Haka!






Auckland is built on a load of extinct volcanoes - did you know that?  I didn't, before coming here. It makes the city very hilly. Think lots of small, sharp hills rather than rolling ones. It's an architectural mishmash with a not so attractive centre. It's friendly, laid back and, at the moment, has a chilly wind. 


We collected the cars from the warehouse today. It's always exciting to turn up and see the cars lined up, dusted off and ready to roll. Car no 10, a very fine Bristol 401, had a slight rebellion after such a long journey and had a flat battery. Charlie and Richard, our trusty mechanics, had it going in no time and off we set back to the hotel for scrutineering. 







There were various admin things to complete, rally clothing to collect and we were all given a very large umbrella - a portent!  During the pre-dinner drinks we were treated to a full Maori welcome with a rousing Haka. 

Tomorrow we're off!  Our leave time is 0810, with lots to do before then. The alarm is set for 6.  Good job I'm a lark. 

Comments

  1. Unknown31 October 2016 at 03:40

    Good luck Team 10! Look forward to hearing about your Adventure Down Under...

    Best wishes from Old Blighty x Sandy

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

100 day ceremony

Rithy, one of our drivers, invited Lori and me to a ceremony to mark 100 days since his father's death.  In the Buddhist religion this has enormous significance. For the first hundred days that you are dead you are not aware of it.  After 100 days you wake up to realise that you have died.  It is on this day that you have to decide which path to take.  You can either decide to be reborn or go to Nirvana.  Obviously, such an important decision cannot be taken lightly and you need some guidance. So, off we went to Rithy's mothers house in the countryside not quite knowing what to expect.  Rithy's family are not rich, his father was just a very small time farmer with one field and his family home was typical of most Cambodian village house being made of wood and raised up on stilts.  A very grand canopy and ntrance had been erected for the party and many preparations were being made. The first thing that we were aware of as we neared the house was exceptionally loud music be
Read more

To Bhutan...

Image
Well. We saw elephants, amazing black squirrely things, hornbills, deer and various other birds.  Did I mention the rhino?  No?  Probably because we didn't see one.  Oh well. It was such a wonderful way to start the day though. Our small jeeps entered deep into the beautiful forest.  It was beautiful, just beautiful. I'm writing this sitting on a bench outside the customs office in Jaigon on the India side of the border.  I've been waiting to see all the cars through and it's only the mechanics to get their carnets dealt with.  A bit of a patchy blog as I'm now in Bhutan and it will soon be time to get up and begin our driving in this magical kingdom. Finding time to write is tricky as there is much to do and I find trying to type on very bumpy car journeys impossible.  The contrast between the indian side of the border and the Bhutanese side is always a shock - and it happens in a few metres.  This time, it affected me more than usual as I was helping crews with al
Read more