NZ - My First Whirlwind Tour!

It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday*… No it’s 2 o’clock on a Thursday, and I’ve just shuffled through my front door in central west NSW, following the haul from Christchurch via Sydney & Dubbo. How do I describe what was a fantastic 26 days in NZ following Australian Cricket as part of The Flag experience? Five ODI’s, one Test Match, eight flights, a mix of backpacker, apartment, B & B, and private accommodation. Good food, good cricket and most importantly of all good company.

I last saw Australia play live (in Brisbane) 10 years ago, care of a job that usually only gives me a week off here or there, so this trip was about the best of both worlds - being an interested spectator, an international tourist, and getting a decent break from the grind whilst looking at Aussie cricket up close and personal.

The Cricket (ODI): They are just an awesome team. Jetlag in the first ODI left us defending grimly with the Kiwis at the death requiring 21 from 18 balls with 4 wickets in hand. A Hamish Marshall brain explosion, and terrific bowling by McGrath and Lee gave a 10 run win to Australia. And that was as close as it got with massive victories in the other 4 games leaving NZ cricket in tears.

Highlights – the bowling of Lee & McGrath throughout the five games, Hayden’s 100 in Christchurch, Ponting’s 100 in Napier (including a flat six that we desperately tried to get a hand on to claim a $500 DVD player), Gilly’s knocks at the Basin Reserve and in Napier, the Aussie fielding, especially Symonds, and Craig McMillan’s six off Symonds at Wellington that cleared the venue. (Below: The Tararua Wind Farm, near Palmerston North, was one of my tour highlights.)

Lowlights – not seeing an even contest and Hayden being injured and missing three games. Umpiring (How close can a hat-trick ball be – just ask Kasper), but you can’t play the game without them.

The Grounds and Crowds: New Zealand is lovely– except when you’re at the cricket. Westpac Trust Stadium, Jade Stadium, Eden Park and MacLean Park are all rugby grounds that tolerate cricket. They are small with squared ends and at Eden Park in particular you have to sit sideways in the seat to look at the wicket! Full house crowds (ODI’s) in metropolitan venues, and very much the same in Australia without doubt, are loud, obnoxious, ignorant, abusive, and rarely show appreciation for good play or offer encouragement to the home side (supporting, the most important element of being a supporter!). The only exception to this was the Napier game. The security bordered apathetic at best, but you’re only as good as the directions you are given.

Highlights – winning a bet with Luke on which way was east. Being closer to the action than you are in Australia. Waving the flag at every opportunity.

Lowlights – Sunburn like you wouldn’t believe (OK, you have seen the photo’s), and being hit with bottles & food whilst flag waving. The floodlights at Christchurch/ Auckland (during the twilight period before the lights take effect it gets very dark), the pitifully small NZ ‘blick cep’ crowd during all four days of the first test match, and the takeaway food at all venues.

The Travelling: It was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time. Fly into Wellington, Christchurch (south), Auckland (north), then bus (south) through the countryside to Hamilton, Napier, Rotorua, Wellington before flying down to Christchurch then home. It seemed the best of both worlds, flights for expediency, then a bus trip through the north island to see the countryside. Unfortunately, moving the Hamilton ODI to Wellington mucked everything up completely. This meant one more day flying back to where we’d already been and four less days traversing the countryside by road. By the end of the 5th ODI (Day 16) I was physically tired from all the packing/travelling/games in different cities and felt for the players, but someone else carries their luggage! Apart from his obvious love of test match over one day cricket – I can see why most Flaggers choose the test match options – eight days in the one spot (or is it being a better game?)!

Accommodation Options: Luke only offered backpacking for the ODI series (18 days), and either backpacking or apartment for each 8-day test match segment. I chose the apartment section for the Christchurch test match – partly because after living in the cheap beds for the previous 18 days I felt that it was affordable. I have never backpacked before, was lost for the first 3 or 4 days while I got used to communal living (sometimes up to 8 per room), shared facilities, house rules and meeting a continual supply of strangers. By Day 19 I was glad to see the 3 bedroom apartment I shared with 5 other Flaggers for the final 8 nights. Would I use backpackers again – yes but not for an 18 day stretch. For a long weekend in Sydney though, that involves a full program where I only need somewhere to sleep for a few hours, absolutely. (Below: The Sun in Wellington crisped my nose for the tour! Ouch!)

Being a Tourist: When you’re a tourist, provided you have money in your pocket, it’s advisable to act like one. No regrets. As I would be missing the Wellington and Auckland test matches, I chose to test drive some of the activities on Sparrows list during the ODI’s, and loved them all. Consulting my tour diary, and listing them in order of lovability (which wasn’t easy), here goes. (Some items are free/donation – others cost money).

1. Jet boating at Hanmer Springs
2. Minus 5 bar (the vodka was very yummy) Auckland
3. Maori Arts & Crafts Centre Rotorua
4. Manawatu Gorge inc the Wind Farm Palmerston North
5. Skytower Auckland
6. Thermal springs in both Rotorua and Hanmer Springs
7. Craters of the Moon Taupo
8. Auckland Museum
9. Zorbing Rotorua
10. Every Irish Bar we found ourselves
11. Spending a night in gaol (backpackers) at Napier
12. Art Gallery Christchurch
13. Huka Falls Taupo
14. Havelock North lookout
15. Stumbling across a video clip in production (which I first thought was a symbolic Maori ritual) in Wellington after scaling a giant mountain to reach it.
16. Thinking I was going to have a heart attack during the middle of a symbolic Maori ritual, (which turned out to be a video clip in production) having just scaled the giant mountain.

Footnote: It was with some dismay that I found a photo of Kasper on the web, resplendent in his team tracksuit jogging through the trees near the top of the Wellington lookout. It is a very steep climb (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!).

Prior to the Jet boating I looked at the bungee jump and said absolutely no way. After the jet boat, and with the adrenalin pumping, I may have been tempted to have a go (apart from the $119/3 seconds bit). It was a relatively tame 35 metres – and the girl we witnessed take the leap of faith jumped feet first – very ugly (the jump, not the girl, she was gorgeous!).

Conclusion: It was with sadness I said goodbye to the Flaggers on March 16 and flew home. Had it not been for other staff holidays, I’d have changed my flight and stayed another two weeks. It was that good. Will I follow Australian Cricket again? You bet. I can’t go to both South Africa (2006) and the West Indies (2007), but I’ll try!

Thanks to Sparrow for not getting on my nerves too much, and to all Aussie cricket fans (and some NZ one’s) I met along the way who made my 2005 NZ trip a more memorable experience.

See you at the cricket.

Brian (Fossil) Tobin

*Credit - Billy Joel

Brian Tobin 12/04/2005 06:31:18