Following our hugely successful day doing the Tongariro Crossing, Rich and I enjoyed a pleasant two hundred mile drive from Whakapapa to Wellington.
It’s surprising how such a long drive can be considered pleasant but Highway One took us all the way down to the southern tip of the North Island without any issues and with barely any other traffic on the road.
We arrived in Wellington early in the evening and had time to settle in before the big event. The big event being England playing New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup.
“There were hundreds of people winding through the city streets heading towards us.”
We had tickets in the England supporters section and having never been to see a cricket match before, Rich told me great stories about the barmy army, the atmosphere and the excitement. I couldn’t wait to see my first cricket match and what a match to watch with England playing the home team!
As we walked through Wellington city centre towards the Westpac Stadium we heard the mighty sound of a marching band and a minute later we saw the fan trail walking behind them towards us. We joined in the trail with other cricket fans on the way to the match, enjoying the buzz of excitement that built up on the way.
We walked along the harbour which was adorned with bars and restaurants. People enjoying food and drink stood up to see the band play as they marched by and joined in with the supporters clapping and cheering in the fan trail.
As we walked up onto the footbridge to access the stadium we could see the fan trail continuing down the road below us. There were hundreds of people winding through the city streets heading towards us. With the stadium in sight and tickets in hand, we headed in to find our seats.
Now I don’t know a lot about cricket but what I head learned for this great occasion was that it was a one day or fifty over cricket match in the world cup pool stage. With England in to bat first, we hoped for a high target for New Zealand to chase.
Rich had warned me that it could last a good few hours (eight or nine potentially) and that the real excitement would come when New Zealand were batting and chasing down England’s runs.
We were well stocked with snacks to keep us going into the late hours of the day. In our seats, with a cold beer each and our four and six cards in hand, we were ready for the action to unfold.
Now all I can say at this point is that I’m sure cricket can be very exciting to watch. If the first team to bat score loads of runs I can imagine the pressure building on the fielding team and there being a nervous excitement in the air as they change over.
Unfortunately I can’t say I experienced such excitement as the England batsman were bowled out one after another without any of them making a significant haul of runs. England were all out for one hundred and twenty three.
There were a few cheers for the occasional fours and sixes that were scored but with Rich explaining that the total number of runs was an embarrassing total, I understood why the atmosphere in the England camp wasn’t as jovial as I had expected.
In good British spirit we clung onto the fact that there was still a chance that New Zealand would bat worse than us. It wasn’t over yet.
“We had a lovely evening and strolled home (a little bit tipsy).”
With New Zealand’s first batsmen scoring runs, particularly fours and sixes, quicker that I could keep track the match was all over in only four and a half hours. New Zealand won with a score of one hundred and twenty five for two, beating England by eight wickets.
Needless to say the Kiwi’s were thrilled with the final score. Rich and I left feeling somewhat underwhelmed by England’s performance and headed to a nice pub down by the harbour with Matt (our new friend who had sat beside us all afternoon).
We put the embarrassing cricket result behind us and enjoyed a few ciders and a spot of dinner with Matt. The sandwiches and snacks we had packed in our backpack, but never eaten, could wait until lunch the next day.
We had a lovely evening and strolled home (a little bit tipsy) with the lights of the city glistening in the harbour water.
After a nice lie in the next day, we mustered up enough energy to do a little bit of sightseeing on our last day in Wellington. We drove up to Mount Victoria lookout and peered down at Wellington from on high.
It’s a beautiful city and a windy one to boot. With winds blowing through the Cook Strait, Wellington is known as the windy city. Not only that, it is the most southerly capital city in the world and the most remote, being the farthest away from any other capital.
“We loved everything we saw.”
With the wind whipping up around us we didn’t stay too long at the lookout. Just long enough to look out across the CBD, harbour and the Westpac Stadium before eating our picnic lunch leftover from the previous day.
For our last night in Wellington we decided to treat ourselves to a meal out. We hadn’t had many whilst travelling in New Zealand as it’s not that cheap on a backpacker budget. With neither of us fancying cooking though, we found a lovely Vietnamese restaurant for the evening and dined out in style.
Whilst the cricket may have disappointed us in Wellington, the city itself didn’t. We loved everything we saw and wouldn’t hesitate in returning here again in the future.
Lambs on the loose 