Tales from the Rugby World Cup

Trip: New Zealand 2011

There are [31] stories from my trip: New Zealand 2011

Photos: Otago/Southland

UNITED KINGDOM | Monday, 31 Oct 2011 | Photo Gallery

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Oct. 31 - Halloween in Kingston

NEW ZEALAND | Monday, 31 Oct 2011 | Views [1038]

Oct. 31 st - Halloween in Kingston We've stopped our South Island odyssey for a couple of days in Kingston for golf and laundry and late mornings. Kingston is 50 km around the lake from Queenstown. We spent 30 minutes taking a quick look at Queenstown ... Read more >

Tags: cromwell, kingsto, new zealand, queenstown, wanaka

Oct. 28th - The” Awesome” South Island

UNITED KINGDOM | Friday, 28 Oct 2011 | Views [451]

We left Auckland Wednesday morning Oct. 26 th and flew to Christchurch. We stayed in the home of Kate & Stuart who are relatives of a good friend from when we lived in London. Their home is in the “Orange Zone” which means ... Read more >

Photos: Lake Tekapo/Mount Cook

NEW ZEALAND | Friday, 28 Oct 2011 | Photo Gallery

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Oct. 23 - World Cup Final

NEW ZEALAND | Tuesday, 25 Oct 2011 | Views [438]

Five Best Sensory Experiences from the day of the Rugby World Cup Final Sound: The incredibly beautiful voice of Hayley Westenra rehearsing the “World in Union” as we walked past Eden Park 5 hours before kick-off. We were on our way to pick up Tom’s ... Read more >

Tags: rugby world cup final

Oct. 22 - Eve of World Cup Final

NEW ZEALAND | Sunday, 23 Oct 2011 | Views [670]

Oct. 22 nd -We spent the eve of the World Cup Final at the Ellerslie races in Auckland. Despite being sure we had chosen all the winners, we only succeeded in the last race when Apache Sky landed us $2.90. However it was a fun afternoon and we had ... Read more >

Tags: auckland, devonport, sky tower, world cup

Farewell Campervan!

NEW ZEALAND | Tuesday, 18 Oct 2011 | Views [688]

Oct. 17 th – Laying in bed in our en suite room at Bamber House Hostel in Auckland while the rain patters down. Memorable experiences since we last wrote the blog in Miranda on Oct. 13 th On the night of the 13 th at the mineral bath ... Read more >

Oct. 13th - Two Days of Mineral Baths

NEW ZEALAND | Thursday, 13 Oct 2011 | Views [543]

This is our next to last night in the campervan. Tomorrow night we will be in a real bed in a real house. The brother of a good friend of Tom’s from high school emigrated to New Zealand at least 30 years ago. His name is Neil and he coincidentally played ... Read more >

Oct. 11 - Wine, Quarterfinal Madness, & Mountain Top Panic

NEW ZEALAND | Wednesday, 12 Oct 2011 | Views [1075]

Oct. 11th - Today we were planning to spend in Okahune, a ski town at the base of Mt Ruapehu, but the weather forecast of rain and gale force winds for tomorrow caused us to unplug the van and head north. We skirted the western shore of Lake Taupo and ... Read more >

Tags: australia, france, martinborough, quarterfinals, rugby world cup, south africa, wales, wellington

Two Rainy Days in Martinborough

NEW ZEALAND | Thursday, 6 Oct 2011 | Views [823]

Martinborough is a little Kiwi town an hour east of Wellington over a winding mountain road surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, sheep pastures, and a wild Pacific coastline. The town was laid out by an Irish settler named Martin in the 1800’s ... Read more >

Photos: Martinborough

NEW ZEALAND | Wednesday, 5 Oct 2011 | Photo Gallery

Photos from in and around Martinborough, New Zealand
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Tom's Rugby World Cup Predictions

NEW ZEALAND | Monday, 3 Oct 2011 | Views [921]

Every time we got back to the camper van after a rugby game, Tom would get out his blue marker and write the scores on his chart, obtained from a newspaper when we first arrived in New Zealand. Last night was the final game in the pool matches so there ... Read more >

Oct. 3 - Horse Racing, Golf, New Friends, & Rugby

NEW ZEALAND | Monday, 3 Oct 2011 | Views [983]

October 3rd: The Rugby World Cup pool matches are over. The past 2 days we were in Wellington to witness the upset of the tournament (Tonga over France 19-14) on Saturday and New Zealand’s 12 try romp over Canada (79-15) on Sunday. This morning we drove ... Read more >

Tags: martinborough, palmerston north, rugby world cup, shannon, wellington

Sept. 28 - More Rugby, Golf, & Highlights of a Busy Week

UNITED KINGDOM | Wednesday, 28 Sep 2011 | Views [698]

September 22 nd : Taking the cable car up to the observatory and a pleasant stroll on a cold but sunny morning through the botanical gardens, meandering through the highway bisected cemetery back to Wellington. September 23 rd : Driving from the ... Read more >

Tags: england, namibia, new plymouth, oponake, romania, rugby world cup, wales

Frosty First Day of Kiwi Spring

UNITED KINGDOM | Wednesday, 21 Sep 2011 | Views [741]

Frosty First Day of Kiwi Spring Departing Napier on a cold, blustery, rainy day, we decided to while away a couple hours touring the Hastings wineries. One tasting led to another and before we knew it our credit card was a few ... Read more >

Tags: dannevirke, martinborough, napier, rugby world cup, vineyards, wine

Rugby, Rugby and More Rugby!

UNITED KINGDOM | Monday, 19 Sep 2011 | Views [897]

Sept. 19 th – We’re sitting in the campsite in Napier waiting for the laundry to dry and enjoying a little sunshine and space as the French caravans have pulled out after their 46-19 win over a valiant Canadian side. Sensory Experiences of Last ... Read more >

Two Days in New Plymouth & No Sign of Either Mount Taranaki nor Mt. Egmont

NEW ZEALAND | Thursday, 15 Sep 2011 | Views [1169] | Comments [1]

We pushed on through blustery winds to arrive in New Plymouth on Tuesday, Sept. 13 th , on the way looking for the mythical Mount Taranaki – or Mount Egmont as the older locals like to call it. The old timers don’t take much store in the liberal attempts ... Read more >