Wednesday March 31 - Tongariro Crossing # 3

No new info - just trying to publish a video.

Wednesday March 31 - Tongariro Crossing # 2

No new info - just some more photos.

Wednesday March 31 – Tongariro Crossing

A great day today as Old Boy Jeff East led the boys across the 17km Tongariro Crossing. The boys ventured through moonscape plains, over steep mountains, past sulphurous gases and lakes, past tramping huts, before heading to the 41° Tokaanu Thermal Pools.

The boys were excited as we walked past the desolate and striking Mt Ngauruhoe – you might know it as Mt Doom from The Lord of the Rings trilogy (we even found a Hobbit with the ring!). Craters of past eruptions were filled with brilliant blue water. Jeff told us these eruptions, some sending plumes of ash 13 km into the air, and coating nearby Lake Taupo in 5cm of ash.

It was a tough trek, but it just meant that we really enjoyed the soak in the pools when we got down. Some of the boys rated the following as the highlights of the walk :-

Alistair – all the views
Ben A – the finish; knowing you’d done it
Jack – sliding down the loose scree
Josh – dragging Leo the mascot up hill and down dale
Jacob – the big lake where we had lunch

The boys produced a great BBQ dinner for us all tonight – steak, snags, pasta and salad – so mums, get them in the kitchen when they get home.

Fishing and training tomorrow – we’ll happily tell you some fishing tales tomorrow.

Tuesday March 30 - Travel to Turangi

A quiet day today for the tourists as we travelled south to Turangi. A quick farewell to Terry at the Stadium Motel and then we were enroute through some beautiful countryside, with some very ordinary musical selections along the way. Raymond had difficulty negotiating the swings at our toilet break at Tokoroa, but coordination has never been his strong point.

We stopped at Lake Taupo for lunch, and then it was off to the thermal pools for a recovery swim and water slide. The boys liked the look of Taupo and are looking forward to spending more time there later in the week.

From there, it was a picturesque drive around the lake to Turangi. Turangi is a quaint little lakeside village and the motel is perfect for a team of boisterous boys. Buckets and Wilbur showed the boys what it takes to play good touch footy and the boys know they have a lot of improvement to go if they wish to be be competitive in the staff vs student 3-match series.

We are off at 6.50am tomorrow to the jump-off point for the Tongariro Pass. The boys have made their lunches and packed their snacks for the 17 km, 7 hour trek, and have retired for an early night. Expect some great photos tomorrow.

Monday Mar 29 - Game vs St Paul's Collegiate

The boys were far more positive going into this game and their pre-game preparations were far better than before our previous hit-out. This showed from the outset, with the boys posting their first try in the first 5 minutes. We then lost our way, allowing the Kiwis back into the game. In a see-sawing affair, punctuated with some great passages of play, outstanding defence and some frustrating periods where the team appeared completely lost, we scored in the final seconds to post a 17 – 12 win.

Whilst there is still plenty to work on, it was great that the boys were able “win ugly”. Try-scorers were Tama, Sam and Andy and our Player's Player was Syd, with honourable mentions to Shanan and Harry.

We head south tomorrow to Turangi, where we will visit the hot pools and prepare for our trek over the Tongariro Pass.

Terry and Yvonne at the Stadium Motel were outstanding hosts, coming to both our games, and intending visiting at Cambridge too.

Sunday March 28 – Training Day

A relatively quiet day today as the boys trained hard for tomorrow's game against St Paul's Collegiate. They started with a unit session, with the backs and the forwards practising their plays.

Then, a sumptuous, better-than-Subway lunch, was followed by a training session with Scott Macleod. Scott, who is now skills coach with Waikato, took the boys through some great drills to help improve their communication and decision-making. A light game of touch finished the day.

We then carb-loaded with a massive feed of bolognese, before Mr Brown took the boys through a quick quiz on important rugby rules. The boys are tired and have gone to bed early for a much needed rest.

Stay tuned for updates on tomorrow's game.

Day 2 - match against St Peter's

This morning we woke at 8.30am for brekky and a captain's run, lead by the incredibly good looking and intelligent tour leader, Ethan. Next we changed into our formal uniform and set off to Hautapu Rugby Club for our first game against St Peters. The game started off slowly, missed opputunities and lack of intensity resulted in a pretty disappointing start to the game.

Heading into the second half, we were down 29 to nothing, so we knew we needed to step it up and come together as a team but it was too little, too late, with the final score being 41-5 with Player's Player going to Ray.

After the match, we headed down to St Peter's Collegel for the post match function were we shared stories with the opposition. The afternoon was pretty quiet, with most of the boys sleeping until our trip to the local food court for dinner. Despite the loss, all the boys enjoyed the first real day of the tour, and hopefully learnt what it is going to take to be successful over here.

by Josh

Mums, all the boys got through the match undamaged, with just a bit of skin off (although a few egos required some ice packs after the game).

The Haka rattled a few of the boys and we played with nothing like the intensity we've displayed in our two tour matches back home. As Josh said, hopefully the boys have learnt what it means to play NZ teams in NZ.

The boys have been great ambassadors for the school here, with the owners, staff at the Old Boys Rugby Club (who hosted our dinner last night), and the St Peter's Ladies Auxillary all praising the boys for their conduct, appearance and manners. Recovery and training day tomorrow, with Scott Macleod taking the boys for a session tomorrow afternoon.

More tomorrow.

TW

Friday 26th – Day 1

A good start to the tour – all boys and staff present and correct and on time. Check-in was smooth (apart from Jacob's after shave setting off the explosive scanners as we came through security) and all the boys enjoyed a hearty breakfast in the departure lounge.

The boys enjoyed the in-flight movies and seat-back games, or just caught up on missed Zzzzzzzz's after our early start. Staff received praise from other travellers on our flight re the appearance, conduct and manners of both our netballers and rugby boys.

Disembarking proved as problem free as embarking, with the boys doing a great job of getting themselves, their kit and the team kit through immigration, customs and onto the buses smoothly. We then hit peak hour traffic through Auckland and extensive roadworks through Manakau, which slowed our trip, but allowed the boys extra time to savour the musical selection Mr Wallis had arranged for the trip.

It was then straight to Hamilton Old Boys Rugby Club, where ex- All Black and Waikato centre Scott McLeod gave some great words of advice to both the Grammar and St Peter's boys on rugby and life in general. The messages he gave on working to overcome barriers, celebrating your talents and working on your shortcomings, and building trusting relationships in your team mates were very timely. Past 1st XV coach Murray East MC-ed the evening, and past players Jeff and Richie East were there to catch up with the team.

We finished the day with a great team meeting, with Ethan, Ray and Dylan telling the boys what it meant to them to play rugby and particularly 1st XV for Grammar, and what they wanted for themselves and for the team this season. The boys then headed off to bed and / or the end of the Brumbies / Chiefs game on TV.

Team leaders met with Mr Wallis to clarify roles and focus for tomorrow and beyond. They are keen to help build a positive culture within the team.

A sleep in for tomorrow, followed by the Captain's run, before the 30 minute journey to St Peters College for our game Saturday afternoon.

5 sleeps to go!

A busy week ahead for our tourists as they prepare to cross the ditch and face the Haka.

Tuesday evening will be be our final tour information session, and all tourists and parents will be required to attend. Tour kit will be distributed and final arrangements explained and confirmed.

For those wanting to get a head start, you can ensure the following :-

• have two photocopies of your passport - one for your backpack and one for your large bag.

• ensure all items of clothing are named (even jocks and socks - when there is a pile of clothes fresh from the dryer in the middle of my bed, the boys on laundry detail will be thankful for every name they can find).

• look at purchasing a chamois or a microfibre towel as one of towels you take, to save weight and bulk, and so packing wet towels does not become a concern.

• If taking a mobile phone, ensure it will work in NZ and ensure any roaming arrangements have been seen to. Alternatively, check that your phone will work on the NZ network and look to purchase an NZ sim over there.

• Temps in Hamilton for the start of this week range from low teens (min) to low 20s (max), with rain, shower, drizzles and sunshine predicted over the course of the next three days. A couple of undershirts may be wise as well as something waterproof (even if it is just one of those emergency rain ponchos). The longer range forecast for when we are over there(however accurate that can be) is for mid teens to mid 20s with less wet.

• Don't forget to pack your blue bucket hat and sunscreen. Even though the temps are lower, the sheep-induced ozone hole means sunburn is still a big problem. If you have lost your bucket hat, buy one this week.

• If you haven't organised NZ$ yet, best if you visit your bank or post office this week. It usually only takes one or two nights to arrive and the rates you'll receive are far better than you'll get at the airport.

That's all for now - more info Tuesday.

Cheers,

Tony Wallis