Aotearoa - The Return

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 - We touched down in Auckland at 12:30pm, after a stopover in Christchurch, making our total travel time from Yokohama about 19 hours (with about 1 hour of broken sleep thrown in). A mandatory ice cream stop in Pokeno was made as we drove back to the Waikato. There wasn't to be a lot of time for R&R, as Aki, Mum, Nicky and Roshanna went to Waikato Wineries for dinner, while the boys went to Dave Lyalls for a bit of a piss up. To be honest I can't remember much about the night, except some key points......

* Don't drink beer that's labelled as "2003 Rugby World Cup Collectors Edition".
"Why don't we save it for when the ABs win the bloody thing?"

* Wii sports is absolutely brilliant....only a matter of time before I get one myself!
Dad wonders if this will count towards his handicap

* BBQs are not made to cook plastic handles....but they do a pretty good job of it.

* Bundy OP is one nasty drink....

* ...so is anything from Japan that comes in a big bottle!
Wow! My camera can take photos in "drunk mode"

* Wrestling around rose bushes and the like is a good way to get scratched up.

Having somehow surviving the night and walking home to crash out immediately, I was ready to face the week ahead!!!

Mt.Ruapehu rises above the clouds.

...........................................

The week leading up to our big day was somewhat hectic, but fortunately we had a lot of great people on our team helping out. We were lucky enough to find some time to have fun, playing a game of tennis, having a luxury massage and enjoying the company of the family that had trickled in throughout the week. As we got to the end of the week, the stress levels were getting a bit high, but we had done all we could to prepare, so it was game time!

Steve played hard, leading 5 sets to 3, but couldn't hold on in a thriller (he'd go on to repeat his choking act against Anthony a week later)

Things started getting a little crazy in the Trotter household as we approached the Big Day!

The family got together. For some, it was the first time to meet....for most, it had been a long time. But one thing for sure, we had a great time together! All thse people require a lot of cars! The last picture features the seven different vehicles that I drove in my 13 days home (I also slept in seven different beds!).