The Game & Rotorua

ok ok I am hopeless at putting stuff up in a timely manner having too much fun to come on and post I guess

21/10 Seeing my wellington mates was awesome too ..we had time to chat, chillout, drink, meet my friends family who were wonderful..One of my mates has met someone new and was wonderful to see him so happy and like his usual self again :)

Friday night in Hamilton at their place, everyone was sittting around talking, listening to music, sitting on a sofa in the drive way in the freezing cold but too fuzzy and rugged up to mind :) I think I wanted to adopt their cat who was cosying up to me..

Flapjacks in Hamilton a great brekkie place, wow generous food, call green peace and throw me back.

22/10 Saturday afternoon sitting at the pub in team colours, watching the rugby parade in the main street..

Saturday nite - the game was great. i never thought i'd be brought to my feet yelling as a player took the ball to the end of the field. getting caught up in a shared collective experience was great fun. the atmophere was great and i can see how people love going to sport games..Waikato my adopted team won.. so there was much celebrating and I even had a crack at Kareoke in one pub. but exhausted by the emotional expenditure of the game I headed back early for an early night.

23/10 Sunday - another side splitting brekkie at Flapjacks and on to Roturua , thermal springs, went to a Hangi and Concert at one of the hotels in Rotorua that night, my friends new other half and i got up on stage to do a Haka which was fun and the footage will never see the light of day.. afterwards we went to some outdoor thermal pools.. sitting in these pools looking over the lake at night was amazing . cold weather and 38 degree celcius pools ..a nice mix and very relaxing..

24/10 Monday - after a morning looking at Whakewerawere thermal village, I had my friend drop me at the bus station and caught the bus back to Auckland thanking my stars i had a laptop on which to watch a movie.. (long trip in bus on the way back from the holiday) as my mates then drove back to Wellington..

Attached are various pics of the trip. interestingly some of the folks from the Maori concert were the same ones from 2004, my first trip here. So a nice turn of the wheel.