It wasn't pretty. In fact, it was very, very ugly. But the mighty All Blacks ended a 24-year drought to win the 2011 Rugby World Cup. New Zealand beat France, 8-7 (that's right, 8-7!) on Sunday night. I couldn't be happier for the team and their loyal fans. Jen and I went to watch the game by a pair of faithful fans in Waihi Beach. The close score meant little relief for our lovely hosts until that final whistle blew. After a huge sigh of relief, the celebration soon followed.
GO ALL BLACKS!!
On Saturday, Jen and I went to the Tauranga Arts Festival. We checked out an outdoor exhibition called Grace: The Exhibition which compared the style and grace of rugby to dance by pairing a live rugby photo with a dance photo simulating the same play on the field. The result led to some truly creative shots.
The second exhibition we checked out was the World Press Photo at the Tauranga Art Gallery. It showcased "the world's most prestigious" photos taken by international photojournalists. The traveling exhibition has been all over the world and seen by over two million people. Some of the photos were really breathtaking. If you get a chance to check it out, I highly recommend it.
We wrapped up our artistic day by checking out a documentary called Tabloid. It chronicled the life of a woman named Joyce McKinney and her alleged abduction, imprisonment and rape of a Mormon man. There's also cloning worked into the story. (Still not sure how that was related). Jen and I knew nothing about the movie and kind of picked it on the fly. Once again, if you've got some time, check out this very zany story.
Cheers!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
My kind of city
I'm a city girl at heart so when it came time to make the trek to Auckland on Saturday, I was ready. Auckland is a little over an hour and a half from Waihi and is quickly becoming the city on the North Island. Wellington is the official capital of New Zealand, but it seems Auckland is more popular. It's kind of like Albany being the capital of New York, but Manhattan is where everyone goes.
Anyway, we began the day at the Auckland International Carnival at Glen Innes. We missed the parade but caught a belly dancing performance. But the real purpose for any festival is the food. There weren't as many stands as I thought there might be, but I did have some dim sum, kettle corn (a personal favorite) and bubble tea (Jen's personal favorite). Jen got a samosa.
We headed over to the Auckland fan zone which is set up for the Rubgy World Cup. It was filled with people from all over the world proudly supporting their teams with painted faces, colorful costumes and of course, flags. Jen and I even got into the spirit of things by getting a black fern painted on our cheeks in support of the home team. (That's New Zealand if you're new to the blog).
But the best part of the trip was the giant rugby ball. It's been to Paris, Tokyo, Sydney and London and not only serves as high-end venue, but also, a huge audio visual screen that showcases New Zealand culture. It was a long wait to get in, but it was definitely worth it.
We ended the day with a weighty burrito and made it home just in time for the RWC semifinals between Wales and France. France won and will face the mighty All Blacks (Again that's the New Zealand team) in the Rugby World Cup Final on Oct. 23rd.
As always, I leave you with some photos taken by our chief photographer and me, I took photos too:
Anyway, we began the day at the Auckland International Carnival at Glen Innes. We missed the parade but caught a belly dancing performance. But the real purpose for any festival is the food. There weren't as many stands as I thought there might be, but I did have some dim sum, kettle corn (a personal favorite) and bubble tea (Jen's personal favorite). Jen got a samosa.
We headed over to the Auckland fan zone which is set up for the Rubgy World Cup. It was filled with people from all over the world proudly supporting their teams with painted faces, colorful costumes and of course, flags. Jen and I even got into the spirit of things by getting a black fern painted on our cheeks in support of the home team. (That's New Zealand if you're new to the blog).
But the best part of the trip was the giant rugby ball. It's been to Paris, Tokyo, Sydney and London and not only serves as high-end venue, but also, a huge audio visual screen that showcases New Zealand culture. It was a long wait to get in, but it was definitely worth it.
We ended the day with a weighty burrito and made it home just in time for the RWC semifinals between Wales and France. France won and will face the mighty All Blacks (Again that's the New Zealand team) in the Rugby World Cup Final on Oct. 23rd.
As always, I leave you with some photos taken by our chief photographer and me, I took photos too:
Monday, October 10, 2011
Xterra Trail Challenge
Feeling my way through a pitch black cave, I suddenly realized I should have focused more on the word "trail" instead of "run" when I signed up for the Xterra Trail Challenge on Saturday. I was so focused on the 7.3k distance that I failed to think about all the mud, countless rocks and caves that would make up a chunk of the route.
The race was held at Karanghake Gorge and was incredibly scenic, but truthfully, I was more focused on the course. Especially when it was time to walk across the suspended bridges that rocked violently when anyone walked across them.
The race was divided into 7.3k, 13 k, 19 k and a marathon (42.2 k) distances and featured racers of all shapes, sizes and ages. Some kid who looked no older than 13 won the 7.3 k race. (No my feelings aren't hurt!). Jen and I finished in the top half of our age bracket (20-39) and I won a free pair of running socks.
Because Jen is fully committed to the success of this blog, our chief photographer brought her camera with her on the race. Here are fewshots: (Remember she was running when she took a few of these).
The race was held at Karanghake Gorge and was incredibly scenic, but truthfully, I was more focused on the course. Especially when it was time to walk across the suspended bridges that rocked violently when anyone walked across them.
The race was divided into 7.3k, 13 k, 19 k and a marathon (42.2 k) distances and featured racers of all shapes, sizes and ages. Some kid who looked no older than 13 won the 7.3 k race. (No my feelings aren't hurt!). Jen and I finished in the top half of our age bracket (20-39) and I won a free pair of running socks.
Because Jen is fully committed to the success of this blog, our chief photographer brought her camera with her on the race. Here are fewshots: (Remember she was running when she took a few of these).
Monday, October 3, 2011
Spelunking, glowwarms and chocolate cake
It was the most breathtaking sight I've seen thus far in New Zealand. Sitting in complete darkness with only the sound of the boat gently gliding across the water, I was in awe. The blue light illuminated just about every inch of the cave ceiling and walls. Our guide had earlier described the sight as extraterrestrial. Turned out he was right. Too bad we couldn't take pictures.
From the moment we landed in New Zealand this was Jen's biggest request and we decided to go on her birthday.
They are advertised as glowworms, but in fact they're actually larva looking for lunch. The glowworm life cycle starts off as an egg, then a young larva that takes over nine months to grow to the size of a matchstick. The third stage is the pupa, kind like the cocoon stage for a butterfly. The last stage is the adult stage which lasts just a few days for reproductive purposes. (Feel smarter?)
We visited the Aranui Cave (my favorite), the Ruakuri Cave (Jen's favorite) and the Waitomo Glowworm Cave on Saturday. Each cave has a different story of orgin and are all located in the town of Waitomo, about 2 1/2 hours from Waihi.
Aside from the glowworms, the caves are filled with huge stalactites and stalagmites made of limestone. They say it can take 100 years to form one cubic centimeter of stalactite. One of the formations we saw was around during the time of Christ. (Pretty old).
After a day of spelunking and a good meal at an Asian restaurant in Hamilton, Jen and I ended the day with chocolate cake and ice cream.
Here are a few photos:
From the moment we landed in New Zealand this was Jen's biggest request and we decided to go on her birthday.
They are advertised as glowworms, but in fact they're actually larva looking for lunch. The glowworm life cycle starts off as an egg, then a young larva that takes over nine months to grow to the size of a matchstick. The third stage is the pupa, kind like the cocoon stage for a butterfly. The last stage is the adult stage which lasts just a few days for reproductive purposes. (Feel smarter?)
We visited the Aranui Cave (my favorite), the Ruakuri Cave (Jen's favorite) and the Waitomo Glowworm Cave on Saturday. Each cave has a different story of orgin and are all located in the town of Waitomo, about 2 1/2 hours from Waihi.
Aside from the glowworms, the caves are filled with huge stalactites and stalagmites made of limestone. They say it can take 100 years to form one cubic centimeter of stalactite. One of the formations we saw was around during the time of Christ. (Pretty old).
After a day of spelunking and a good meal at an Asian restaurant in Hamilton, Jen and I ended the day with chocolate cake and ice cream.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
A day of tramping (it's not what you think)
The sound of waves crashing against the shore grew louder as Jen and I finished our 90-minute* tramp (that's hike to you non-Kiwi folks) on Saturday. The trail began on the north end of Waihi Beach and ended, well at least part of it, at Orokawa Bay. The tramp (yes I'm going to keep saying that) was not very strenuous. There were muddy sections, hilly sections and rocky sections, but nothing that required too much leg work. Along the way, Jen and I bumped into a girl walking the trail in flip-flops (she was showing off), a dog (with his owners) and a group of young kids carrying one of their friends back down the hill. Not sure what happened but everyone seemed to be in good spirits. Even the ones doing all the carrying.
Saturday night New Zealand was playing France, so Jen and I headed to the Waihi Beach Retired Services Association. There were quite a few people around, most decked out in all black. What was supposed to be a tight match turned into another All Blacks beat down. My favorite part, of course, was the Haka. Watch here.
Sunday it was raining, but Jen and I checked out the Waihi Arts Centre and Museum. It was a cool little place that gave us the background of the gold mine culture in Waihi. Jen's favorite part was the severed thumbs. Turns out mine workers would cut off their thumbs to get compensation. The guide said it was enough to buy a house and that the number of instances spiked during Christmas.There were two jars of thumbs (not sure if they were real). My favorite part was a cross-section of the mine. It showed just how deep it goes, there are 15 levels to it. I jog around it almost everyday but it's hard to grasp just how deep it goes.
* It took a little longer than 90 minutes because we stopped to take pics and look at random things along the way.
Chief photographer Jen's skills on display again:
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Rugby Fever
What began with a simple question ended with field-level seats at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Sunday was the perfect day as Jen and I headed to Hamilton to watch Wales take on Samoa. We decided to root for Samoa because ... well, I'm not really sure why.
It rained for most of the drive to Hamilton and I was really concerned about the kind of weather Jen and I would have to sit in just to watch the game. But luckily, once we arrived, the sun came out and it turned out to be a really, really pleasant day.
Both crowds were amazing. There were countless painted faces, a man dressed like Wonder Woman and a large fellow with his belly painted. (He was cheering for Samoa). Everyone was really into the game, which helped when I didn't know what was going on. They were also pretty courteous to one another, which is something you don't always see at games in the U.S. (Think Oakland Raiders fans).
The game snacks of choice at the RWC were french fries, corn dogs and donuts. Oh and of course beer.
Unfortunately for Jen and I, Wales won, 17-10. But it was a good game. Just so you know, the U.S. team is in the Rugby World Cup, but their matches are just too far for Jen and I to travel to.
So if you ever get a chance to go to a rugby match I say go for it!
Chief photographer Jen snapped plenty of pictures:
It rained for most of the drive to Hamilton and I was really concerned about the kind of weather Jen and I would have to sit in just to watch the game. But luckily, once we arrived, the sun came out and it turned out to be a really, really pleasant day.
Both crowds were amazing. There were countless painted faces, a man dressed like Wonder Woman and a large fellow with his belly painted. (He was cheering for Samoa). Everyone was really into the game, which helped when I didn't know what was going on. They were also pretty courteous to one another, which is something you don't always see at games in the U.S. (Think Oakland Raiders fans).
The game snacks of choice at the RWC were french fries, corn dogs and donuts. Oh and of course beer.
Unfortunately for Jen and I, Wales won, 17-10. But it was a good game. Just so you know, the U.S. team is in the Rugby World Cup, but their matches are just too far for Jen and I to travel to.
So if you ever get a chance to go to a rugby match I say go for it!
Chief photographer Jen snapped plenty of pictures:
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