A Sporting Saturday

this past saturday, a fellow Geelong supporter and i attended a footy finals (playoff) game between the Geelong Cats and the West Coast Eagles at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Grounds).  the cats dominated winning 117-69.  Geelong is moving on to face the Collingwood Magpies in the Grand Final this saturday. go Cats!!!!

Geelong vs. West Coast @ MCG

me and LT in our Geelong "jumpers"

following the footy game, we met LT for dinner and then headed over to AAMI Park to watch the Melbourne Storm take on the New Zealand Warriors in another finals match.  this time a rugby league match.

the cool things:

      -  the stadium.  it looks like a bunch of soccer balls mashed together and has lights on the outside which respond to crown noise on the inside.

      -  the New Zealand haka ritual performed pre-match by the Maori (original New Zealand settlers).

not so cool things:

      -  Melbourne, heavily favored to win ... lost 12-20.

      -  rugby league.

quick rugby lesson.  there is rugby union and rugby league.  rugby union is the world cup rugby currently being played in New Zealand.  there is strategy to rugby union.  rugby league is a ridiculous form of rugby played in the NRL.  there is no strategy whatsoever.  a team literally runs into the other team to be tackled 5 times and then kicks the ball to the other team.  hopefully at some point you cross the line for a "try" during the course of the game.  that is it.

Melbourne vs. New Zealand @ AAMI

an unfortunate update to a previous post, the Wallabies annihilated the US (67-5) in the rugby union world cup.  LT has to pay up on her bet.

Waitakere Ranges

the second day in New Zealand, i took a drive out to the Waitakere Ranges to drive the Scenic Drive Road and do some hiking.  the landscape was spectacular and worth every bit of the treacherous terrain, sandblasting, and mud skiing.  the Waitakere Ranges are not far from Auckland on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island.  i had planned to to hit 5 or 6 spots in the Ranges park and then head up to another park further up the coast, but i got conned into a trek on Coman's (i'm certain the guide has a typo as it ought to be Conman's) trail brought the day to a close.

as safety conscious a people as these folks are when it comes to traffic laws, obeying road crossings, etc. ... safety concerns do not follow them into the bush.  if you caught the season of Ice Road Truckers where they sent the drivers to navigate the narrow cliffside roads through the mountains of India, i can relate.  well as much a person in a toyota camry with no cargo on a sunny day can relate to the driver of a box truck carrying 8 tons of cement in blizzard conditions ... but whatever.  here's my narrow, waterside, washed out, cliffside road.  it's much more intimidating behind the wheel.

i am on my side of the road

then there's the hiking "trails".  you know it's a good trail when you feel like you've accomplished something.  when returning to the vehicle uninjured seems like a pretty solid accomplishment.  when these thoughts come often:  "are they serious?", "where did the trail go?", "don't overthink it, just go", "what can i hang on to to stop me?", "i'd feel better about this if i had cell phone reception".  and when you get to use hiking maneuvers that would make baer grylls jealous.  this is where Conman's comes in.  a ranger described it as a locals favorite.  the map says it's an excellent, adventurous track with magnificent views.  adventurous in New Zealandnese means steep!  not all bad ... except when water has determined said steep track is the path of least resistance to the valley.  steep terrain, water, and slick mud do not an easy hike make.  i skied on mud in shoes.  this trail ended my day.  it got late, i got tired, and now i had to de-mud my shoes and pants in the hotel shower.  the aussie's are particularly opposed to allowing foreign dirt to enter their country. so weird.

i see a trail ... and then it's not so much a trail

and to the left of the trail ... shouldn't there be a fence or something? 

and here's a bunch of pictures.

Ninepin Rock, Whatipu

Lion Rock at the center of Piha, a surf beach

trail up Lion Rock

Piha from Lion Rock

the little seal that could

he swam out of the cove through that.  he's the black speck in the white foam near the center of the picture.

Kitekite Falls

Karekare, another surf beach

Auckland

not starting work until the 26th, i decided to tag along on LT's trip to New Zealand.  she worked.  i had fun. New Zealand has an incredible landscape.  we will return.

the first day i was there, i toured around the city of Auckland.  Auckland is on the North Island and is well known for sailing and small volcanoes (inactive) all around the city.  spent a good amount of the morning walking the city and out to Mt. Eden, the tallest of the volcanoes around the city.

Auckland from the peak of Mt. Eden

the volcanic crater atop Mt. Eden ... that'd make for some good sleddin', but good luck getting out

One Tree Hill.  i did not hike out there for obvious reasons.

then decided i couldn't pass up a ride up the tourist trap that is the Sky Tower.  nice tower.  nice views.  that's all i really have to say about it.

the Sky Tower

Rangitoto from the Sky Tower

the harbor and Harbor Bridge from the Sky Tower

grabbing some lunch down by the harbor, i caught the new zealand america's cup boat returning to port.  coincidence since i planned to hit the New Zealand Maritime Museum next.  i figured these people knew a thing or two about sailing and there might be something of interest.  i spent the next four hours in there.  anything you ever wanted to know about boating and sailing.  highly recommended if you're a nerd interested in the how's and why's regarding the evolution of boat design.  there was also an entire section dedicated to Sir Peter Blake.  i'm sure there's a book on him out there somewhere and it'd be worth a read if you're into that type of thing.  perhaps most well known for leading New Zealand to victory in the America's Cup in 1995, he also holds the record for sailing around the world and is the only yachtsman to win the Whitbread Round the World Race by winning all six stages, winning the first stage of that race by over 350 miles.  he was killed in 2001 by pirates near Rio where he had been doing conservation work for some time.  the man with him described a conversation they had shortly after 9/11 about being a passenger and accepting your fate or having the guts to fight.  he fought.

New Zealand's America's Cup boat

New Zealand Maritime Museum

there was also a single person row boat on display.  the son of the record holder for rowing around the world set out to beat his father's record and did.  the son was the second person to row around the world.

the boat rowed around the world

inside the boat rowed around the world

this one is for Big Bull.  i don't know it's story. it likely has it's ups and downs.

that's the S.S. Puke

and lastly, the town was abuzz as it just so happens that the Rugby World Cup is currently taking place in New Zealand with Auckland as the hub.  somehow the US is in the Rugby World Cup ... who knew we were good enough at rugby to qualify?  they actually take on the Wallabies (Australia) tonight.  LT was brilliant enough to bet a co-worker on the match.  he has to paint his face with the US flag if we win.  she has to wear a Collingwood (the Yankee-like team of footy ... despised by the sane) footy jumper to work if they win.  i suspect she'll be wearing a jumper.

U...S...A!  U...S...A!

Rubbin' is Racin'

this sentiment is true whether we're watching NASCAR in the US or V8 Supercars in Australia.  my company sponsors a V8 Supercar, and Jeff and I were invited to the race this weekend on Phillip Island.  the track is about 2 hours from our house on an island that is known for the "little penguins" that live there and come to shore in spectacular fashion each evening.

but, this post isn't about the "little penguins," it's about racing...

so, we set off for a pretty scenic drive on saturday morning and arrived at the track in time to watch some qualifying races...we were fortunate that we were in the suite right above the pits...literally right above the pits...

not our car, but we were right above the pits

the most amazing thing about this track is that it runs along the coast and the scenery is beautiful.

we'd put high-rises on this land in 0.25 seconds

nice, rolling track

the day was filled with qualifying laps and sprint races to determine the starting line-up for sunday's endurance race...our team didn't do so great in qualifying, but sunday afternoon will be the real test.

in-depth pit tour included...apparently they think that i have
something to do with the sponsorship spending :)

and, for those of you that know b. botham, we met a guy just like him...the only difference was that he wasn't swilling miller lite, it was boag's blonde...JUST like him.

note the fancy "suit" shorts and pumas

Bushwalking at Fort Napean was the Bomb

with LT in the US, and a weekend flying solo, i took a trip out to Fort Napean on the tip of the Mornington Peninsula at the mouth of Port Phillip Bay called "the rip".  having seen portions of shoreline in the area, i knew it would be scenic if nothing else.  as it turned out, the scenery didn't disappoint, the fort was incredibly cool ... literally buried into the peninsula, and there was even some adventure on the walk back to the car.

little known fact, Fort Napean is the sight of the first Allied shots of both World War I and World War II, fired from separate 6-inch gun barrels at the same gun emplacement.  the fort is now an area entirely open to the public with kilometers of trails and tunnels through the bush to barracks, hospitals, firing ranges, gun emplacements, scouting boxes, and engine rooms.  here are images of the peninsula and the fort:

the Mornington Peninsula from the road to Albert's Seat

Fort Napean and "the rip" ... the fort is all in there somewhere

gun turret

the engine house ...  the engineer's had it good

one of the many tunnels leading to gun turrets, ammunition storage, and troop common areas

view out of a scout box back down the peninsula

Melbourne across the bay, the outline of the city is barely visible above the flag in the distance

having done little research prior to my trip, i arrived around noon thinking i'd be in for a short 1/2 hour hike out to the point of the peninsula and back.  by the end of the day i had "bushwalked" (aussie for hiked) well over 15km and only made it back to my vehicle at 4:55pm (the gates closed at 5:00pm) through a risky maneuver.  i had been seeing signs of wildlife all over the place, but no actual wildlife.  on the return trip to the car, i decided to take a more non-descript trail thinking it'd be the best opportunity to see something while understanding i'd have to keep a decent pace to make it back to the car and out of the park on time.  unfortunately i did not have the camera at the ready as, about 2km into the trail i scared up a kangaroo ... i merely caught a glimpse of it's second hop that thing had vanished.  evidence of the encounter:

fresh kangaroo track

yep, that's roo poo

after about another 3km, i came to this:

barbed-wire fence

not so intimidating ... until you consider every other fence i came across on the peninsula had this sign plastered to it every 20 feet or so:

ominous sign

it was 4:30pm.  according to the map, i was 3km (roughly 1.8 miles) from the car if i ignored the fence.  the other option was to follow the trail back out to the road and stick to the road back to the car, about 7km (4.5 miles).  with tired legs and lacking desire to potentially be locked in a park, i proceeded into what may have been unexploded bomb territory ... cautiously, but briskly ... camera at the ready should I run across another kangaroo, or see one flying post explosion.

no explosions!!  thankfully ... but that would have been a better story.