The Gallagher Great Race

On the weekend just been, the Waikato River saw some pretty fierce and impressive rowing from high quality rowers from around the world. If your interested in rowing, The Gallagher Great Race is a great event to watch from the Waikato riverbank and the best part is it's free!

Each year in September a number of teams compete in rowing races on the Waikato River, a stone throw away from Hamilton city's main street. The hype of the day is heavily weighted towards the Gallagher Great Race. The Gallagher Great Race involves a number of high profile universities such as The University of Cambridge, Harvard University, The University of Melbourne, The University of Sydney and The University of Waikato. These universities battle it out for the ultimate prize, the Harry Mahon Trophy for the men and the Bryan Gould Cup for the women.

In the men's race Harvard University took it out this year for the first time in the competition's 14 year history, Harvard is the first USA team to have won the Harry Mahon Trophy. The University of Waikato men's rowing team has won 9 out of the 14 competitions.

Gallagher Great Race Harry Mahon Trophy and Bryan Gould Cup Results:

Men: Harvard University 13:23.12, 1; Cambridge University 13:29.05, 2; Waikato University 13:29.22, 3.

Women: Waikato University 15min 40.60sec, 1; Sydney University 16:21.11, 2; Melbourne University 18:14.35, 3.


Here is the link to the Official Website for The Great Race http://www.thegreatrace.co.nz/

Rowers on the Waikato River, New Zealand

Waikato Riverbank Crowd - The Gallagher Great Race

Harvard University Crew - Winners of the Harry Mahon Trophy 2015

Images taken from:www.thegreatrace.co.nz, @eweijschede and @timmacindoe

Rocket Coffee - Hamilton NZ Style

So it's been a while since my last blog post, over 3 years in fact but can still see enough people traffic to warrant some more blog posts! :D. I thought why not reignite this blog where I left off... coffee, yes coffee but the best coffee in the Waikato region.... - Rocket Coffee!

This cafe has spunk man, a record player playing different and unique records everyday, the cafe itself is situated in what looks to be an old mechanics garage. The back of the cafe houses Rocket's in-house roasting and one side of the premise is where the distribution of Rocket's coffee leaves for all the cafes' using Rocket's beans. Both the distribution and the roasting part of the cafe can be viewed through glass screens.

The coffee itself (my favourite part about Rocket) is AMAZING!! It has its own original taste, my go to is the mocha which is rich, creamy and full of chocolate goodness. The staff are awesome too, friendly and remember your orders! Best time to go is before 9:00am weekdays to avoid the rush :)!

So if your in Hamilton on your travels make sure you stop in to Rocket Coffee :)

@rocket_coffee

Image Sources: fromsomewherefabulous.wordpress.com, www.newzealandand.com, @rocket_coffee and  www.newshoesintown.com 

Wellington - The Capital & Coffee

Now - the current city I live in & New Zealand's capital - 'Wellington'.

A city full of culture, great cuisine, dining, shopping, picturesque harbor and many other great feats.

However, I wanted to focus in more closely on 'coffee' - yes coffee.

Wellington is renowned for its coffee - it's rumored to have more cafes per capita than New York :O.

Well I'll let you in on some of my favorites. At the moment it would have to be Peoples Coffee - Winner of best coffee in Wellington in 2010, followed by Astoria in the heart of the Wellington's CBD and thirdly Mojo coffee.

Why are these my favorite coffee joints?

1. Peoples Coffee - Great service, great coffee and close to my flat.
2. Astoria - Great atmosphere, superb coffee and great location - close to work.
3. Mojo - Several locations around Wellington, 24 in fact nationally, fast service, good coffee, friendly faces.

Ruahine Ranges

The Ruahines are a set of ranges/what some people would call mountains.The Ruahines run just south of Napier and run right down the East Coast to Wellington. The highest point of the range is at Mangaweka at 1733 metres or 5686 feet. The Ruahines are ideal for people who love the great outdoors, hiking, tramping and hunting.
The lower levels of the Ruahines are more suited for day trekking and family groups. The higher levels of the Ruahines are best suited for keen, experienced trampers and hunters.

There are plenty of huts to stay in, in the Western Ruahine Forest Park.

Here's a Department of Conservation (DOC) website that shows the locations of all the huts in the Western Ruahine Forest Park. http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/manawatu-whanganui/manawatu-area/western-ruahine-forest-park/places-to-stay/

Highlights of eastern side of the Ruahines Forest Park are in the following link:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/hawkes-bay/hawkes-bay/eastern-ruahine-forest-park/activities/

Huts in Eastern Region http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/hawkes-bay/hawkes-bay/eastern-ruahine-forest-park/places-to-stay/

New Plymouth - Mountains, Great Surf, Outdoors & That 'Wind Wand'

New Plymouth is situated in the Taranaki district and is on the West Coast of the North Island. New Plymouth derives a lot of its income from offshore engineering (gas/oil), its port and farming. The Taranaki province is also part of the Hurricanes Super 15 rugby district and is home to many good rugby players, some All Blacks too.

Taranaki is renowned for its good surf. It even has a highway called Surf Highway 45. To see more on the on the Highway and surf locations check the two links below.

http://www.windwand.co.nz/surfhw45.htm
http://www.newzealand.com/int/article/surf-highway-45/

One of the other big attractions is Mt Egmont. There are skiing/boarding options there. However, if your looking for the best ski facilities go to Mt Ruapehu.

Check out the links below for more on skiing/boarding at Mt Egmont.

http://www.skitaranaki.co.nz/
http://www.tourism.net.nz/ski-fields-new-zealand.html

I'd have to say one of the not so greatest feats of Taranaki is the 'Wind Wand'. Council paid an artist in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a tall structure that looks like a wand and bends in the wind. Check out the video of the Wind Wand below.

For more things to do in New Plymouth. Check out;

http://www.taranaki.co.nz/
http://www.taranaki.info/