Category: Travel

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Magical Tokyo – And More Rugby

I’ve had a thing about Japan for years. Maybe it developed as a kind of love – hate relationship since I was a kid. Dad served in NZ’s J-Force and went to Japan after the War, but there was never any sense of warmth in our home when it came to the Japanese.

I recall our family on a winter’s evening sitting around the open fire, and when the soot in the back of the fireplace sparkled as it caught fire, we were always told it was the Japs and Germans fighting.

Decades later a longed-for encounter with modern Japan, with its Mt Fuji, Cherry Blossoms and the Shinkansen (Bullet train), somehow found a place on my bucket list. And Teddy’s fascination with Japan also stretches back many years.

Every year he visits Japan Day on the Auckland waterfront, so the decision to visit Tokyo for a game of Super rugby between The Auckland Blues  and the Japanese Sunwolves in the 2018 season was a no-brainer.

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Hong Kong Rugby Sevens – A must do – and we did!

I hadn’t meant to disappear off the face of the Earth however it has been a while since I posted an update on Teddy’s and my travel blog. After all, our trip up to Hong Kong and Japan just seems like weeks ago, but it’s been months. Friends have reminded me that it’s about time I put something out there. 

So here goes…

It was back in April when Teddy and I took off from Auckland on our journey to Hong Kong and the 2018 HK Rugby Sevens.

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A Weekend At The NZ Rugby Sevens – 2018

Have you ever wondered why there is such a desire by folks go to a Rugby Sevens Tournament? It’s always been a mystery to me. After all, I’ve been to a few rugby games over the years and I’ve always found that the two or three hours pass and it’s just another game of rugby.

I’m now prepared to have a different view on this.

The Sevens have got their own unique buzz that can’t be found at any other time or place. These tournaments consist of two consecutive days of around ten hours where you’re mixing with crowds of punters – in varying stages of increasing inebriation, weird and wonderful costumes, expensive food and of course, the weather – be it rain, hail or sunshine. And to add to the pleasure, you spend hours each day moulding your bum into a numb moon-shaped human frisbee from those hard, unforgiving plastic seats.

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6 Remote “Kiwi” Attractions to Explore this Summer

“Spring has Sprung, and the Grass has Riz”

…and that’s not the only thing going up.

The mercury’s inching up and that summer feeling is certainly in the air. And, the biggie…Christmas is just around the corner.

It’s time to brush off the barbie, lock in a stock of Christmas cheer and prepare to relegate 2017 to the rear view mirror.

It also means it’s time to climb on board the holiday travel train. To join the hordes of holiday makers heading to the beaches for their annual fix of summer sun.

Popular tourist hang-outs will be overrun with jandal-footed, scantily clad bodies. And the smell of a hundred SPF 50’s will clog your nostrils for weeks to come. 

But it doesn’t have to be that way. And just maybe you don’t have any annual holidays left to let you escape for a week or two.

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7 “Firsts” from our Visit to Perth: and a Couple of Jaw Droppers

Holidays and travel should be a time of “firsts” and our trip to Perth was no exception.

Some people have “firsts” of a magnitude that Teddy and I could never achieve (and frankly, nor would we want to), such as climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, or maybe something slightly more subdued yet achievable, like a ‘stroll’ along the Great Wall of China or arching to kiss the Blarney Stone in Ireland.

Our “firsts” are unlikely to appear in any famous bucket lists, but for Teddy, whose life is a chronicle of well-photographed milestones, our journey will become etched into his memory. 

 So, as we start out braving the 30o plus temperatures here is our list of Perth “firsts”:

1:  The Big Dry in 36o Temperatures

 Our first and lasting impression of Perth was the parched landscape.

Not only was the air dry, but so was everything that I associate with the colour green. Brown wisps of vegetation marched like grass imposters across the lawns, verges lay unkempt and vast parklands find little relief from the fringes of protecting gum trees.

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To B&B or not to B&B? That is the Question.

Making the move from motel/hotel accommodation to a B&B was a decision I didn’t make lightly. But I did, and I am glad. Would I do it again? Definitely!!

Rain on the plane’s windows speckled the view of Nelson’s water-soaked tarmac. But Nelson is supposed to be sunny, I hear you say. Doesn’t it have the highest number of sunshine hours per year across New Zealand?  That maybe so, but that’s not the welcome that greeted Teddy & Me today. Our plane was forced to circle for a few minutes while the a backlog of flights negotiated the misty conditions. We touched down with no drama and only a few minutes later than scheduled. And the rain persisted. 

But it’s only water. And water will dampen the air but it takes more than a few raindrops to dampen our spirits. We didn’t come all the way from Auckland for the rugby just to be wussy about the weather. On the other hand however, I was still a tad tentative about my decision to book a B&B for our two-day stay.

Collingwood Manor – A Grand Old Lady

I discovered this B&B by accident as I was looking to book some weekend accommodation. We wanted something close to Nelson’s Trafalgar Park as that’s where the rugby was to be played. Collingwood Manor was the closest to the Park that offered excellent overnight rates. But I’d never stayed in a B&B before and I had no idea what to expect.

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