Winter in Wellington

Winter is usually the time for night classes of some description or another and when Sharon signed up for a night course in Wellington High School to learn how to sew she encouraged me to take a course too. If you click on the link above you'll see the extensive list of courses available.

Not to be outdone I decided to take an Introduction to Wine course being taught by Paul White on a Wednesday night in the same school. This week is the third week and I am planning on doing a separate blog post about what I have learned so far in the coming weeks.

We also started going to ballroom dance classes. All I can say is that I must have been really bad in a former life as I am certainly being punished now! I think it would be fair to say that most men in the class have been dragged there, kicking and screaming, by their partners. I actually did ballroom dance classes years ago and it's not like "riding a bicycle" in that you forget the moves very quickly. So far we have done the quick step, rumba, foxtrot, rock'n'roll and last but not least the waltz. It's really well run, the ratio of teachers to pupils is very impressive, although at times I feel I could do with some private lessons!

On Monday nights while Sharon's out sewing I go and play Korfball. Korfball is a dutch game and is a cross between basketball and netball. If you click on the link here you will get a better idea about the game. It's quite a unique sport in that it is a mixed team sport with four men and four women on each team. There's also clubs in Christchurch and Auckland. I took some pictures one of the nights I was there, but they were pretty crap, so here's a few I borrowed from the web site I linked to above.

So that keeps us pretty busy during the week leaving the weekend free to take in some of the other highlights of Welly, such as the many festivals, cafes, art galleries and the like. There's really no end of things to do in the capital!

Cathal

All Black

Our neighbour came down last Friday afternoon and said he had two spare corporate box tickets for the rugby match that evening between Auckland and Wellington as part of a pre season warm up. He said that there would be free food and booze also if we were interested!

After the briefest of discussions we confirmed that we would be delighted to go. The match was on in the local Westpac Stadium where we saw the two other rugby matches we have posted about previously. Hanging out in a corporate box was a first for me but something I could definitely get used to. As it was a pre season friendly, we more or less had the whole stadium to ourselves. All joking aside but there was nearly more people in our box than in the stands. Apparently it takes the promise of free food and booze to bring the Kiwi's out to a friendly!

Or maybe everyone was saving their money for Saturday nights match between the All Blacks and Australia in the final of the Tri Nations Cup. The All Blacks lost to Australia in Melbourne in the first leg so it was a case of winner takes all!

We headed down to our local, The Realm, for a few drinks and to sample the atmosphere. It's funny but I think the haka has replaced the national anthem, in that it seems to get a much bigger reaction! Speaking of hakas our hosts on Friday night said that they really liked the All Blacks haka, but it seemed that lately a haka had to be preformed at the opening of an envelope! As popular as the haka is, it seems to be reaching saturation point!

The All Blacks won after a better performance in the second half which apparently is good for NZ's economy as it takes a dip every time the All Blacks get knocked out of a major tournament. No pressure then for the World Cup!

When we were in the corporate box there was a game of basket ball on the TV. NZ were playing Venezuela and won by 26 points. If the All Blacks are the National Rugby Team then what are the basketball team known as? Yep the Tall Blacks! So along with the Black Caps Cricket team, black seems to be the colour of choice. The exception being the Silver Ferns (Women's netball team). My favourite however is the name temporarily given to the National Badminton Team, the Black Cocks. I can see why it was temporary!

Cathal

Lost in Translation

We went to see the All Blacks take on France last night in the Westpac Stadium here in Wellington, it was the second and final test match France were to play.

It was a game of two halves but unfortunately for the French the All Blacks kicked seven types of "joi de vivre" out of them in both, the game ending 61-10 in the All Blacks favour.

Here's a few pics of us at the match as you have seen the stadium in a previous post.

Although we decided to support the All Blacks it has to be said that we were pretty neutral and wanted, most of all, to see an evenly contested match. As you can appreciate from the score however it was all a bit one sided. Although the Kiwi's didn't seem to tire of the endless All Blacks tries as much as we did.

So why lost in translation. Well you probably think it had something to do with an encounter with the few French supporters at the stadium, but in fact it refers to a conversation I had with our Kiwi neighbour on our return from the match.

Cathal "Well it wasn't great viewing"

Neighbour "Why?, were you stuck behind a pole or something?"

I didn't take it in at the time, and perhaps it's a "location joke" i.e. you had to be there, but it was typical of situations we have encountered from time to time. It is amazing how often such situation arise even though we are supposedly speaking the same language!

Yesterday Sharon said to the same neighbour something along the lines of "well fair play to them" which was followed by general silence and confusion on the part of our neighbour. Not the easiest thing to explain either.

So although there is no language barrier, as such, there are the minor incidents which are kind of funny in their own right. Don't get me wrong living here, as the Kiwi's might put it, is awesome, as good as gold and sweet as, eh!

Cathal

Hurricanes

On our way home from Havelock North last weekend we passed the Westpac Stadium and I remarked to our driver, C, that we were hoping to go see a rugby match sometime soon. It was a timely comment as C informed us that next weekend was the local teams, the Hurricanes, last Super 14's home game, adding it was to be a memorable occasion as four players were retiring after the match including the legendary Tana Umaga pictured below.

Take a good look at the pic above, does he seem familiar? Answer to follow!

We decided that we had better go and booked three tickets as Sharon's sister Annette would be here also. The Hurricanes were due to play an Australian team, the Waratahs, from New South Wales. We arrived at the stadium at 7.15pm, the match due to start at 7.35 and took in the great atmosphere. We really enjoyed the build up and the excitement was palpable even though the Hurricanes form to date had been poor. Here's a few pics as the teams arrived out on the pitch.

The score at half time could have been a bit one sided was it not for a late Hurricanes try and conversion, bringing the scores at half time to 7-13 in the Waratah's favour. Here's some pics we took at half time. Did I mention it was cold!

At half time they gave away a car. Five season ticket holders are each given a car key and, live on NZ television, they each try their key in the car. If they manage to open the door they have won, I'm sure you get the idea.

The first three were unsuccessful and handed back their keys to the MC. As the fourth contestant went up, the MC explained that if the fourth person was unsuccessful it meant the fifth person had won the car.

The fourth man was unsuccessful and it has to be said that a very reserved fifth contestant went up to open the car. And wouldn't you know it the door wouldn't open, and all this on live TV. Not only that but the other contestants had handed back their keys to the MC!!!!!!!! Cue commercial break.

After the brake the MC informed us that each contestant had chosen another key and they began again, the first contestant winning the car on the second time of asking. Bizarre, but very entertaining. Spare a thought for the loser's who, for all they know, could have had the winning key the first time but didn't manage to open the door!!!!!!

Here's some more pics of the second half.

The match ended 14-38 to the Waratahs. (Incidentally in NZ they display the scores on the TV to coincide with the direction the team are playing in, as opposed to the home team being always on the left hand side.)

Figured out who Tana Umaga is yet? Here's another clue!


Yes that's right, that's Brian O'Driscoll's backside in the middle and Tana is one of the guys who controversially spear tackled him during the Lion's tour!

The match ended at about 9 o'clock and as we headed out of the stadium. There were approx. ten buses waiting to bring people back into town. We got off at Courtney Place and headed to the Malt House to meet up with Roy, a friend of ours from Ireland, who was passing through.
That's it for now, we are busy packing today for our trip to the south island. What follows is a map of the south island and you can see in the top right hand corner some blue dots marking the location's of where we have been so far.

I can imagine it won't be the only thing that's blue by the time we get back!

Cathal (& Sharon & Annette)

It's not the winning it's the taking part........

We had been planning on traveling up to Hawke's Bay sometime in the future and when we got an e-mail from our local tennis club, Kilbirnie Tennis Club, inviting all members up to a tournament in Havelock North, we decided that it was as good a reason as any to explore the East Coast. Havelock North is about a thirty minute drive South of Napier. The map below shows it's location. You cannot read it but it is more or less in the same place as Hastings.

We left on Friday afternoon and arrived in Havelock about four hours later. We passed some nice towns along the way, One place in particular stood out from the rest. It was a small town called Greytown where, according to our driver, a lot of Wellingtonians go for a days shopping.

The next day we went into Napier and you can read about what we did there on Sharon's Blog by clicking here. While the girls where looking at buttons and the like I took some pics of the town itself. Napier is known for its Art Deco architecture. Here's some pics taken on a rainy day.





As I was taking the pics I noticed the date on all the buildings was the same as per the pic above. Then I remembered reading about Napier in the guide book and why all the building were Art Deco in character. In 1931 Napier was devastated by a terrible earthquake! Click here for the stats and here for some interesting facts. My favourite fact was that the whole area tilted upwards by about seven feet and 2230 hectares of land was raised to sea level.

As we have said previously NZ is known as the shaky isles and I found a good web site here which explains about earthquake prone NZ. There's a direct link here to an animation of how NZ has moved over the last four million years which I think is interesting.

Anyway while we were driving up B, our host, mentioned that the Dalai Lama was giving a talk in NZ soon and by some strange co-incidence I saw the poster below in the shops. Sharon and I hope to go hear him in Welly. I want to ask him if he is a betting man, does he like Tibet!

Later that day we went to the local Te Mata cheese factory- I thought there were saying tomato for a long time. The food was great if you like cheese, obviously. Here's a pic of us outside.

On Sunday it was time for some tennis, well that was the reason we had travelled. We both played two matches and as the title of the post says "it's the taking part that counts" so we needn't say anymore! Here's a pic of some of the guys playing.

I noticed in Kilbirnie Tennis club that they only pass the ball back to their opponents under the net. I thought it was because Welly is windy, but they did it in Havelock North too. According to C, our driver on the way home, it's considered good manners to pass it under the net. Oops......In Ireland you lob balls at your opponent from all directions and just shout "one up" as they hurdle towards him. To be fair though I don't think in Ireland you can pass the ball under the net? Ian what do you reckon?

Anyway that evening after handing the shield back to Havelock North we headed back to Welly, to await the arrival of Sharon's sister.

If nothing else the weekend proved a useful distraction for Sharon, but it was much more than that and gave us a chance to meet some really nice Kiwi's.

Cathal

Do floats, float?

As part of my new year’s resolutions, which I mentioned on a previous post, I have been taking swimming lessons for the last two weeks. I can safely say that the nicest part of my swimming lesson is the bus journey into the Freyberg Swimming Pool and back again.

Every now and then, if you’re really lucky, you will end up on a bus route that could double up as a sight seeing tour. The number 14 bus that brings me to the swimming pool via Oriental Bay is one such bus. I decided to take my camera on the bus to the pool this morning so you could appreciate the views also. Here are some pics taken going from Hataitai (name of area where we live, pronounced, hi-tie-tie) to Oriental Bay.

This is a picture of the swimming pool which interestingly enough, especially when you’re drowning, is 33.3 meters long. Three lengths making up 100m (I trust you worked that one out for yourself).

Speaking of drowning I had my first lesson about two weeks ago, and it wasn't long before my teacher was telling me to go out and buy flippers! My "ability" to kick with a float while at the same time remaining perfectly stationary seems to have made quite an impression on my new teacher.

As part of my lessons I have to aqua jog, which involves putting a float around your waist and going for a "jog" out of your depth. Being the leaner side of way too skinny I do not have the greatest buoyancy in the world. The only thing keeping me afloat, it would seem, is the air in my lungs. I discovered this last night, when aqua jogging with Sharon. I got into a fit of laughter and realised that the more I laughed, the more I exhaled, the more I sank. It seemed that the happier I got in the pool the more short lived that happiness was going to be. My new motto is "stay grumpy and float."

At the start of my second lesson, my teacher handed me a float and asked me to do my "flipper impression," my words, not hers. When she handed me the float, I informed her that I was using one the previous night and it kept on sinking, so I used two and it was much better. I naively expected her to run off and get the second float, but she didn't budge. She just looked at the float somewhat bemused and asked me what she was holding. "A float" I replied knowingly! Exactly she said, it’s a "float" not a "sink." Strangely enough I began to sense where this was going, and it wasn't towards the stash of floats behind her!

Anyway, apparently it was the tension in my body that was making the float sink, and not some mysterious force of gravity that exuded from my body. I learned a valuable lesson that day and quite a simple one at that. Floats, float!

Here's a few pics from the way back home.

I took the pic's showing the window frames on purpose as it is the way that the images are framed when you are traveling that makes them even more intersting.

The number 14 bus journey has terrific views of the sea and gives me a most appropriate incentive to keep on trying to learn how to swim!


Cathal aka "flipper"

Sevens Weekend

No once but twice this weekend I went into town without a camera. A mistake for which you will all suffer or not - depending on your outlook. It was Sevens weekend in Wellington an annual event which injects $10 million into the city. Most of which of which I suspect was spent on eating and drinking.

It's a bizarre event where the spectators seem to dominate the headlines, for one reason only - their wacky dress sense! Everyone seems to get dressed up to go to watch this rugby event. You're the odd one out if you are not in costume. So, wandering around town on Friday morning I met groups of doctors, mexicans, naked chefs ( I kid you not!) etc. It was quite a sight when you haven't a clue what's going on. A quick read of the Dominion Post and I was in the picture.

We enquired about tickets for the 2nd day but apparently these tickets sell out within hours and went on sale some months ago. We'll have to leave the rugby for another day but not be be totally left out we did participate in a little eating and drinking! There's some pics here.

Sharon

Beach Volley Ball Wellington

When we were in Paraparaumu we got the local paper and discovered that there was an international beach volley ball competition on in Oriental Bay, a suburb of Wellington City. It’s pretty typical that you discover these things after you have left for some where else.

As the weather wasn’t great on the Sunday in Paraparaumu, or the Saturday or Friday for that matter we decided to take an earlier train back to Welly and go and experience beach volley ball for the first time.

The women’s final between the Kiwi’s and the USA had started by the time we had arrived. So we couldn’t get a good view but we managed to take some photos through the crowd.

The men’s volley ball final was after the ladies. There was a short break in between where the majority of the male spectators left! So we managed to get seats in the stands themselves. The Kiwi’s were again in the final this time taking on Estonia ranked a respectable ninth in the world.

Normally you hear the word non partisan in relation to crowds or in particular the commentators. Not in NZ, we could not believe the commentator’s bias towards their fellow Kiwi’s, asking the crowd to cheer them on when the going got tough. Here are a few pics of the men and a guy with an interesting tattoo in the crowd.

The USA won the ladies’ final and the Kiwi’s, much to the delight of the home crowd and the commentator’s won the men’s. Needless to say Beach Volley Ball was the overall winner on the day. Cheesy or wha!

Cathal.