Ringing in 2011 with the Kiwis! (And a man from Bristol)

Yesterday was New Years Eve day! Hooray! And we got to experience 2011 before a lot of other people, one of the very first New Years’ in the world!

We started the day off by feeding some crazy ducks and birds by Josh and Louise’s. We even saw an infamous Pukeko! They look like tiny little dinosaurs.

Then we went to the beach by Josh and Louise’s house. We drank some beers, swam in the ocean (which was so warm, by the way!) and played rugby and a hybrid kiwi-american version of 4 person cricket. Matt and I couldn’t figure out how to bowl (pitch) the ball without bending our arms like a baseball throw. It was pretty fun and isn’t as confusing as one could be led to believe. I couldn’t exactly master how to throw a rugby ball either, but one thing at a time! One guy on the beach said there was a shark in the waves, but we didn’t see anything. Louise and I get to say we swam with the sharks though, and the boys can make no such claim because they didn’t even swim in the water! (chickens…)

After some cleaning up, we prepared for our New Year’s Eve celebration! We went over to a friend of Josh and Louise’s house and ate some food, started drinking there, and watched everyone play a GIGANTIC Jenga game. They had some delicious food to eat and everyone there was super nice. They had hired a bus to take everyone (about 40 or 50 people) to a boat on the harbor for New Years. When we got on the boat we had some more drinks, and danced the night away until 12:00am, when we watched the fireworks the shot off around the bay. We had tons and tons of fun on that boat. 🙂

This morning, the first day of 2011, we all slept in late and were a little worse for the wear. Josh and Louise had some friends and family over for a BBQ and they made some yummy burgers and sausages. We got to eat some NZ ice cream (hokey pokey and goody goody gumdrops), and I’m really enjoying the Lemon and Paeroa soda they have over here. I’m going to have to figure out how to get some of it when we’re at home!

For tomorrow, the plan is to go to a rugby tournament. They’ll have drinks, music and food all day long, and we’ve never seen an actual rugby game, and even though this is just “7’s” which is a shorter and quicker match, it should be really cool to see. It’s bed early tonight I think! Cheers!