Back on form again now. I think a lot of the problem was staying in the big hostels. The hostel in New Plymouth was small and homely and the cleintelle a little older.
It's a lovely drive from New Plymouth to Hamilton through the Hurangi Range. The drive from Hamilton to Auckland however leaves a lot to be desired. Too much traffic and I can't help but that it wouldn't have been a great introduction to New Zealand. Maybe I was spoilt by starting in Christchurch.
There was a bit of excitement on the Highway when a guy towing a trailer got a wobble on, did a 180 before planting himself in a bush. He was alright, just another Kiwi adrenalin junky looking for a new way to cack his dacks. I was impressed by the 20 or so cars that immediately pulled on to the Hard shoulder and went running to check on the Guy. Of course they almost caused a multiple pile up in the process.
Auckland was something of nothing really. Just a big city without an impressive sky line. I checked into the YHA and then walked to Eden Park to watch the Super 12 egg chasing. Come on guys give me a break. It's been nearly 2 months since my last sporting event (the pro bowl). Maybe that's why I've been so down recently. That explains so much.
The Super 12 is a competition between 5 Kiwi teams, 4 austrailian and 3 South Africans. The Kiwi teams have dominated the competition winning it 7 out of the 8 times it's been played. The stadium had kinda been cobbled together, like most of NZ's stadiums they also play cricket here. When I was queuing for a ticket some kindly soul obviously saw the desperation in my eyes and gave me her complimentary ticket. I've been very lucky with that.
IT was good to be at a game where the PA didn't have to hype up the crowd. The game does that 4 you. That's how sport should be. The Auckland Blues beat the Waratahs from Sydney 22 - 17. It was good to see a few hits and a couple of quality tries.
Gonna check out the delights of Auckland now.
