Waverley

After a relaxing evening in the spa last night we awoke realising we had a very long drive in front of us. Hanmer Springs to Dunedin would be at least 6 hours of driving plus a stop for lunch and a 'must visit' bookshop that was en route.

Blake took the first stint and drove a respectable 3 hours. I started out well being co pilot only to fall asleep for about an hour. I woke up just in time to get the map out and realise we were minutes from Chertsey Book Barn. We had read about the Book Barn in the Campermate app and it was like nothing we had seen before. There must have been thousands of books in there. As well as on shelves there were boxes and boxes of books stacked all over the place. The gaps between were very narrow so you had to weave in and out of the books. There were some very serious book readers in there with printed pick lists but to be honest I think that's the way to do it. There are so many books it's hard to choose.

Back on the road we finally made it to Dunedin in time for some left over chilli before walking to the stadium. As we got closer to the stadium the streets became more and more packed and the atmosphere was rising. We knew after last weeks game we were in for a treat. We got to the stadium and caught the end of the warmup. There was also a mass of empty seats in front of us which were filled by some very wasted kids who I don't think caught much, if any of the game. We stood for the national anthems and away we went. Unfortunately the Haka was performed facing the opposite end from us but it was still incredible to watch live. The big screens meant we saw what Australia would be seeing.

The game kicked off and it wasn't long before Australia intercepted a pass and scored the first try just in front of us. A lot of NZ fans around us were slightly in shock. Not long after the restart Oz were looking hot and scored another two tries! 0-17 from the visitors and we had a serious game on our hands! It was close throughout and only won by NZ in the closing minutes to leave it 35-29.Read more