Tom and Rachael - The Wedding, Raglan 28th January 2007

It was the Auckland Anniversary weekend so we headed off to Raglan for Tom and Rach's wedding. After a large stag do on the friday night people were feeling a little worse for wear early doors so departure was set for mid afternoon.

We pitched the tents and headed for the pub in the heart of Raglan. This seemed to be the theme for the weekend. Raglan is a small coastal village on the west coast about 2 hour drive south from Auckland. It comprises mainly of baches and coffee shops and of course the pub. Oh and it happens to be a couple of km's away from what is regarded as one of the best left breaks IN THE WORLD! Basically it has awesome surf. Anyway, we were there for a wedding not a surfing holiday.

The wedding was on the Sunday. After a quick dip in the sea in the morning to clear our heads we got dressed to the nines and headed for the church. It was a relatively quick service, the highlight being Toms eagerness to plant the first wedded kiss. Rachael was in fact prepared to wait until the appropriate moment. With that out of the way it was off for champagne at the beach. After all thats all weddings are about isn't it - the booze. Sorry perhaps i should clarify - thats what other peoples weddings are about. Right?




Then it was off the the reception. This was held at Rachaels folks' house. A 3000 acre farm just outside of Raglan. It was a stunning place. The marquee was set up and the bar was opened up to the 200 odd guests. The food was excellent, and the speeches went without too much embarrassment. Then the party really began, and continued late into the night. Thunder and lightning and a down pour couldn't dampen the spirits.

The next day the primary focus was on rehydration. And after a grey start the weather soon picked up - not a cloud in the sky. And the surf was pumping. We hit the beach. West coast waves are like nothing you have ever experienced. The best way to describe them i guess is that they are thick. There is a lot of water in them. And when they decide to nail you, err, you get nailed. Its all good fun though.


A fab weekend. Just need to buy shares in aftersun now. After a weekend in the NZ sun i seem to be radiating somewhat!!!

Auckland Harbour Bridge...

On Saturday 6th Jan the New Zealand A1GP team were doing a publicity stunt on Auckland Harbour Bridge to promote the NZ round of the A1GP series. Half the bridge had been closed for roadworks, these were now complete, but before it was opened up to the public again the GP car was to have a few blasts over it - just for fun.

All well and good, but it gets better. Being an aquaintance of the project manager of the road works on the bridge has its advantages!!!! Darren and i got up nice and early and toddled off the the harbour area. High vis vest on we were given free reign of the bridge. It was awesome. We climbed the arch and walked the length of the deck. The views were fab - especially from the top. Then we got ourselves in position for the running of the car.

The arrival was some what of an anti climax. I was expecting a huge black truck and trailer with the car being rolled out in a cloud of smoke and lights. Sadly the best the A1GP NZ team could come up with was a hired flat bed trailer from a local garage towed behind a 4x4. Ah well. I guess the budget is some what less than F1.

After a little waiting around the car was fired up. Wow - it was super loud. When i mean super load i mean ear shatteringly super load. Very impressive. Up on top of the arch we had a spectacular view as the car blasted its way along the bridge. It only got to about 160km/hr apparently, but the police radar was having difficulty picking it up as it was so low to the ground. The driver also admitted he wasn't going flat out due to the lack of grip on the bridge and in the cold tyres. Still looked flippin fast though.

Not your normal bridge traffic.

Then came the burnout......

Busted!!!

It was a fab morning. Not something you get to do everyday. Especially walking over the bridge. People pay to walk over it. They get full rope access gear and harnesses and have to clip on to a safety wire. Hahahaha, we were running round on it with nothing more than a high-vis vest. Perfectly safe!!!!

Christmas and New Year

Not much to say really. Christmas was spent at home in Akld. Had a gang of fellow 'orphans' over to celebrate. BBQ bacon and eggs for breakfast accompanied by champagne in the sun. Then a little more champagne, then a BBQ christmas dinner - sausages, steak, chicken, salad, veggies and oodles of booze. Splendid. Then it was silly games in the evening until bed. Great day.

New year was very wet. Headed down to Taupo for a spot of camping. And it rained. But was still a good time. Except i was ill. Ho hum. Then back to Auckland on New Years day to dry out. The weather picked up so we headed north to Leigh for a couple of days. Its only an our north of Auckland but it is stunning. Goat Island is a marine reserve and you can snorkel with fish galore of all colours and shapes and sizes. We played on the beach, in the surf and in the sun. The weather was amazingly hot.

Busy busy busy

Well I am finally getting round to updating this thing. Although there is not much to update it with really. My life seems to be revolving around work of late. Ho hum. Not what I came ot New Zealand for. Oh well. Hopefully things will get better.

One thing to note is my folks are here at the moment. And they are really liking it!!! Well there's a suprise!!! It is New Zealand after all. They have been cruising the North Island in a camper and i have been meeting up with them on the weekends.

Last weekend was a trip to Rotovegas - i love that place. All that volcanoey and hot pool type stuff. Really interesting!!!

Anyway, watch this space.

Back to the Philippines

Well i nearly didn't make it. The night before i was due to fly out to Manila i had a slight mishap playing indoor football. One trip to the medical centre and a pair of crutches later i hobbled off to try and cancel my flights in 6 hours time. Thankfully i managed to change the flights and the new date was set for 18th September.

I was heading back to help out as a technical advisor to a company called Globecare - a remediation contractor based in Manila. I was tasked to help out with the clean up of a mercury impacted site, as well as cast my expert (hehe) eye over a few other sites that require some work.

Most of the time was spent in the office frantically emailing and sending off proposals and setting up meetings. I did get out to a few sites though, even though my mobility was not at its best. Hopefully all the hard work will pay off and i will be back out there fairly soon.

Manila is an interesting place. Well, i guess i should say more busy than interesting. The place hums with activity. Well i guess it would with 12 million people living in the same place. The traffic is quite frankly epic. But enough of the city stuff. I had the opportunity to escape so i took it. I spent the weekend on the island of Boracay.

Boracay is a 45 minute plane ride south of Manila. It is one of the 7,017 islands that make the Philippines the second biggest archipeligo in the world (interesting fact no.1). The Philippine islands actually have more coast line than the whole of the United States of America (interesting fact 2 - and now i am out of facts).

Anyway, Boracay is approximately 7km long and 1km wide. You can't actually get there by plane, you fly to the neighbouring island and get a boat to the island. It takes about 20 minutes. The flight over was, err, horrendous. An 18 seater prop aircraft flying in the monsoon season afternoon. Asking for trouble really. It was extremely bumpy. Baggage was rolling around the cabin, water was leaking in the door, we were thrown left and right and up and down. At one point a couple of passengers even screamed - it was that bad. Thankfully we landed safely and it was off to catch me a boat.

The first thing i noticed was how helpful the Filipinos are. Much more so than in Manila. I am used to carrying my own bag and opening my owns doors etc. But here i was not allowed too. Everything was done for me. Very odd. I mean its great and all, but i am just not used to it.

So i arrived on the beach on the western side of the island. All the accomodation and bars etc are on the east so it was a short jeepney ride across the lush green island. Thankfully the jeepneys here are far more sedate than the ones in Manila.

So all booked in to my accommodation it was time to hit the beach. Not far to walk - all of about 10m. Niiiiiice. Now it is supposed to be one of the best beaches in the world. Personally i am not convinced. Now its a really nice beach, don't get me wrong, but it is flanked by loads of bars and various forms of accomodation. Surely there are a fair number of better beaches in the Philippines let alone the world. Anyway, i hit the beach.

Met up with a guy called Wim from Holland. He was on the same transfer boat. We found a bar and started drinking. Ice cold San Miguel on a white sandy beach on a hot sunny day. Great.

After a swim in the sea the day turned to night and we hit the bars. Again, San Miguel was the drink of choice. At some time around 2.30am i managed to stagger back along the beach to hit the sack. And this was early for Filipinos!!!

Breakfast on the beach then a transfer to Daves Straw Hat Inn. I had had enough of the overpriced and underspecced hotel i was in. Daves was much cheaper ($20 a night) and every bit as good. The only difference being it was 100m from the beach not 10m. Then it was off to another bar, out for a swim, out for a short sail and a bit of a snorkel over the reef. Excellent. Then it was back to a bar for dinner and an acoustic open mic night with Boracays finest till the wee small hours. It was an awesome night. The bar was tucked in amongst the palm trees, lit by lanterns. Amazing. No idea what time i got home. All i know is the next morning i was feeling somewhat sub-optimal.

It was monday and i was feeling quite hungover. An ideal day to go sailing then - obviously. We managed a lap of the island on a traditional outrigger called a Paraw. Basically a very narrow hull (like a canoe) and and outrigger on each side so it forms a trimeran type arrangement. It was totally wooded and help together with wire and rope. Splendid. The sail appeared to be plastic tarpauline, but it didn't half shift in the wind. It was superb fun. We even manged to stop en route for a spot of snorkelling. Feeding the fish with left over sarnies. The coulors were amazing and having them nibble straight from your hand is incredible. I could see myself getting into this diving lark!!!

Sadly my time on the beach paradise was over all too soon. But next time i am back there i have grand plans. Active volcanoes to see (i mean really active!!!) deserted beaches to explore and rice terraces galore described as one of the natural wonders of the world!!!

The hustle and bustle and the hot and sweatiness of Manila was a bit of a downer after all that open ocean and white sand. Ho hum. It was back to Auckland to prepare for the kiwi summer.