Each summer, Michigan Rugby sends one or two select players to New Zealand to train with our partner club, Poneke FC. Shea Loughnane and Luke Zana are there now, and Luke is writing about his experiences abroad each week. This post concerns June 8-14.
This week I got the chance to check out movie theaters in New Zealand’s cinema capital. I went with my roommates to a theater downtown, and I was struck by the stark cultural difference for the first time in a while since being here. I’m used to large theaters with a bit of an arcade theme, usually with coin slot games in the lobby and massive theaters. I ate before the movie, expecting just popcorn and snacks to be sold at the actual movie. Instead, I walked into what looked like an upscale bar, complete with some tables and seating. There was nobody at the front selling tickets, you had to buy them online and scan them at your seat when the staff came around. All of the food and drink was ordered at the bar rather than any counter, and the popcorn came pre-packaged. It was noticeably smaller than I expected. Instead, it appeared there was a full kitchen in operation, and someone had a woodfired pizza delivered to their seat in the middle of the movie! Past the cultural differences, the movie, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, was awesome and I had a great time.
Our game this week was played on Friday night, under the lights at the Hurricanes training facility, which was pretty cool. The field was very well kept, and we had a pretty big crowd from the club as the premiers didn’t play until Saturday. After falling behind big early, we mounted a massive second-half comeback, scoring four unanswered tries to start the second half. After getting within one score, we ended up falling just short, unfortunately.
Because the game was on Friday, my roommates and I had Saturday off and used it to visit Martinborough, a small town about an hour away from Wellington. Crossing the Remutaka range gave us great views of the countryside.
I found Martinborough to be a gorgeous town, dotted with beautiful wineries. The highlight of the trip had to be the meal we had at one winery, where I got a delicious dish of lamb, a local favorite due to the large wool and cattle industries of New Zealand. On the way home we got to stop and get some delicious Brie cheese, something I didn’t expect so far from France, but I guess it’s a natural extension of the cattle industry. This trip was the furthest I’ve made it from Wellington so far and it made me really excited about exploring more, especially looking to go to the southern island.
