K. Dana Morris

Rah Rah Rah!!

Saturday June 8, 2013

New Zealand All Blacks vs France at Eden Park

This is the moment I’d been waiting for, folks. I was so excited to see my second professional rugby match and this was a biggie.  The All Blacks are New Zealand’s All-Star team and are respected world wide.  On Friday night I just so happened to meet Alan (AJ) Whetton who played on the 1987 World Cup Team.  He and his buddies couldn’t let me go to the game alone and who was I to question.

Jason lives in Gold Coast, Australia so he rented a car. Well, more like a roller skate. You should have seen these guys squeezed into the tiny car. Notice that the three of them cover 3/4 of the car.

The Roller Skate Car

Eden Park is a great venue and the crowd was crazy!  Every one was dressed up, especially the French. My favorite costume was a Napolean type outfit and on the guy’s hat he had a giant baguette with pastries glued all around the sides. I cracked up. I tried to get a photo but he was jumping all around and it didn’t work.

They brought out the hot, hot heat for the pre-game.

Then it was time to rumble.

I sat next to a group of about 12 guys that worked together. Apparently a drug company (represented by 3 guys) was trying to sell one of their drugs to another company (represented by 9 guys) and they decided what better way to “work it” than by treating everyone to the All Blacks game.  And “work it” they did.  They all had custom made neck scarfs with All Blacks logo and the drug company logo, custom made shirts with logos, and the beers were flowing. The beers were sold in plastic bottles and they came in 4 packs bound by a plastic holder attached at the neck of each bottle. Each time any of the drug company guys got up these 4-packs of beer came back by the arm fulls. They could barely keep up! I offered assistance as needed.

During the match I found out that the guys next to me really didn’t care too much for rugby and were more interested in talking to me about the NBA playoffs. That sparked a conversation from the French fan in front of us. He was really proud to tell us that there are three Frenchmen playing for the NBA right now – Tony Parker and two other dudes, but we couldn’t understand his thick French accent. The guys next to me responded with a resounding “Allez les Bleus” because that was all the French they knew. When in Rome. Or New Zealand!

Often times the crowd at Eden Park would erupt with cheers and the guys next to me wouldn’t be paying attention so this happened:

Guy 1: “What happened?”
Guy 2: “I don’t know.”
They would both look around to see if fans in black were cheering or if fans in blue were cheering. If fans in black where cheering they would raise their beers high and give a “Woo hoo!”  If the fans in blue were cheering, well, pretty much the same thing happened. It cracked me up!

The All Blacks won 23-13 with a very exciting try at the end. And that lead to a celebration at a pub with my new friends.

Too tall for a selfie!

Lies, Weatherman, All Lies

June 7, 2013

In Sydney we had the fog that took away the harbour, now in Auckland I have the clouds that are hanging over me like a wet blanket. Did I bring it with my from Wellington? All of that beautiful sun that was shining on Auckland yesterday must have a hangover from the State of Origin Rugby Match played Wednesday past. Look at me using local slogans – Wednesday past!

Rain or shine I did the Auckland Harbour Cruise and it was amazing.

I had to have some “bubbles” during the cruise.

I took about 400 pictures of wonderful houses along the waterfront, naval vessels, and the Auckland Skyline.

We got to see the Royal New Zealand Navy’s largest ship in action. HMNZS Canterbury L421 passed us and then turned around to dock with the aid of two tug boats. We didn’t get to see the actual puling up to the harbour but it was well positioned to do so. Very cool to see the sailors atop the deck preparing for docking.

My favorite part of the harbour cruise was learning about Rangitoto Island. This island has an active volcano on it so the “sands” are black and typically what you’d think cooled volcanic lava would look like. The really interesting thing was learning that the waterfront houses I photographed were built illegally! They are called Baches (comes from Bachelor) and were considered mansions and holiday houses when they were built in the 1920’s and 1930’s. I think now they are owned by the island preservation society and just kept there to show what used to be.

Shortly before we docked at Rangitoto our ferry started blowing its horn and stopped the engines. Apparently a speed boat was shooting the gap between us and the dock. It made it out fine but I think I heard the captain say “where’s the coast guard when you need them?”

Next sighting was the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Not to be snotty but that is nothing compared to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. They offer climbs but I’ve already climbed the Mount Everest of bridges why would I now climb the Lego Set of bridges?? They do offer bungee jumping from the bridge which somehow has me thinking…

More cool Naval vessels on the way – Against the Devonport docks we saw the HMNZS Endeavour A11 which is the navy’s oldest vessel and is used for refueling other ships. Has a lot of rust on her but I’m sure she gets the job done. There were a couple of other vessels there, too. Also of note, Devonport is the only operating naval base in all of New Zealand.

Auckland is home to the largest marina in the Southern Hemisphere, the Westhaven Marina. You could see sailboat after sailboat after sailboat docked there. And the rock that forms the barrier from the sea was taken from volcanic rock on Rangitoto Island. Made for some pretty cool pics.

Just before we got back to our pier we passed the Tank Farm. Right now there is a spot of land being developed for a huge new park and commercial buildings. The tanks that live there now to assist in the construction have been dubbed Tank Farm.

As we pulled into the dock the ferry captain stopped right outside my hotel. We were able to view the SkyTower in between the buildings that make up the Hilton. SO COOL! Just wish there would have been a little more sunshine above.

My hotel with the Auckland SkyTower.

It’s Slidey Up There

Thursday June 6, 2013

The weather in Auckland could not be more beautiful! It is 1pm on Thursday and there are about three small clouds in the clear blue sky with temperature of 57. I just feels fresh here.

I’m on the Air Bus shuttle to the hotel and I’m going to get to see a lot of the city between the airport and the hotel on the harbour. Everything is lush green, even on the side of the highway. The neighborhood we drove through had small but nice homes. Mostly wooden with quaint porches and proper landscaping. Here are just some random shots.

I’m confused as to what these stores offer.

My hotel is freaking amazing! I am right on the water in Princes Wharf – it is on all sides of me.

My room is on the 6th floor and has a balcony overlooking the harbour. I will be spending a lot of time out there! For some reason I like to watch the ferries pull in and out of their boat slips. Could do it all day.

View from my balcony to the left.

View directly from my balcony.

View from my balcony to the right towards the city.

Views at dusk.

This is the Cloud Building – a ferry terminal they built for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

View at night. I kind of had my own Vivid Lights!

State of Origin

Wednesday June 5, 2013

Well tonight was the big State of Origin for Rugby League in Australia. It was a test between the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons. I was invited to watch the test at the Old Boys – University RFC Club House. It really isn’t a club house but that is what they call their home pub. It is very nice – much nicer than any rugby club I’ve been to here in the states. Of course, rugby is their primary sport so I can see why they went all out with the amenities.

Here are my dates for the event. Saia is a friend of a friend of mine from Orlando Rugby.

John Porter and Saia Fisilau

We cheered for the Maroons all night but the Blues won the test. Clearly these guys were for the Blues!

Conrad Smith came from this club and currently plays for the New Zealand All Blacks, which is the all-star team of the entire country. He is number 13 and I’ll see him play Saturday night in Auckland. I tried to get my picture with his picture but as you can see the flash got me.

Photo of Conrad Smith of the All Blacks

Walkabout

Wednesday June 5, 2013

I was so excited to wake up today to only overcast skies and almost no rain. So I took off quickly to do a walkabout town before the next storm. The past two days I’ve only seen it from the inside of a cab or inside of a pub.  Here are some of the sights.

Prince’s face just randomly on the side of this building.

Pretty wharf-side building.

Glad it’s free!

Hot dog stand!

I found this very artsy overpass and walked all around it. It is in front of the Civic Center Building and crosses over the main road to the waterside. There are all of these wooden and metal sculptures and neat signs.

I thought of my childhood friend, Eddie Roberts, when I saw this sign.

This shot is for Penny Peavler!

And, of course, how couldn’t I think of my friend, Nancy Chesnut, when I saw this sign?

I love my sassy friends!

I thought this “family” restroom had quite the changing station. P.S. Bathroom stalls are called cubicles. And in the States we call our office spaces cubicles. Turns out both are crappy – HA!

Wee Trolleys

Mount Victoria in Wellington is so very beautiful with its trees, ridges and wooden homes tucked all throughout. The homes are literally on top of each other as they go further up the mountain. At street level are garages, then attached to each garage is a Wee Trolley. It is a 1-2 person box that travels up a monorail all the way to that individual’s home. Most people have their own Wee Trolley but some folks that are at the tippy top share a trolley with a 3-4 person box. Pretty handy after a trip to the market!!

From the market…

…to the top of the mountain!

What’d You Say?

US vs AU
Fries = Chips
Needles = Sharps
Restrooms = Toilets
Elevators = Lifts
Milk = Babycino
Apartment = Flat
Pitchers = Jugs
Sunglasses = Sunnies
Bathroom stall = Cubicle
May I help you? = Are you alright?
You’re welcome = No worries

NZ
I’ve noticed the Kiwi accent is quite different than the Australian accent. Much stronger and they speak more quietly and more quickly.

As examples:
the word text is pronounced teext
six is pronounced seex
seven is seeven
cents are ceents
everything is eeverrything
It is almost like the first syllable of each word takes on the long E sound (eee).

I just learned that cheers and left are different. Cheers is almost like chez and left is like lift.

My favorite is the number eighteen. It is pronounced ay-deen.

And rugby and Australian Rules Football both seem to be called “footy”. And the ball is called “the footy”. And the field is called “the footy”. Everything that is a sport that involves a ball and feet is called “footy”. Oh, and when you go to see a rugby match you “go to *the* rugby”. Or you “watch *the* rugby” on tv.

Conversions:
I was describing Mike’s apartment to Ferg and I told him it was about 1,000 square feet and that it was just tiny. Especially with three adults and two children living there. His face got all scrunched up and he got this very strange look.
“Small??”, he asked.
“Yes!”, I exclaimed.
This went back and forth for about a minute. Finally he said, “Oh, I thought you meant square meters.”
1,000 square meters is about 10,764 square feet. And that is NOT small.

Vodka Phone

I just purchased a mobile WiFi hotspot from Vodafone. If you type Vodaphone (with “ph” instead of “f”) iPhone or iPad spell check turns it into Vodka Phone. I think that is funny. Anyway, it was NZ$99 which is US$80.04. It comes with 2GB of data on it and it will also work in Auckland when I go there on Thursday. It was just too dicey to rely on the free city-wide WiFi because it is slow and not available in everyplace that I’m going. And it seems I’ll be doing a lot of indoor activities today since it is raining and chilly! UGH!

Here is my charging station for all my electronics.

Looks like a scene from Christmas Story.

Speaking of indoor activities, one that I really enjoy is eating!  I went to Four Kings and had the BEST cheeseburger. The waitress said it was a “proper” patty, meaning that they make the burger homemade there at the restaurant and that it doesn’t come frozen. Let me tell you what. It was great! And as common in Australia, it comes with a slice beetroot kind of like a tomato slice would come on a burger. It is weird at first but I actually liked it. The fries (chips) in NZ are to die for. They are the shoestring kind and come with aioli which is pretty much just spicy mayo from what I’ve tasted. So delicious!

I guess most Americans use ketchup on their burgers so the waitress brought me some. Isn’t that the cutest ketchup dispenser?!!

Ketchup

Most sandwiches from a club sandwich to a grilled chicken sandwich to a burger come with a fried egg on top. I gotta say I’m a big fan of the fried egg on my burger!