To New Zealand and beyond

Did someone mention the rugby?

Well it has been a little while since I updated this...and I'm afraid that uploading photos drains all my Internet credit in seconds so for now this will still be a boring photo less blog.

Well the name of the game this week has been Rugby...and nothing but rugby. Apparently there is some big rugby festival or something or other on here at the moment and word on the camp vine is that NZ are doing pretty well.

My first week in NZ was dominated by the rugby. I picked up my camper van and from the moment I picked it up until...well until a few minutes ago...I have lost count of how many times I have been asked 'hiya, you here for the rugby?'...my answers have progressed from 'no', to ' you bet...isn't Aaron Cruden brilliant...shall we do the hukka now?!?'...and various answers in between.

So I've had to just throw myself into it. I was in Auckland for 4 days and that's where I learnt my rugby trade. From there I travelled up to Mangawhai Heads which has fantastic views and costal walks. This was also where I was for the semi final weekend, so I ventured to the local pub to watch both matches. The atmosphere was great but amazingly I managed to sit next to the only French person in the pub for the Wales - France match ( wales were robbed...I know these things now) and then the only Australian for the NZ - Australia match. But I used all my psychology of body language to make it VERY clear I want with them.

Anyhow the rugby talk continued as I moved south to lake Taupo. This is the adrenalin capital of the north and is over run with gap year students looking for bungy jumps and skydives. I managed to avoid all that with a trip sailing on the lake, a dip in the thermal pools and a walk to the Huka falls. But still on the campsites the rugby talk continued.

My favourite was a welsh guy who was most upset by an email he had just read and so came to me in the kitchens with this,

Welsh guy - 'I told my boss I needed 2 and a 1/2 weeks off work coz I'm going to New Zealand to watch the rugby'
Boss ' well sorry you cant have the time off'
Welsh guy - ' well it's the rugby so I HAVE to go so i won't be in for 2 and a 1/2 weeks'

Welsh guy ' and now he's emailed saying don't come back to work you've lost your job...I mean what do you think Karen?

Karen 'errr....'

And now I find myself in New Plymouth on the west coast. There is no talk of rugby here as the hard core rugby fans have now all trundled back to Auckland for the Wales - Australia game tomorrow. And I am currently camped on a cliff top with a view of the sea and sunset out of one window and a snow capped mountain out of another. Out of another window I can see the laundry room but I've put the camper blind down so that has sorted that.

Next stop is Wellington where I plan to throw myself right back into world cup fever as I'm visiting friends for the weekend and preparations for the finals are already under way!

So until next time....go the All Blacks

Hukka Harris (it's what they call me now)

Four breakfasts and a lunch.

Morning...or is it?

Well I have eventually arrived in Auckland! My last day in Dubai included a desert safari. This involved being taken into the desert as the sun was setting to see amazing views and hopefully get some good photos...talking of which I'm still working out how to add some to this!

This was followed by a camel ride and a desert buffet and belly dancing show. Unfortunately the driver of my desert jeep also wanted to show off some of his 'new tunes'...it turns out his new tunes were really not that new and and were certainly not original... ( or tunes come to think of it), you know the type I mean....given up on the bigtime backing singers cover well known pop songs...usually to be played in clothes shops. So my sunset desert experience was accompanied by a soundtrack of The Cheeky Girls 'Touch my bum'. And it wasn't even the ACTUAL Cheeky girls.

Then yesterday (or was it today, I have no idea) I began my trip to Auckland. It was a 18 hour flight via Melbourne. And this was when my marathon breakfast eating began.

Breakfast 1 - Samminas house....fruit and tea.
Breakfast 2 - Dubai Airport - latté and a croissant.

Lunch - lunch sneaked in at this point...on the plane. Chicken I think.

All seems ok so far. But then we started crossing time zones...so the cabin staff created a simulated nightime experience with the shutters down...lights off and twinkly lights in the ceiling...I wasnt fooled I could see it was still light outside the shutter. 6 hours later the lights start changing again to simulate sunrise (and yes it was now dark outside). And along with sunrise came...

Breakfast 3 - fruit salad, omelette, croissant.

Once we had finished breakfast 3 we landed and reboarded at Melbourne. Just in time to be served...

Breakfast 4 - fruit salad, scrambled egg, croissant.

And so there you have it...international time travel makes it acceptable to eat four breakfasts in one day.

For those of you who are regular followers of my (two) blog updates will have noticed that I have had a strong focus so far on the basics of life, namely food and toilets. I can't promise that I won't revisit those topics, but I will endeavour to raise my content to focus on some of the more cultural and adventurous aspects of NZ life.

But come on...4 breakfasts in a day. Now thats what blogging was invented for!

I arrived in Dubai after a lovely flight with Emirates (Film: The Trip. Book: Submarine. Magazine: Hello! Food: tuna salad, chicken with pesto, cheesecake, pastries breakfast). Two things struck me as I arrived....the first was what I assume is Dubai's national moto 'it's never to late to buy more gifts'. And the second was 'oh it's not too hot here, I think this will be fine.'

Naturally my first stop was the toilet and oddly the Dubai airport toilets had been recommended to me by a number of friends (note to self....when you return raise your level of conversation when socialising). They were rather nice...8 out of 10 I would say. A good start.

My friend Sammina picked me up from the airport and as we walked out to the car and that was when it quite literally hit me...I had only breathed air conditioning so far....it was actually HOT, very hot...and I was wearing walking boots and a North Face thermal jacket. Sammina, why are people staring at me.

Anyhow I found my shorts and started to absorb the heat. Sammina and her family have looked after me fantastically and have shown me the Dubai hot spots. I've been paragliding, swimming, shopping in the worlds biggest mall, had dinner over looking the world tallest building the Burj Khalifa and my personal favourite, watched a fountain display that was choreographed to Michael Jacksons 'Thriller'. Im on a safari later today....then tomorrow it's the 17 hour flight to NZ.

Dubai has been great....everything here is bigger, taller, hotter and golder than anywhere I have been before.

Ohh and I got locked in a toilet (it was a 10 out of 10 toilet) but locked in it I was...and panic I did.

So until new zealand.

ma'a salama
Xxx