NZ life has cranked itself up a few notches in the past few weeks with the start of the Rugby World Cup and the influx of more than 100,000 tourists.  Every major town (and keep in mind, in a country of 4M people 'major' means more than 75,000) stadiums have been refurbished and central districts have built common viewing areas with alluring names like 'fan zone' and 'party central'.  Different cities around the country and different neighborhoods around Auckland have been assigned second teams to host and thus have decorated their streets with the colors of the assigned nation, and hosted festivals and parades celebrating the countries culture.  Takapuna (Nicky's town) is hosting France so we've enjoyed the influx of French food and seeing the French rugby team strolling the streets black and blue from previous games. 

Last week Brendon (Nicky's brother) was completing a Rescue Diver training course in the Northland region near the Bay of Islands, 4 hours drive from Auckland.  With nothing else on our plates Nicky and I decided to join him for a change of secenery and a few days to explore the rugged coasts of the North.  It was nice to get out of the city for a bit and take in some of the scenery NZ is famous for.


Entrance to Maori beachland

End of Oki Bay walk -- nice reward

Napping at Matauri Bay beach

Driving along the beautiful coastline

Lunch in Russel

As soon as we were back in Auckland Nicky and I headed 4 hours southwest to spend the weekend in New Plymouth for the opening US rugby game against Ireland.  This turned out to be yet another STUNNING drive along the jagged green hills (dotted with white sheep) that NZ is famous for.  It's amazing some of the coastal views livestock has in this country.  It was a lovely drive through the countryside despite passing dozens of caravans of Irish supporters. 

Hard to make out but you can faintly see Mt. Taranaki just to the left of the house.  And yes, this is all open ocean to the right.  Nice view little bow peep

A clearer view of Taranaki

In New Plymouth we spent our first night in the last room available on the outskirts of town and walked through the 'fanzone' to watch the matches on the big screen.  The next day we headed to the local tourist site to inquire about any openings in housing so that we could avoid driving back to Auckland after the game that night.  The woman behind the counter mentioned that all the hostels and hotels were full but said she would contact her 'walking buddy'.  Next thing we knew Nicky and I were spending the night with a retired couple outside of town in their spare bedroom -- gotta love Kiwi hospitality.  After 'checking in' to our accomodation we headed into the central city for a performance from the Marine Corps band to celebrate the opening game of the US Rugby Eagles and to commemorate the 9/11 anniversary.  I was expecting patriotic songs with a marching band feel but instead the crowd spent the morning rocking to covers of Earth, Wind and Fire, James Brown and Reel Big Fish.  It was unexpected from a group of Marines but was a lot of fun and a good way to convert some kiwis to the US side in the 25th hour.

The boys in blue

 Mr. Ambassador

That night we made the exodus to the stadium and took our seats (I use that term facetiously as we purchased standing tickets on the end zone lawn).  Despite the inclement weather it was a pretty awesome experience.  New Plymouth is a small community so it was great watching a World Cup level match in a stadium of only 20,000 people.  And best of all, with all the Irish supporters coming in from the homeland, most of the kiwis were supporting the US!  Our standing neighbors even had a US flag to cheer on the boys.  Well, Ireland is ranked 5th or 6th in the international rubgy system whereas the US barely made the tournament so losing was to be expected but it was a fun atmosphere and we put up a good fight. 

We're back in Auckland now and still living all rugby all the time.  This weekend we went to the suburb that is hosting the US for a US parade and festival and this weekend the US take on the mighty Aussies so hopefully we will head into town where the overwhelming majority of kiwis will certainly be supporting the US.

Another week has passed with celebrations galore and more taking advantage of our time here in NZ.  We spent last weekend exploring the newly developed and opened Wyndham Quarter near the waterfront of Central Auckland.  It's a beautiful new space and will be fun to spend some time down there during the upcoming Rugby World Cup, when the quarter is overflowing with a multinational crowd of celebrants. 

Cool visitors center constructed from shipping containers

Tuesday was the big ol' bday so Nicky and I headed out to Waiheke Island, a small island in the Waitemata Harbour about 40 minutes by ferry from downtown Auckland.  We spent the morning wandering around the island and walking along some of the coastal roads on the far (and much less developed) half of the island.  After a lovely beachside lunch, we stopped in for some wine tasting at Cable Bay Vineyards before catching the ferry back to the mainland for a lovely dinner -- a tough day indeed.

Nicky overlooking the Waiheke shoreline

Walking along the Man O' War Vineyard

Coromandel Penninsula in the distance

 It wouldn't be NZ without some sheep

 Vino at Cable Bay

 View back towards Auckland from Cable Bay

 Auckland by night

This past weekend we headed to the Manukau penninsula to the South to visit a potential wedding site and then attended the christening for Ashlyn, the newest member of the family -- Nicky's cousin's second child.



View of the Tasman Sea from the ceremony lawn

Ernst taking in some natural NZ beauty and the West Coast's signature black sand beaches

Look closely

The family with Ashlyn

Schralping the gnar Southern Hemisphere style

Well, the difficult work circumstances have continued. For almost a month now Nicky and I have been visiting her family in Auckland and experiencing my first New Zealand winter. I gotta say it’s no summer, but for all the complaining and warnings I heard from Nicky I'd come to expect Snowmaggedon. In reality, it rains a few times a week but is generally sunny and in the 50's and 60's -- an idyllic 'winter'.

Brendon showing off our Raceltte dinner

Auckland city from Ernst's Boat

As some of you may have seen on the news however (and when I say "see on the news" I of course mean work like a bloodhound to track down any information about our small island in the South Pacific) NZ has been bludgeoned with a winter storm over the past week with bone-chilling temperatures hovering around freezing (its all relative) for much of both islands. Luckily, said winter storm coincided with our trip to the mountainous South island where we spent a long weekend in Queenstown, New Zealand's adventure soaked version of Breckenridge or St. Moritz. I had visited Q-town with friends while studying here but that was during the summer months so I was excited to try some southern hemisphere skiing and to enjoy the scenic island with Nicky on her first visit.

Before even touching down on the South island we were overcome with awe as we flew over the spine of the Southern Alps on our way down

When we did land in Queenstown the inspiring beauty continued as we walked along Lake Wakatipu – the adjacent mountain range is affectionately referred to as ‘the remarkables’, and with good reason. 

We spent the afternoon walking around town and taking in some sunshine, unaware of the storm that was to come. The next day we drove to the sleepy village of Cromwell about 40 minutes outside of Queenstown where Ernst gave service to a few local families. Pretty much anywhere you drive in New Zealand is assured to be scenic and this is especially true throughout the South island. In every direction lay beautiful mountains covered with snow and bathed in sun. In some directions they are jagged, menacing peaks like those of the Alps (hence their name, the Southern Alps) and in others they are great, rounded beasts like those more akin to the Colorado Rockies. To push the scenery over the top, nearly every valley seems to have some sort of water in it. Glacial lakes, flowing rivers, this place has it all! And all of the hillsides are dotted with New Zealand’s two greatest exports – sheep and vineyards.

Near Cromwell

Far side of Lake Wakatipu

Quite some countryside

Sunday meant the arrival of ‘the great storm’ and a 5 hour bus trip to Milford Sound in the Fjordland National Park, said to be the most beautiful place on earth – not sure who originally made that claim but the kiwis certainly support it. I had visited Milford with friends during my last visit but, unsurprisingly, the entire park was clouded in for our two days – Milford supposedly receives 300 days of rain, a curse placed on the area by the Maori gods (as well as sand flys) to prevent people from going there. With a promise of a grand storm rolling in from the South Tasman it was a race to beat the weather. Despite driving through more than four seasons -- along some super sketchy roads and tunnels mind you -- Milford Sound itself was beautiful and clear. It was a true pleasure to take in the mountains (not just the lowest 75ft of them) as we cruised through the sound taking endless photos.

Poor sheep in the early morning storm en route to Milford

More sheep -- It is New Zealand...

Just past Mirror Lakes on the drive through Fjordland National Park

Coming down the pass towards the sound

Famed Mitre peak at the innermost point of the Milford Sound

She's a beauty!

The drive back was not quite as smooth. With the snow hot on our tails we tried to rush our bathroom breaks but to no avail. Less than 50km out of Queenstown we came to a dead halt on

the road thanks to a jackknifed bus in front of us. Several of us hopped out of the bus with the driver to fasten chains to the wheels – not before having to thaw the buses storage compartment in order to retrieve said chains! It was a slow and slippery trip the rest of the way but we made it back in one piece and in time for skiing the next day!

When we woke on Monday however we were reminded that we were in New Zealand and not one of the major ski resorts of the world. If you can believe it, the storm had dumped too much snow to ski. Of the five resorts ‘accessible’ from Queenstown, the nearest one is 15km or so away – doesn’t make a ton of sense to me either. Thus when we woke for our bus to Treble Cone we learned that all the resorts and buses were on hold for the time being. Thankfully, within a few hours Coronet Peak decided to open and we were able to switch buses and give it a shot. Despite being 15km away the drive took every bit of an hour and was complete with several slides, some towards the wall and some towards the edge, and a pull from a tractor for the last km or so. I forgot to mention that all of these mountains, and thus the ski resorts, are well above tree line. Thus, when a storm blows in skiing even at the lowest point of the mountain resembles Whale’s Tail at Breckenridge in its prime. For those that don’t get the reference just picture closing your eyes and stepping into a wind tunnel before starting off. We only made a few attempts at cautiously sliding down the mountainside before we bailed and headed back into town. The drive back was every bit as tricky and included sliding into the guard rail over a deep river canyon...

Community snowball fight in the street after a sniper from the balcony attacked us -- notice the snow pockmarks on the balcony above. 

Not where you typically picture a seagull

Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu from the skydeck restaurant at the top of the gondola

More Wakatipu

Q-town proper

We were able to return to Auckland in one piece on Tuesday and are now back to relaxing in the big city. It’s not quite warm enough to hang on the beach but Nicky and I are going to try and spend an ‘island day’ on Waiheke next week for the old b-day. Hope all are well!