Rubgy & Rangitoto

If there is one distinctive thing about Kiwis, it is their intense passion for sports.  They follow all the English rooted strange-but-familiar sports like cricket, netball, croquet and field hockey, as well as horse racing, yacht racing, and more.  It seems no sport is too insignificant to escape their enthusiasm.  For those of you watching America's Cup during the last two weeks (if you're an American and have no idea what this is, don't feel bad), know this: when the races begin each morning production comes to a grinding halt as the entire office flocks to the big screen to watch the race. But of all the sports kiwis love to play and watch, none is more dear to their hearts than rugby, and just as many people who visit America flock to see a baseball game, so we decided to attend a rugby match on Sep 14th when the All Blacks faced off against South Africa.  

South African cheerleaders doing a traditional dance

When we found our seats in the stadium I was sure that there had to have been a mix up, as they were far too good for the price we paid for them.  We were sitting right on the center line, almost field level, and perhaps four rows from the front.  After watching the pre game Hakka, the violence began with an intensity that took me off guard.  There is something about hearing the smack of two bodies colliding in mid air only a few meters from you that makes the whole experience so much more, I don't know…visceral.  I managed to get a few decent pictures of the action when it came towards our side of the field. 

The scrum!

In the end the All Blacks walked away victors by a comfortable margin.  They haven't lost a game this season, and apparently that's not uncommon!

The following day we decided to explore another of the Hauraki Gulf islands, Rangitoto.  This is the volcanic cone island that you can see from nearly every beach in Auckland - undoubtedly you've seen it if you've seen any of our photos.  After spending so much time staring at it, it would have been a shame not to check it out. So after disembarking from the ferry we started the trek and were treated to some nice views of the harbor and city along the way to the summit.  The views from the top were what we've come to expect from NZ: gorgeous water view panoramas.  After soaking them in we started a side trip to the lava caves which were pretty awesome, and as Kayleigh was stumbling through the darkness she found a pair of Ray Bans someone apparently without a flashlight had dropped.  No one reported them missing, so she claimed them as the "spoils of war".  

Land Ho!

Oh, and go Team New Zealand! 

Connected

Recently I discovered a new social networking site called Meetup.com that allows you to make and join groups catering to a particular demographic or interest and setup meet-ups where you can go and socialize and do some activity together.  It seemed like a pretty good tool to meet people in an area you're new to, so this weekend I decided to give it a shot.  

Saturday night I met up with one such group to go play a game of laser tag.  I don't remember ever having so much fun playing laser tag (probably attributed to the fact that we had the arena to ourselves and there were no children).  The arena itself was pretty cool, with two stories and plenty of areas to cover and snipe at people.  We played two games (of which my team won the 2nd, go blue team!) before heading over to feed at the Ponsonby food court and doing some socializing.  As it turns out the organizer of the event was an amateur comedian whose act I happened to see on an open mic night at the local comedy club.  Small world eh? Aside from that, my choice of dinner sparked a conversation about spicy foods and as it turns out another of the attendees also loves spicy dishes and has a family member who owns an Indian restaurant in Auckland.  He is going to organize an event for spicy food lovers at his family's restaurant with real authentic Indian food and real authentic Indian spice.  I can't wait! 

Sunday I ended up going indoor rock climbing with another fella I met from the meet-up.  He's an interesting guy with an obvious passion adventure.  He had just finished hiking the Kepler Track a week before in the dead of winter, battling the snow and wind on a high mountain ridge for the sheer challenge and love of solitude.  His enthusiasm was sort of contagious.  The way he spoke about rock climbing painted it as a mental exercise of will and courage, and after giving it a shot I'd have to say that that is a pretty apt description.  I had never tried it before, but it is definitely a sport that requires 100% focus and constantly redefining your limits.  There are some moves that there is no easy way to make and it forces you to reach a little farther (and sometimes a lot farther) than you thought you could.  If you lose focus even for a moment, you'll slip have to start over.  If you do it right, it's an addictive feeling.

Let's face it, breaking into pre-existing social circles can be tough, if not near impossible.  Even if you can manage getting your foot in the door, finding someone who shares a similar interest or passion can be rare, and making lasting connections is like panning for gold.  While I can't say for sure if any connections I made last weekend will stand the test of time, it was nice getting out there and sharing something with new people.  Meetup.com has turned out to be an awesome opportunity to connect with people and I'll definitely be attending more events in the weeks to come.