15/2/15

Dear Diary,

A 7am wake up is pretty early for a guy like me but the fry up of everything that we don't want to carry to the next destination makes it (almost) worthwhile. Eggs, tomato, toast and chicken fillet or lamb chop that were going to go off in another day sets up the long day of travel ahead of us as we head to Twizel (which rhymes with a weasel ... that drank diesel) which actually isn't that far away.

Murray tells us that we are heading into Middle Earth country and puts me on Orc watch, which I totally fail to live up to as ten minutes out of the hotel driveway I am fast asleep again. Eventually, after the lunch stop, I wake up enough to realise that the part of New Zealand we are traveling through looks a lot like the beginnings of the highlands of Scotland just without the lush green that excessive amounts of rain will give to grass. It is very beautiful though and I give it a 7 out of 10 in comparison to Scotland (I am nothing if not slightly biased!) Mind you, once I slap eyes on lake Tekapo with its brightest azure blue water Scotland is in danger of having nothing to compare to it. it's colour comes from natural minerals dislodged by and from the glacier that feeds into it and its the type of hue that no camera or photo could ever do justice to, and even if it did it would look photoshopped or something from an airbrushed futuristic sci fi comic book artwork. Completely natural and otherworldly at the same time. . It is simply stunning.

A short skip down the road is Cook mountain and Lake Pukaki. It’s during this sidetrack that all comparisons to Scotland (and even New Zealand) are left behind as we really enter Lord of the Rings territory. The mountains are towering, huge even though we are thousands of feet above sea level already. Despite being the height of summer and being down to sweating through one layer of T-shirt there is still snow on the mountains. There are several glaciers slowly melting their trickles that will add to the various lakes around this area gracing the obscenely steep slopes. The beauty of the place took me to another plane for a while. I didn't want to come back.

I thought I saw an Orc but when I raised my crossbow to take aim, it was gone.

On the way back to Twizel Mum, Murray and Mase all broke out into a spontaneous game of eye spy. For me there is only one thing that can make a car journey take longer than it actually does and that's a game of eye spy!

Murray starts with something beginning with "S". It seems an unfeasible amount of time before anyone guesses "sheep" (there are quite a lot of them around in New Zealand. it's not a cliche, there really are a lot of them here. And when I say "a lot" what I really mean is "A LOT".)

Then it's my turn and in an attempt to kill the game I say something beginning with "S". Again, it takes an unfeasible amount of time before anyone guesses "sheep" and when they do they are a bit annoyed with me but continue on with the "game" anyway!

This is torture for any right minded human and I begin to remember why I only come visit these freaks I call family once every 5 years.

After what seems like a thousand years listening only to The Cure songs (and none of their happy songs either!) we check into the hotel in Twizel. Once again I'm not surprised to find that Mase is the favorite child and get to sleep in the deluxe accommodation while I get shunted out to the dog house. I don't complain too much though as this one is a step up from the “bed in a shed” of yesterday, but still .... favouritism much?

The afternoon is roasting and I chill out with a cool drink while everyone else does exercise. Catching the news I notice that both the Scotland and new Zealand cricket teams have arrived in Dunedin (the Edinburgh of the south!) ahead of their clash in a couple of days time. New Zealand arrived all businesslike and low key while Scotland arrived accompanied by pipe bands and highland dancers all akimbo. Both captains talked the talk of being ready and prepared for quality opposition in that typically bland way that all diplomatic captains that don't want to tempt fate do.

A brief chat with the knowledgeable cricket fan at reception earlier in the day was refreshing in its candor. He said that Scotland are a good and growing team that have the potential to cause a few upsets this time around and that he wished us all the best ... just not against New Zealand. I told him that New Zealand are my pick for the tournament and I will be supporting them in all games ... except when they play against Scotland. We shared a common smile and went about our day.

Also on the news was an article about National Lamb Day. New Zealand is world famous for its lamb (not a cliche, they really are) but recently domestic sales have fallen partly due to a rise in price at the checkout, which the lamb industry is keen to point out reflects the high quality of product they produce. In an effort to get more domestic sales they have introduced the gimmick of dedicating a whole day to the eating of lamb. That day is today, the 15th of February. Mark it in your diary for next year and remember, you heard it here first on CricketEurope. Anyway, when chief cook Murray offered a choice of chicken or lamb for dinner I simply had to to plump for lamb.

After 20 years of being married to a vegetarian I can honestly say that this national lamb day thingie is a thoroughly good idea. I'm looking forward to next week when its national chicken day.

Tomorrow we head closer to Dunedin and one day closer to the big game between Scotland and New Zealand.