But you're in luck now! I've gotten all ambitious and have some time on my hands. I'm sitting here on a Saturday night, alone in our "new" flat. Around the time (actually, at exactly the time) that Mitch got the call to go to the South Island to help out our friend's family on the farm, we were in the midst of moving into a new flat. It's not right in the centre of town like our old one, but it's not too far away, either. It's about 3km from where I work. We moved in with my coworker Lena and her boyfriend Rory. They rent a 3 bedroom house on their own and were planning a trip to Europe for a few months. They were hoping we would be interested in moving in with them to look after the flat while they were away. They left at the end of August, but we moved in at the end of July, just to help us all save a bit of money (we're paying about half what we were paying at the other place) and get used to the place before they left.
Lena and Rory are an awesome couple. I think as I write this they're currently in Italy (Hi guys! Hope you're having a good time!...yeah, they probably won't read this, though...). So for now it's just me and Mitch again. Oh, and Shaq. He's Rory's goldfish. So I guess I'm not totally alone here tonight.
Mitch is out at the Central Football awards night. His soccer season wrapped up at the end of August. Last weekend the team had their end-of-year prize giving. The whole team got together with their wives and girlfriends and got all dressed up for a night of fun. It was a really great time! I've come to get to know the guys that Mitch plays soccer with and they're a really great group of guys. The soccer ("football") league here is in a club format. Mitch is a member of FC Western, one of the several clubs that play out of New Plymouth. The nine or so clubs in the Taranaki region play in the Central Football league. FC Western's Div I team, of which Mitch is a member (the club has three teams: a premiere team, a Div I, and a Div II team) finished second in their division this year. I'm really proud of all of them - I thought they played really good football. I'll leave it to Mitch to explain a bit more (perhaps I shouldn't be writing this particular post) but I wanted to say a few things about it. I think that the club has been a defining factor in Mitch's (and my) time here in New Zealand. Everyone has been really welcoming to Mitch as a new member of the team, and his commitment didn't go unnoticed at the awards night. Mitch was awarded both Players' Player and Player of the Year (one chosen by the team, and the other by team management). I am incredibly proud of him, and think he his deserving of both awards (despite his protestations). And hey - I didn't walk away empty handed, either! Mark, the team player-manager, awarded both Laura and I with a box of chocolates in recognition of us as "most devoted fans". Tonight's awards are for all of Central Football, where the teams will receive their first place trophies, and league-wide awards will be given. I've just received a message from Mitch that he's in the running for Male Player of the Year, so here's hoping that he comes home with yet another trophy!
Anyways, what else? Oh - Mitch's dad came to visit! He planned his trip so that he could attend Mitch's last game of the season, on August 22nd. We were so happy to have him here! He spent the first week of his two-week stay here in New Plymouth. Mitch took him around to see the different sights and introduce him to his teammates and our friends. I couldn't take both weeks off of work, but the second week he was here I took some time off and we hopped in the car and went touring around the north island.
At this point I should mention that in June, after I got back from my week in Canada (which is a whole other story completely), Mitch and I spent a weekend in Wellington with our friends Viranchi and Laura. The best way I can think of to describe Wellington is as some sort of mixture between San Francisco, Halifax, and Victoria...but with a kiwi twist, of course. It's a beautiful city. Driving around it is a bit bonkers - kind of like San Fran - but worth it for some of the views you can get as you go. We lucked out with an absolutely spectacular day, weather-wise (unusual for "Windy Welly"). We went on a tour of the Weta Workshop, the studio that was responsible for the special effects and props for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. It's kind of amazing that this (now) world-famous movie studio is tucked away in this quiet residential neighborhood in Wellington, but there it is. We got to see and touch a lot of cool props from various movies that the studio has been involved in. Laura (having lived in Wellington for a few years) took us to various lookout points as well. We drove up to the Mount Victoria lookout, where we could get a great view of the city all around us. We also took in the Gallipoli exhibit at the Te Papa museum. Te Papa is a large museum on the Wellington waterfront that is completely free, and has a ton of stuff to see and do. The Gallipoli exhibit is dedicated to New Zealand's involvement in World War I. Gallipoli (as we learned on Anzac Day) was the landing place of the New Zealand troops in Turkey on April 25th, 1915. It's pretty special actually that Mitch and I are here in this particular year, as it marks the 100th anniversary. We also got to see the only fully-intact giant squid specimen in existence! Note: not part of the Gallipoli exhibit.
Wellington from the wind turbine lookout
Back to our trip around the north island with Jim - we went back to Wellington to show Jim the city as well, as good tour guides do. We doubled up on a few activities, but we had another stunner day weather-wise (note: the only good one of our whole trip) and fully enjoyed every minute. We even tried to take in a rugby game the night we arrived (and managed to get some free tickets from someone giving them away at the gate) but the weather was so awful, we only stayed until half time. The game was kind of a wash, anyways as the Wellington team was fully beating up on the other team.
Yet another aside - we were also in Wellington the night that they announced the final All Blacks squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. It was kind of cool to be there when they made the announcement. Rugby is king here, so this was as big as announcing the Olympic Mens hockey team selection in Canada, as a comparison. Sitting at a bar later that night near our hotel, we even saw a few of the All Black players pile out of a rental van and into their hotel next door. We're starting to be able to recognize and name a few players on our own, and watched a few All Blacks matches leading up to the World Cup, so we're starting to catch the fever too. As Rory put it the day I told him I saw and recognized Conrad Smith in a crowd of people without anyone telling me who he was, "the transition is nearly complete". Mitch even got me a really nice, official All Blacks jersey for my birthday! I'm looking forward to sporting it during the World Cup (sorry, Canada). It officially kicked off this morning, but the All Blacks don't play for a couple more days. Unfortunately, the Cup is hosted in the UK this year, so the time difference makes watching the games a bit difficult here. Legislation is already in place to allow bars to open during the games, though. Priorities! Also, I'm pretty sure the UK is seeing the highest influx of Kiwi travellers at one time in its history. Go the All Blacks!
My other "New Zealand" themed gift from Mitch - a silver fern!
A cupcake and keychain that Laura made/got for me for my birthday!
ANYWAYS. We spent two nights in Wellington with Jim, before heading back up the east coast of the north island to Hawke's Bay. We stayed one night in Napier (unfortunately we couldn't escape the rain) and did a few wine tastings. Hawke's Bay is known worldwide for its vineyards. We passed countless ones in the countryside as we drove. I think I like Pinot Noir, but I'll have to do more research (read: drinking) to be sure. After Napier, it was on to Taupo and Rotorua. We just passed through Taupo for the day, but I think it was my favourite day of the trip. Remember the natural hot springs we soaked in the weekend we did the Tongariro Crossing? Yeah, we went back there. We picked up a couple of six packs of beer, bought a couple cheap towels, and drove down to the thermal park in the rain. We soaked in the springs and talked for several hours while the rain fell. It was a really great afternoon. We continued on to Rotorua in the evening (only about an hour's drive north of Taupo) and found a hotel there. The next day's weather forecast said the morning would be fine, with rain in the afternoon. We knew we wanted to hit the luge, so we made sure to be there early the next morning. We were some of the only people there (highly contrasted to our last visit) and raced down the slopes. Jim only nearly killed himself once! We decided to chance the weather with a walk in the redwoods ("the trees will help shelter us if it does rain") and halfway through our walk it started to sprinkle. A few minutes later, that sprinkle had fully turned into rain, and we were quite wet. Not so sure Jim enjoyed that afternoon in the rain as much as the previous one!
Rotorua from the luge chairlift
The boys
Huka Falls
Mount Eden crater and downtown Auckland
We really enjoyed having you here, Jim! We were sad to drop you off at the airport - it felt like your time here flew by! Hope you enjoyed New Zealand - what we could show you, anyway!
I think that pretty much brings you guys up to speed on our adventures. I've definitely forgotten something or someone. We've got plenty more planned though - Mitch's mom arrives in just over a week! She'll be here for three weeks, and we plan to tour around the south island when she's here! I'm really excited. Stay tuned for a post about that one!
Miss you guys - don't worry, we love it here and it will be hard to leave, but we're starting to wrap our heads around coming home, too, and looking forward to it. Lots to look forward to in 2016!
Love,
Jen
