Sept. 11 – Two Days in Wellington
In a couple of hours we’ll leave our campsite in Lower Hutt for the 30 minute bus ride into Wellington for a hoped for Welsh victory over the Springboks. Below are our 5 best sensory experiences from the past 2 days in Wellington:
Feel: Shivering on the edge of the Fanzone while we sipped cider and New Zealand sauvignon blanc as we waited for the opening ceremony to start on the big screen tv before rushing to take the bus back to our Capital Gateway campsite to watch the ceremony and opening match snug and warm on a couch in front of a fake fire in the tv room of the campsite.
Sound: The ukulele band that played in the Fanzone with great harmonies and an incredible range of songs from Led Zeppelin’s “Sunshine of Your Love” to Kenny Rogers “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town.”
Taste: Lamb Rogan Josh at the food court where we warmed up a bit before getting the bus back to the Capital Gateway campsite.
Smell: The mingling smells of hot chips, cotton candy, Indian curries, and coffee as we wandered through the Petone Winter Carnival on the banks of Cook Strait with a lovely view of Wellington across the bay.
Sight: Seeing our longtime Welsh friends Huw & Celia as they arrived a bit jet lagged at Lower Hutt campsite tv area as Japan let a tremendous upset of France slip through their fingers and before settling down with a few Steinlagers amidst a crowd of Springbok fans to watch England narrowly escape humiliation at the hands of the Argentines. Carolyn held up well under an onslaught of South African ribbing and Jonny Wilkinson missed kicking attempts. England’s new all black jerseys with the players’ numbers dangling disgracefully from their backs were the brunt of a good bit of the joking and caused one racist Springbok fan to announce, “Don’t take it personally. We don’t like anything black.”
