the US.

The ferry to Wellington was really neat. The first hour was through the very scenic Marlborough Sounds. To say it was windy would be an understatement, but sooo majestic. After we left the sounds it was open ocean for a while and we went to the cabins to read/seep. The ride was actually quite smooth and enjoyable.

View of Picton from the ferry

Ready to depart!

Stunning sounds

It's windy on the deck! 

After that we flew out from Wellington and went back home. It was such a great trip and we highly recommend it to anyone who can take

Tune in for a post about the All Blacks game we went to yesterday!!

Tally x

All hail the "Queen's Birthday" and get a day off... Part 1

This past weekend was a holiday weekend here in New Zealand. We celebrated the Queen’s Coronation by having Monday off! Will and I decided to take advantage of this long weekend and make it a 4-day weekend and take a trip. We flew to the South Island for the first time and took a road trip. We were in ChristChurch, Hanmer Springs, Kaikoura, Blenheim, Picton and then flew out of Wellington. Since our trip was so packed full of awesomeness, I’m going to break up our blog by general area.

We flew into ChCh Friday morning and rented a car. We got the cheapest one, but ended up with a pretty flash Hyundai anyway!

Our expectations of downtown ChCh were pretty low as we’d heard from several people that since the earthquakes, there is not much to it and its worth a look, but not much more. When we got there we were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked it!

Walking around ChCh

We walked around the “Red Zone” which is the area still under construction since the quakes. There is a 45 min walk around the perimeter with signs explaining where things were. It was really powerful to see all the destruction. It was the saddest to see the cathedral with it’s roof caved in and stones crumbled. The cathedral was built in the 1860-70s and has been damaged by earthquakes before, but nothing like this.

The cathedral before the earthquakes

And after...

Using containers as stabilizers for partial walls still standing

Once we had almost finished our walk we stumbled upon the area that is being used as the temporary downtown. It was so cool to see their creativeness. They have used shipping containers to build a mall with all the traditional downtown shopping and had a nice market going on Friday afternoon. We had a nice truck lunch then hit the road for Hanmer.

Marketplace in ChCh

Re:START container mall in downtown ChCh

The drive was beautiful as we approached the Southern Alps. I wanted to stop every 10 min for a picture, so had to use some self-restraint!

Once we got to Hanmer, we were entranced. The main street was lined with beautiful orange and crimson trees with the backdrop of snow capped mountains. It felt like a quaint Rocky Mountain town. Our first stop was to the spa where we had complimentary steam and massages. In between our treatments we were served amazing herbal teas while lounging in our robes. That night we got some yummy Indian and had a night of relaxing in our cozy hotel room.

The next morning we got up and went for a brisk walk around town.  While we were walking we started chatting up this gentleman with a doggie and he told us to follow this path to go up to an observation point. What he didn’t tell us was that it was VERY steep to get up and I was huffing and puffing. BUT the view was definitely worth it. 

The sun makes the background look like a painting!! How amazing is this place??

View from the top of the hill in Hanmer

After breaky we hit the pools. We had a 30 min private thermal pool as part of our package and then enjoy the relaxation pool outside with jets massaging your whole body, ankles to neck! It was so great and I didn’t want to get out…but we had to hit the road to get going to our next port of call.

The Pools in Hanmer Springs. Amazing!

About an hour and a half away from Hanmer Springs is a town called Kaikoura. This is most famously known for whale watching trips as there is a deep trench nearby where they like to hang. We passed on the ship for that day (we plan to go back in the summer), but just stopped for a look around and a little shopping. These pictures do not do it any justice! This is SUCH a beautiful town with sea and snow-capped mountains all in one view. We even saw tons of seals along the road. They were so interesting to watch within their colonies on the rocks.

This guys means business!

What the what? How spectacular is this spot in Kaikoura??

After that we headed for Blenhiem, but that’s a whole other story and needs it’s own blog!

Cheers!