Rugby World Cup 2011 – On tour in “Na Zilun”- Week 2

After leaving the Raceway B&B in Invercargill we head northeast to spend a night in a cottage  at beautiful Moeraki Beach. Dinner at famous Fleur’s Place: Cafe, bar and restaurant right on the waterfront at the old jetty at Moeraki Beach, South Island. Great seafood and great photo op in this special place. Sea lion visits regularly to see if it can catch one of the many noisy seagulls that perch atop the old dock.

After a delicious dinner of brill, we watch New Zealand vs Japan (83 to 7) on Maori TV in our cozy cottage. Too tired to join the gang at the local pub. Met Tanya and her partner at the pub earlier in the day and promised to send a note to her friend in Sidney, B.C. where they lived for two years before moving to New Zealand.

Drove up #1 highway to Omaru, the largest town in North Otago and located on the Pacific Ocean. Blue Penguin colony nearby and written about in the “Birdies” book. A great experience to see rafts of these little “people” waddle up the cliff to return to their families with the “catch of the day.” Enjoyed a walkabout in the old heritage area among beautiful 19th century buildings made of a local limestone, known as Oamaru stone that enables ornate facades. Also a visit to Fleur’s other great cafe in an old whisky distillery.

Return to Dunedin at the Quality Hotel Cargills. Enjoyed watching TV match in their lounge – Argentine wins 43-8 over Romania. Then on Sunday at 6 p.m. we returned to that great enclosed stadium for the match between England and Georgia: 41-10.

Moved on for four-day visit to Queenstown at The Rees Hotel. Great to revisit this awesome complex overlooking azure blue Lake Wakatipu. Take a drive out to Glenorchy area, site of some of the Lord of the Rings filming. Have the opportunity to enjoy hospitality of Aaron Murphy at the most charming boutique resort, The Matakauri, again overlooking Lake Wakatipu. More news on this fantastic location and the beautiful buildings that seems to link together in an ever more exotic space. Definitely a luxury facility.

Spend another afternoon at my favourite course – Jack’s Point Golf Club near Queenstown. We’re off in a cart to view the back nine, thanks to GM John Griffin and Andrew Dorsey, Res. Professional. Delicious lunch afterwards in the club’s unique dining room and enjoy the arrival of two colourful helicopters just outside the clubhouse. What a place. As the choppers land, two young men continue to fly fish. Seemingly this is not an unusual activity. Two pilots hop out and gather up their passengers to fly over the mountain tops likely to another superb location.

Our final day in Queenstown we drive out to Arrowtown for another look-see at this historic town that was once the heart of the gold rush in the area. Rather than a sleepy little place, there have been so many more stores built here – most selling up-market goods – great souvenirs and so many cafes offering all manner of tasty treats. We escape to Millford Golf Resort, hopefully to meet old acquaintance written about in the “Birdies” book – Pro Allan McKay. Unfortunately our paths don’t cross but he does remember me as one of the media who spelled his name correctly (I always remember this comment when he was Pro at Kelvin Heights Golf Club). Pauline in the Pro Shop shows me his copy of the “Birdies” book and I send a note of hello on the back of my bookmark. Lunch at “The Hole in One” was great: parsnip soup and a sliver-thin pizza bread lightly coated with cheese embellished with herbs and a hint of garlic.

Enjoying the company of ducks, geese and various coloured birds was the most interesting part of lunching at Millbrook’s “Hole in One” – the original farm building in this beautiful setting among ponds, and rolling hills up to the magnificent mountains. Visitors are welcomed.

My last memory of our visit to Queenstown is our dinner at The Rees under the fine hand of Ben Batterbury after which we watch, all cozy-like, in our room as South African trounce poor Namibia 87-0. The latter tried very hard and it could be seen in the future they’ll have more experience. Always happy to support the underdog.

Now off to the alpine village of Wanaka…