Day 22: To Auckland & the All Blacks Test

I awoke on Saturday morning to blue skies, which would turn to storms in 15 minutes. Roger, my only hostel-mate was up making coffee. I ate breakfast, said good-bye to him and Helen, and I was on my way north to the "big city" of Auckland, about the size of Maryville or High Point. In fact, a person could walk almost anywhere in the city within about 30-40 minutes, but the bus system seems pretty popular.

I drove through more flooded areas through the country, and the terrain was fairly flat compared to what I had seen the day before. I stopped at a service centre along Highway 1 and went through the McDonald's drive-thru backways. Not really backwards but right to left since the driver's window is on the right side of the car. I was got tickled that I had to call my nephew and tell him about it. He was not as impressed as I was, but he would have been if he had been in the car with me. I have gotten very good at driving, and it comes very naturally to me now. In fact, it makes more sense for me to keep my strong hand (right) on the steering wheel while shifting gears with my less coordinated hand (left). I think driving in the U.S. will take some readjustment.

I received an email from Ticketmaster telling me that the All Blacks vs. Wallabies "test" had sold out and that I needed to pick up my tickets in advance or I would be standing in a very long line. I arrived at Eden Park about 2:15pm and by 2:45pm I finally figured out which entrance contained the ticket office. A few minutes later and I was at the Pentlands Backpackers, a BBH hostel just blocks from Eden Park. I met Patricia (CORRECTION: a Korean medical doctor from Holland) and Diana (from the North Islands) in the lounge as well as several others from Ireland, Germany, France, Australia, etc. I was waiting for the office to reopen to get my room key and warming by the fire as the rain pounded outside.

The group bonding occurred while watching "13 going on 30." Specifically the part where all the girls sing Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield" at the top of their lungs while jumping up and down on the bed. Let's just say we had a Pentland re-creation of the scene, and several of us were still humming the song to ourselves an hour later. If you haven't seen it, that movie is a great pick-me-up. Much better than "Insomnia" which was playing when I first arrived.

The hype before the match was incredible, although I seemed to be the only Pentlands resident going. Clad in rain gear, I walked the 6 blocks to Eden Park and entered through the cricket members entrance! No delay! And I was sitting next to some real characters. You know how there's always one guy (usually drunk) who yells out things during a game that everyone laughs at? That guy was sitting next to me. Originally from Te Aroha, where I was that morning, he was pleasantly surprised that his childhood town was catching the attention of travelers. I didn't tell him that I was 1 of only 2 in the hostel. He and his family are now living in Rototura, near the popular rafting rivers. He said it's a must-see, but I'm not sure I'll get there this trip. The opening "kickoff" was incredible with the All Blacks taunting (and intimidating) rally cheer. And despite the fact that I hadn't seen international rugby in several years, I picked up on the rules quickly. A few rule changes had been initiated before that match, but I'm not sure what it involved.

I returned to a quiet hostel, as most of the residents had gone into town for post-match celebration after watching the match on television. I cooked a very late dinner with a friend from Ireland and watched "Vanilla Sky" with a friend from France. Then off to bed where one of my two roommates was snoring loud enough to get hit in the head with a pillow by one guy and a shoe thrown at him later...by me!

It was a good day!