Playing Kiwi

We've been trying to mix up routine with new experiences to round out our Kiwi experience. Pretty much every day we go out for fresh bread and supplies, stop off at Four Bucks (new name, not mine, for Starbucks) for a read and a real java, wind down in the impressive public library around the corner or maybe hang out down at Westhaven yacht club for a while.




All of us are enjoying the availability (both proximity and extra time) of the "club" downstairs for daily work outs ... it has a huge wall of windows that casts an inviting light over the machines and lane pool ... and I'm a regular in the steam sauna too.




The pic of the building is taken from the park we visit most days ... the whole top floor is our apartment except for 2 small windows, the whole bottom floor showing is gym facilities. Notice our opened windows ... pretty much 24/7 for us ... no screens provided nor needed here ... very few bugs it seems.

Saturday night sports here is not hockey ... it is rugby and it is taken very seriously in Auckland. Apparently the Kiwis were knocked out of the world cup last year in the semis. Opening night for the pro league was Sat the 16th. Stadium is walking distance so we decided to go. The crowd was enthusiastic with a strange mix of ambivalence ... not fully out of mourning yet from last year's embarrassing loss I gathered. This is what happened at the match:



the Blues gained the ascendancy in the second half, adapting better than the Chiefs to the new rules and the demands of a fast-paced game. Their scrum was dominant and their forwards constantly made ground with raids around the fringes of rucks and mauls. When possession tipped in the Blues favor in the second half, its talented backline was able to take full advantage, eventually grabbing a bonus-point try.

Look at me speaking Kiwi sport talk now ... nice try!

BOSgone