Lake Tarawera water taxi. Skipper, Dave Walmsley on left
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6
Kiwis are generally much fitter than Australians. That’s the impression I get from this trip, where there are so many people running, exercising etc., and very few obese people. The fattest people we have seen have been Australians from cruise ships. And there are quite a few today at Rotorua’s Polynesian Spa, where Marie and I enjoy a couple of hours. “Shit view” says one Aussie, as she and her husband arrive at our pool. She wasn’t referring to the sight of Marie and I, rather the fact there is a factory of some sort on the shores of the lake, behind us. Marie and I chat to a young, newly married English couple, from Gloucestershire. They chose to have their wedding at Hobbiton. To each his own. They love Harry and Markle, but acknowledge that older generations do not. Another Pom, who is generally quite funny, jokes about being skipper of cruise ship, ‘Majestic’. But then tells off-colour joke about a baked beans fart in a pool.
Marie and I started the day with brunch at the Forest Research Centre just outside Rotorua, followed by a walk in the giant Redwoods, where a domestic cat followed us for 2km., before latching onto a family group. On the return journey to our cabin on Lake Tarawera, we do a short walk around the Blue Lake, and then relax at Tawera Landing, where a fit, older chap, swims out to the pontoon.
THURSDAY, MARCH 7
Sixty journalists from TV1 are in danger of losing their jobs, as the station’s revenue drops. There is much debate in New Zealand about a Haka done by the Wellington women’s team, in which the lead female called the current conservative Government a mob of rednecks. A female television presenter says the player is within her rights, while a male presenter says he doesn’t want political statements made when he has paid at the gate to be entertained. There didn’t appear to be anyone in the ground when the Haka was performed. That great Maori, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, turns 80. Ben Te’o, who presented Samoa in rugby league, is appointed Queensland Under-19 State of Origin coach.
Marie and I take a water taxi to the other side of Lake Tarawera, with ‘skipper’ Dave Walmsley proving an entertaining guide, joking about Australian ferals (possums and wallabies) which abound in this area. Dave has a Maori wife, from Hamilton, although her ancestral roots go back to this area. Marie spots a Wallaby as we bush walk. We enjoy time in the hot pools of Wairua Creek, luxuriating with an English couple from East Sussex. I think she went ‘off’ me when I mentioned that I don’t get rid of cane toads in a ‘humane’ manner. Why waste space in the freezer, when a brick will do the trick.
Marie and I take our last look at the lake, from our private beach, and a lone swimmer rounds the cape, and makes his way to the shore, as his dog waits patiently. The swimmer’s name is Richard, a neighbour of Ngaire Callaghan, who owns he cabin we are renting. He is 69 and in superb condition. Richard, who has contested the famous Lake Taupo Ironman event, is a loving grand father, who will be part of a family trip to South Carolina in the USA, where it is hoped his grand daughter will be able to have surgery to correct a physical ailment, which affects her mobility.
FRIDAY, MARCH 8
Nightmare six hour trip from the Lake to Auckland, to return our hire car. I thought South East Queensland’s M1 was bad, but the highway into Auckland – from the south – is a shocker. Get a ferry from Auckland Harbour to Waiheke Island, where we get a cab to our accommodation – Wine Loft. Our female driver is originally from Serbia, and she is a fearless driver. I’ll leave it at that.
SATURDAY, MARCH 9
Wake to England v Ireland under-20s Rugby Union match from Bath, in England’s west country. There is a full house, or so it seems, and the Irish look good. Ireland’s senior coach, former Great Britain rugby league skipper, Andy Farrell, certainly has plenty of talent to choose from. Lunch (fish and chips) at The Local, in the island’s main town, Oneroa, then a bus to ‘The Wineries’ area, where we settle on The Heke Brewery, after the first two wineries we visited were packed out. India v England cricket is on television at the brewery. At ‘The Local’ they had the Tennis Channel, live streaming, after previously having Skysport showing ‘illegally’. Dinner at Red Crab, back in Oneroa, where a loud, but likeable Australian (not me, I’m neither, my wife says) joins a group enjoying Happy Hour. An Auckland v Wellington women’s Rugby Union match is playing on television. There is no-one at the ground, and no-one in the crowded bar is watching the ‘action’. As we leave a lady, who I reckon was a glamour in her day, drags a suitcase up the street. Her face is as lined as any face I have ever seen. But she is still glamourous.
Back in Townsville, our son, Damien and his wife, Emma attend Laurie’s Love Gala Ball, which raises money for brain cancer research. TV presenter, Carrie Bickmore is the special guest.
SUNDAY, MARCH 10
Italy hang on for an emotional 31-29 win over Scotland in Six Nations Rugby match in Rome. Louis Lynagh scores a try for Italy, the country of his birth. His dad Michael is a former Wallaby. Marie and I walk to Blackpool Bay, where there is a Warriors’ flag flying in front of a beachfront house. Maybe it is the residence of Sir Peter ‘Mad Butcher’ Leitch, who lives here. Peter is New Zealand’s best known rugby league supporter. We saw a ‘Mad Butcher’ franchise shop in Rotorua. Lovely pies for lunch from Asian run bakery at Surfdale, before catching a bus to Onetangi Beach, the longest beach on the island. Drinks at Charlie Farley’s Bar, where there is live music. The young male artist sings one of his own compositions – Fisherwoman. He admits to being ‘dusty’ from a big night out, but sings well. One song – which refers to dog shit on shoes etc., leaves me cold. A young Asian couple on a table near us, spend all their time on their lap tops, drinking water and taking no notice of the singer, or life going on around them. They don’t even eat the fish and chips they ordered. Tragic really. The Herald on Sunday features the Warriors’ (rugby league) ‘Best Ever 17’.
On the return bus journey, a lass and two young blokes sitting behind us (not Asian) talk loudly about the benefits of flossing and the qualities of water. I think they are dental students.
MONDAY, MARCH 11
Former Ipswich (Queensland) rugby league player, Emmanuel Meafou stars for France in their convincing win over Wales in the Six Nations Rugby Union.
Marie and I enjoy lunch at Man of War winery, the only one on the island where you can dine with a beach view. The female driver of the shuttle bus to the winery gives an excellent commentary. A family with a dog arrives by helicopter. We dine near two Australian couples, one from Old Bar in the Manning Valley of New South Wales, and the other from Hope Island on the Gold Coast. They are from Victoria originally. It means nothing to them when I mention I used to play rugby league (for Wingham Tigers) against Old Bar. Our waitress is from Sutton Coalfields in the UK. The lass who showed us to our table is from Chile. Dinner at Mud Brick Winery, which is walking distance from our accommodation. It is up there with the best meals we have ever had. Our waiter is from the Alsace region of France, and is delighted to learn we stayed there for a week back in 1990. Marie’s main course at Mudbrick is monkfish, while I enjoy venison
Back in Brisbane there is a funeral for former Queensland forward, Darryl Van de Velde, who was inaugural CEO of the now defunct South Queensland Crushers. Former Crushers’ players, Craig Teevan, Terry Cook, Trevor Gillmeister and Danny Nutley are among those in attendance.
TUESDAY, MARCH 12
Marie and I get the 11 a.m. ferry to Auckland, then a shuttle bus to the airport. A lovely lady at the information kiosk at the wharves says don’t get a cab – they are robbers. Our Qantas flight is delayed two hours. Chat to a couple from Tauranga while waiting in the lounge. They are resigned to missing their connecting flight to Mackay, to catch up with family. I watch British movie ‘The Old Oak’, about Syrian refugees moving into a depressed, former mining community in County Durham. Not bad, but the refugees are a bit too saintly, if you get my drift. Marie watches ‘Priscilla’. Our Brisbane cabbie – from Nudgee – has Italian relatives from Warwick, and loves a chat. He gets us safely back to our villa in Samford Grove Over-55 Village.
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