The 100th Post

So this is it, the 100th post, emm doesn't feel any different, but it is a landmark I guess. I have been suffering from "paralysis through analysis." Although normally an affliction suffered by golfers, I have been having similar problems about this 100th post. Should it be sincere, should it be hilarious, am I capable of being hilarious, ........ I had decided to do the post this weekend but I just wasn't happy with it, so it's now Tuesday and in the interests of posting more about our trip down south I have decided to complete it today for better or for worse!

To mark the fact that this is the 100th post, we have decided to give away a prize to one lucky person, to enter all you have to do is leave a comment on any post between now and Sunday 15th (remember that's NZ time) and we will post up the lucky winner on this blog next Monday 16th. We will pull the winner out of a hat (metaphorically speaking) and if the commenter is not from NZ we will send them something unique to these isles.

If you are a knitter, which you most probably will be, thanks to Sharon's blog, it will be some NZ wool. If you are anything like Sharon, this is worth more than gold in any event. If you are from NZ we will send you something uniquely Irish, but it probably won't be wool, we'll come up with something else. Sharon has quite the stash of NZ yarn but thankfully the stash of Irish yarn is where it should be - back in Ireland.

By the way the word "stash" implies that the wool should be "hoarded away out of sight." So I do not think the basket full of wool in our living room could technically be called a stash, it's more of a flaunt! Why only the other day our neighbour came down with post - another suspiciously soft package for Sharon. I can't imagine what it must be!

So what have we learned on our travels in NZ thus far? Well you might not be aware of it, but this is a Rugby World Cup year and the Kiwi's have a team known as the All Blacks taking part. I just hope that the second part of that last sentence was not a surprise or you really have been knitting too much! You probably know too that the Kiwi's are into their rugby, and given that the population of the country is around four million, their record in the game is quite spectacular. So popular is the game that there is one building in Auckland which has digital clocks on all four sides of it counting down the remaining time to the rugby world cup, to the second! One learns quickly here how important rugby is.

The seven wonders of the modern world have just been announced and in honour of the event Stuff Magazine NZ launched a Kiwi version. They listed nine possible wonders of New Zealand, including the usual suspects of Mount Cook and Milford Sound. I decided to vote and picked Mount Cook after which I was brought to the results page. Which one was winning? Well I'll give you a little hint, within the nine contenders was Richie McCaw the All Blacks captain! Here's the picture used on the web page.

It will not surprise you to learn then that the All Blacks captain, picture in the middle (did I really have to point that out) was topping the poll when I voted! I wouldn't be surprised if a Kiwi knitter decides to do a Rugby World Cup knit along sometime soon!

The other thing that is synonymous with the All Blacks is the legendary Haka. The Haka is a traditional Maori dance/ song and just the other day I came across another Maori song with the following words.

"Taumata-whaka-tangihanga-koauau-o-Tamatea-turi-pukaka-pikimaunga-horonuku-pokai-whenua-kitana-tahu"

This song was sung by a Maori chief and has become the longest place name in the world and means

‘The hilltop where Tamatea with big knees, conqueror of mountains, eater of land, traveller over land and sea, played his koauau to his beloved.’

So, along with the worlds steepest street, NZ has at least one other entry in the Guinness Book of Records it seems!

However to give the post an "international flavour" I have decided to end the blog with a popular Irish song and, although not in the Guinness Book of Records, it too has become famous throughout the world. Take it away guys.....

Cathal & Sharon