Scotch College

NZ Hockey Tour

At Palmerston North in a brilliant sunset

NZ Hockey Tour

On Friday the 11th of April, 17 students along with Mr Black and Mr Flynn were waiting at Melbourne Airport from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm for their delayed plane. The 2003 New Zealand Development Squad Hockey Tour was off to a stumbling start. After many free food vouchers and mass boredom all round, we finally boarded the plane. We landed in Christchurch at about 11:30 pm local time, to be hurried off by our hosts from Christ's College hoping to be in bed before midnight.

Our first game against Christ's College's 1st XI was the next morning at 9:30 am. Due to lack of sleep and a tough opposition we lost 6-1. Fortunately, David Jenkins managed to slip one past the keeper. We were greeted by our hosts from St Andrew's College who showed us some of the sights of Christchurch.

Sightseeing from the hills of Wellington

A restful afternoon and a good night's sleep placed us in great shape for our second game against a combination of the St. Andrews 2nd and 3rd XI. This was an easier game than the one the day before and we won 12-0. Nearly everyone chipped in. Before heading to Wellington we experienced one of the highlights of our trip. This was a scenic flight over Mt Cook and the surrounding glaciers. The visibility was superb and the scenery was spectacular.

Waimunga Valley thermal pool

After flying to Wellington that night, we were taken by bus to our hostel. A rather early rise saw us back on the bus and touring around Wellington. We spent several hours in the Te Papa National Museum. This included a special 'Lord of the Rings' exhibit, which contained much of the costumes, armour and weaponry that was used in the filming of the movies.

Dev Darvall with one of the four rainbow trout caught on Lake Taupo

Mr Black savouring the smells of Rotarua

We drove up to Palmerston North for our 6:00 pm game against a very physical 1st XI from Palmerston North Boys High School. The first fifteen minutes was very good, but we dropped off eventually losing 6-1. Toby Cooper scored our goal. After the game we were introduced, once again, to our host families.

Napier was our next destination and we played a tough game against their 1st XI. We lost 4-0. Tom Flynn's performance in goals was very impressive.

The next day was to everybody's liking, with a midday stop at Lake Taupo where we chartered a boat. The large lunch, which was enjoyed by everyone, included our freshly caught trout.

That night, we visited the Maori village to view a performance of some of their tribal dances. After the performance we enjoyed a traditionally cooked Hangi dinner.

Thursday was our much needed rest day. Apart from visiting the Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve Park in the morning; we were free to do what we wanted. That night Mr Black and Mr Flynn treated us to dinner in one of the local restaurants and afterwards to a movie.

No one could say they were truly sorry to see Rotarua slip into the distance. Its permanent odour is best forgotten. Tauranga was the next town on our itinerary where we played their 1st XI. After an excellent first twenty minutes in which we were leading 1-0 thanks to Andrew Woodhead, lack of sleep and experience started to creep in and we finally lost the game.

Auckland was our last stop. We spent the afternoon touring around the city. This included a visit to the Sky Tower. We played our last game that night against Auckland Grammar School's 1stXI. In this game once again lack of sleep and stress from nine days on the road played their parts. We lost 4-1. Toby Cooper scored our goal.

On behalf of the team, I would like to thank Messrs Black and Flynn for the countless hours they spent organising the tour and coaching us. It was a memorable and highly beneficial tour for all the students who took part in it.

Alistair Watson