Uncertain Terms at the Masonic

My boss plays drums in the covers band Uncertain Terms so we headed down to Devonport this evening to watch their latest gig at the Masonic Tavern.

A group from work also turned up so we had a good evening out singing along to all the old rock tunes.

Warriors v Manly

This afternoon we went to North Harbour stadium to watch the pre season friendly rugby league game between the Warriors and Manly Sea Eagles. Pretty good turnout with 17 thousand turning up to watch. The game was pretty good for a pre season, Manly on top for the first half.

A low scoring second half, but the Warriors came back to equalise, 16-16 at the end. Really enjoyed the game and atmosphere so think we will go along to a game when the season starts next month.

Kai Iwi Lakes

The beautiful Kai Iwi Lakes were just a 10 minute drive away from our bach, so lunchtime we headed there for a picnic lunch and a swim.

We had a quick walk around the pine forest (where there is a lovely campsite - maybe one for the future?) and watching the various activities going on - numerous boats towing a variety of things - wakeboarders and rubber rings being the most popular.

The lake was definitely the highlight of the weekend with its lovely sandy beach and really clear warm waters, we plan to revisit in the near future.

Omamari Beach

This weekend we headed to Omamari Beach where we had booked a bach with Alistair and Darryl. Although the bach wasn't the most luxurious, the views were stunning - being a west coast beach it is pretty wild.

Royston took the opportunity to do a spot of fishing, but the tide was so strong and the rips quite fierce, which meant for a strenuous morning and unfortunately a fishless one as well. I joined him for an hour or so before returning to the house and watch him from the deck.

Being on the west coast we were hoping for a nice sunset or two, the first night was too cloudy, but the second night gave us a pretty good sunset.

Blues v Hurricanes

Tonight we headed to North Harbour stadium to watch the opening game of this year's Super 14 competition, Auckland Blues against the Wellington Hurricanes. 26,000 people had the same idea and the stadium was almost full.

The first half was dominated by the Blues and went into half time ahead.

However, the second half was a different story with the Blues not even getting on the scoreboard and the Hurricanes ran away with the victory.

Both sides had numerous All Blacks playing including Ma Nonu and Conrad Smith.

Picnic at Milford Beach

Today we spent the afternoon at Milford Beach with my work friends and their families. After a good feed of barbecued meats and salad we worked it off. Firstly playing cricket - I don't think my style...







or Royston's...

or Craig's will get any of us called up for the Black Caps!










Dean however showed that his weekly cricket playing for East Coast Bays meant he could at least hit the ball properly.









We then moved onto boules, not with much better success!







Kenny, Craig & Jo's son, had a great day watching us all.

Opshop at the Zoo

Each summer Auckland Zoo hosts a series of concerts to raise money for their various conservation causes. Tonight we went with Darryl & Alistair to see Opshop perform in the bandstand. The ticket allows you prior access to the zoo so we had a wander around looking at the animals.

The baby baboon was rather cute, this taken just before he fell off the trunk...

It was a quick revisit for me, having been with Mum 6 weeks or so ago, but this time the red panda was a little more active so got to see it properly.

We had to leave the zoo at closing time and queue up to return back in, armed with chairs and picnic. There were a couple of supporting acts, Jackie Bristow followed by Johnny Love.

They were followed by Opshop, the reason for going, who put on a great set including the first showcase of their new album which will have some promising songs.