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 29-July 5.
This week was completely different, so naturally, this blog will be a bit. Rather than the usual routine of practice, games, weight training, and some sights around Wellington, I rented a car and took the ferry down to the South Island. I spent the week driving from town to town, doing hikes, seeing incredible views, and trying to cover as much ground as possible. It was an incredible experience, and I got to see some of the most amazing sights.
The towering mountains around Queenstown were incredible, and the sight of snow in the “summer” by my calendar was magnificent. Over the whole trip, I was blown away by how empty the entire island was. With the exception of Christchurch and Nelson, nearly every town I drove into was tiny, with one restaurant, one gas station, and one tiny motel. The people were overwhelmingly friendly, but by far the most notable thing was nature.
I did a different hike nearly every day, and I was blown away. The West Coast had such thick foliage it felt like walking through a jungle, yet just over the mountain passes were sparse pine forests. Up north, the rolling hills make for one of the finest wine regions in the world, and some beautiful views. I got the chance to hike to two glaciers, and once spent and entire hike inside a cloud, never breaking through above and no sunlight ever burning off the intense fog. The mountain lakes had beautiful views, but were far too cold to swim in. Rather than continuing to inadequately describe the views, I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves.
