Rugby - Blogabond

I woke up this morning to a new reality...I'm on leave from work until November 2. Another new reality quickly took over...only 19 days until my departure date - April 5. Excitement and nerves make a strong cocktail!

Our planning started years ago when my rugby club decided to tour New Zealand in 2009. Norma and I heard opportunity knocking, and we have planned a seven-month journey together through NZ, Samoa and Australia.

I arrive in NZ with Ebb Tide RFC April 7 for a three-week six-game tour of the country where rugby is king. Norma arrives April 21 and will join the group for the final days of the tour - brave girl! We start our own adventures after we see the group off to Canada April 26.

Today is 'T minus 19 and counting'...not much time to tie up loose ends so I'd better get at it!

written by

Shane & Norma on March 18, 2009 from Victoria, Canada

from the travel blog: "Not Just Another Rugby Tour" - New Zealand, Samoa and Australia

tagged Rugby, Australia, NZ, NewZealand, Samoa and EbbTide

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Victoria, Canada

Lists...I have never been a fan...must be a male thing...well, that's my excuse and I know it's lame! Truth be told, lists are a reality check: "You need to.." and sometimes it's overwhelming to see how much needs to get done. I must admit though that I have done better than usual keeping and actually using lists over the past week. Better to deal with reality now rather than let it kick you in the butt later, eh!

I had a 'Plan B' as a fall-back for tour/trip prep but, as luck would have it, I needed a 'Plan C'. Plan B didn't cover getting injured before tour, which happened in the last minute of my last game at home Sunday March 22. With the help of two opposing tacklers, I sprained the MCL in my right knee. Immediate pain followed by even more painful visions of not playing on tour!

Something like this sure can knock your spirits down and I'm lucky to have great team-mates who have helped me stay positive. I found a great sports physiotherapist, too, who has put things into proper perspective for me physically which really lifted my spirits. Positive thoughts, rehab, tape & brace for games...good to go!

'Plan C' means less time in the gym = more time at home knocking things off the list, which never seems to get shorter.

written by

Shane & Norma on March 30, 2009 from Victoria, Canada

from the travel blog: "Not Just Another Rugby Tour" - New Zealand, Samoa and Australia

tagged Lists, Rugby and PlanB

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Christchurch, New Zealand

Shrek - The Rogue Merino

Christchurch, our first NZ city. Bodies eased themselves down from the bus after the long trip from Queenstown.

The landscape on the way to Ch-ch reminded many of the Cariboo, sans sheep. Sheep, sheep sheep! The hills and paddocks were alive with them, as one well expected would be the case in NZ. None compared to the legendary Shrek., a Merino ram. Our driver, Brian, related the story of drovers finding Shrek deep in the high hills with a coat of fleece beyond belief. The soon-to-be celebrity had lived as a rogue for six years, escaping the shears until discovered. He was rounded up and transported to civilization where he met the paparazzi and the shearers. Shrek's fleece weighed 60 lbs. and provided enough wool to make vests for 20 men! The average fleece weighs 10 lbs. and an exceptional fleece weighs up to 35 lbs.

Shrek was only one of many "-est" facts and figures that we heard along the way - oldest, largest, first. We didn't doubt Brian's knowledge but Rick-Kyle turned it into a new drinking game, not that the Ebb Tide needs an excuse to tipple! So, whenever Brian described something using an "est', everyone called out, "DRINK!" and tipped backed their beer with a laughter chaser. Every ear was tuned into Brian as we headed for Ch-ch, hoping to be the first to holler, "DRINK!" No one missed a fact or figure. However, the question is how many remembered them!

written by

Shane & Norma on April 29, 2009 from Christchurch, New Zealand

from the travel blog: "Not Just Another Rugby Tour" - New Zealand, Samoa and Australia

tagged Rugby, Shrek and Sheep

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Christchurch, New Zealand

Snowball Fight in Lindas Pass

Lindas Pass - Canucks Stop to Photograph Snow!

Lindis Pass is a long way to come for a snowball fight, even by Kiwi standards! Leave it to forty-two crazy Canucks to ask the bus driver to pull over so they could test out NZ snow. Nobody was homesick., it was just too tempting not to have some good old Canadian fun! Snowballs flew everywhere and few found their intended target...just like on the rugby pitch. Go figure!

Snowballs excepted, we are trying our best to get into the Kiwi culture starting with food and drink. Meat pies are the answer to every meal that isn't a sit-down affair. They're everywhere and filled with everything from mince to lambs' fry, aka, liver. Taste and quality range from "Wow!" to "Bugger me, that's horrible!" You will find the former in the local bakery; the latter are massed produced in a factory and languish on garage food racks.

And what goes with a pie...beer, of course! Despite its reputation, Speights is the beer of the South Island. "What's their reputation?", you ask.
It starts with a local saying, "Drink Speights, lose your mates!"
"What's that mean?", you ask.
Speights is known for its gaseous side effects...it appears to be true, too!

So, beware the man with pie and Speights in hand!

written by

Shane & Norma on April 29, 2009 from Christchurch, New Zealand

from the travel blog: "Not Just Another Rugby Tour" - New Zealand, Samoa and Australia

tagged Rugby, Beer, Snowballs and Speights

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Rugby, United States

Stop #17.