Maoris In Japan....

BEER GARDEN!!!

2007-06-06T21:43:00.000+09:00

PHOTOS: The fulla dressed as a chick is my bro Andy.. cuzzy hooked me up with free drinks all night..chur

Well a couple of weeks back we went to enjoy one of the great attractions that they have in KYOTO.. temples did you say,Geisha did you say.... no.. none of that crap... but with summer approaching here, one of the great attractions has reopened for the summer season...yes thats right BEER GARDENS!!!!! what are beer gardens i hear you say.. they are not lovely raked gardens with beer cans in them... no basically its heaps of tables and chairs on the top of the roof of a building with all the beer and food you can drink and eat for 4 hours....i went down early and meet up later on with our mates from shizuoka, Max and Hinekura plus our mate whetz from kobe who were down in kyoto for Kapa haka Business.. Chanel turned up later on, but called it an early night as she wasnt feeling well...

But this didnt stop these horis from going HARD!!! the system was suppose to be pint for pint.. hello what do these maoris do.. go around tables looking for empty classes then filling them up and stock pilling our beers... man it was MEAN!!!! lets just say we got hammered!!!!

after this closed we went to the pub to carry on the festivities...at about 1 or 2 we decided to hit the Clubs... Max and them decided to call it quits..but this was not the end of the night or me..oohhh no son.....lucky for me one of my mates was working on the bar, so just raged until 6am... somehow mangaged to stumble to the subway to catch the train..ended up going pass my stop by 3 stops so over to the other track to get back to my stop... got on my final train back to Omihachiman..sat down and crashed all the way to my stop.. just by dumb luck i guess, i opened my eyes as the train doors opened at my stop.. bam out the door and taxi to home to hit my pillow at 10am... mean night....

MAORI ART EXHIBITION IN JAPAN

2007-06-06T21:26:00.000+09:00

well after 2 years of painting it has finally happened.. i was lucky to have my very own Art exhibition... The show was held here in Omihachiman in one of the malls here.. i was lucky enough to have 8 paintings on show.. The Paintings are quite large sizes and are all Maori contemporary art, with strong pacific influences linking the migration of Maori to Aotearoa.

I was really lucky that i have been supported by my Art teacher at school, Noguchi Sensei,who orgainised and guided me into exhibition sorted and out there for people to see..

The exhibition was for 3 days and i recieved alot of positve comments and responses about my works.. i am really lucky and thankful to be able to get this opportunity to not only develop my Painting but to also showcast it the masses has been a great experience and joy...
chur

The BIG 3 0

2007-06-06T21:16:00.000+09:00

well its official.. im OLD... turned 30 on may the 4th... we had a BBQ and a few drinks at our place... was a primo night.. the day started at 2pm and it was a great day.. although i was pretty much stuck to my chair with my cast in all.. but this didnt stop me as we celebrated the day with a few quiets...

As the sun went down more peps turned up and it was raging...lets just say that i got hammered.. lucky that i didnt have to stumble too far to go to bed... was a top night...

Classic All Blacks!!!

2007-06-06T21:03:00.000+09:00

Well after the Touch tourney i ended up being in a cast for 4 weeks... Man talk about hoha..Had a week off school but after that trooped and went back to school.. man what a mish..going up 2 flight of stairs for some classes..what a mish... but this didnt stop me from trooping to Kobe to watch the Classic All Blacks vs Japan.. Man it was primo to see some of the old school ABS... Jonah, Carlos, Justin Marshall, heck even Eric rush was playing..and boy at the age of 42 he was still carving up.. mean...
Japan played really well and took it to the ABs.. must be rustiness as the ABS were slow to get out of the gate.. only coming home in the last 5 mins...

Was a great night.. hooked up with heaps of kiwi mates and made a night of it..no aftermatch drinks for me though.. had to mish it back home to catch our last trip cast and crutches and all.. all in all a top night....

Touch Tourney.... CHAMPIONS!!!!!

2007-06-06T20:37:00.000+09:00

April, was indeed a busy month as the Annual JET touch tourney was held in Tokushima.. This Tourney was to be a great and also tragic tourney as you will find out... We left friday night on our team bus ,2 teams-28 of us packed onto the bus... really bad start as the driver was koretake, turned up nearly an hour late and bloody got lost on the way... heck we didnt get to the venue until 3am..Not a great start...but the team bonded well on during the trip..

Saturday...
Touch time... well we started well easily winning a first 2 games..carving up in fact, but that led to my worse moment of the tourney.. during our 3rd game i ended up rupturing my archillies.... ohhh the pain as i fell to the ground.. felt like someone had kicked me from behind only to turn around to see no one was there.. well from then on i turned to being NO 1 supporter.. we ended the day unbeaten and looked good for the next day...

Party.. we had the BBQ/ piss up later that night... although injured badly, this didnt stop me from going hard and downing a few brews.. dont know if i did it more harm then good, but was not going to miss out on this party.. had a mean night catching up with all the maoris and kiwis there.. was a primo night..

SUNDAY-Championship Time...
Today we had a 4 game round robin for the championship... our team played really well and killed the opposition.. the combination of our ladies scoring tries and cuzzy anou carving up proved too strong for the opposition.. finally after 3 years of trying we had finally won.. although i didnt play as much as i wanted it was still good to take the tourney out...

Concerts...

2007-06-06T20:22:00.000+09:00

PHOTOS: These were pics from the Beyonce concert in Osaka..

Kia ora all.. well was a busy month in March/April as we went to watch Stevie Wonder and Beyonce in concert in Osaka.. Man it was really primo to get the chance to see them both in concert..

first up was the Stevie wonder concert..Me , Chanel and our Mate Whetz went along and danced the night away..it was a primo night... for me, seeing him in concert was a highlight as he been one of my favourite singers for a long time. Stevie is getting on with age but man he can still sing...really awesome to hear him in person..

In April Me and Chanel went to see beyonce in concert.. damn she is HOT!!!! a real professional...she can sing the house down too.. was a really primo night and we really enjoyed ourselves...

Whanau in Japan

2007-05-22T23:25:00.000+09:00

Chur whanau well long time since our last post.. so thought i will fill yous all in on what we have been up to for the last 3 months.... well since then we have been up to heaps.....

Whanau in Japan..
well we had the pleasure of My mum and two aunts from Australia come over for a holiday... it was so awesome having them all here and sharing with them the sights and sounds of Japan...we managed to check out the sights in kyoto, Nara and around here in Shiga... The whanau loved trying out the different Japanese Kai that we tasted... it was so good to catch up and be with whanau....

End of Winter

2007-02-20T20:40:00.000+09:00

chur whanau.. well its been awhile since our last post... its fast getting to the end of winter and this is what we have been up to......
FAREWELL PARTY.......well cruised to one of our mates Lindsay's farewell which was in kobe..so hooked up with our mate whetz and went to the party.. it was mean catching up.. the party was a pretty quiet one.. so we trooped off to hook up with some other maoris who lived in kobe.. it was pretty mean.. and ee had a good time.. really getting hammered.. all in all it was a top night....

INDIA ARIE CONCERT...WAITANGI DAY...well it was chanels birthday so we decided to go and watch india arie in concert.. we hooked up with whetz again and trooped to osaka after school to watch the concert.. although i didnt know many of her songs.. it was an awesome concert and we really enjoyed ourselves.. it was a primo night...

KURAMA ONSEN...
we decided to get out to kyoto and heck out kurama onsen or hot spring..this onsen was out in the mountains and was a really beautiful place...bascially you wash you body before entering the huge outdoor bath.. it was really great to relax and take in some of the beautiful nature and soak in the outdoor bath.. mean alright...

KENDO... well i have been learning kendo for about 4 months and i am really enjoying it.. its mean.. and i enjoy learning the way of the samurai and it has the same kind of wairua as the taiaha.. i haqve started getting into sparring and i really love this.. although at the moment the students are hammering me.. but with a bit more practices should get abit better..

well the weather here is getting warmer and our time here is rapidly coming to a end.. well heaps of things coming up so watch this space..
chur
Paora and Chanel

Happy New Year

2007-01-04T16:41:00.000+09:00

New Years... Welcome 2007

Well after getting back from Hawaii to Japan.. we had no rest.. as the Next day we had some friends -Max and Hinekura come and to stay and check out the sights of Kyoto, as well as see in the New Year..We met them at kyoto Station and also met their mates Rangimarie and Anou..We first headed to Kinkakuji-The Golden Temple.. One of the most famous temples in Japan...it was cool just chilling and dropping back into the old Hori Lingo again and hanging out with them..after this we headed to Kiyomizu dera Temple .. they really liked the markets that lined the street towards the temple..after seeing the temple we were really lucky to spot a geisha.. so heres all these maoris running after this one Japanese lady...it was really cool and it made their day...after this we headed to the pub for a few quiets...after that we just cruised home and chilled..

New years started slow as we slept in and then headed to kyoto again.. this time Hinekura was going to dress up as a geisha.. so us fullas went and checked out Heian Temple while Hinekura got dressed up... when we went to check on her it was like a totally different person and we felt like tourists getting their photo taken with her.. after this we cruised back to our hostel that we had booked the night and chillied.. we had a Onsen/Spa to relax and got ready for the night... after that we cracked open a few beers..after a few warm ups we headed to town to enjoy the night.. it was an awesome night..well the parts that i remember anyway.. it was a great night and an awesome way to enter the New Year....

New Years Day was spent at our favourite restaurant..Stamina Taro.. basically an all you can eat BBQ place where you cook you own meat.. an awesome fed and a great way to celebrate 2007..

It was so cool chilling with the whanau and seeing in the New year with them... well we look forward to what 2007 brings us this year...
Happy New Year to all..
Chur
Paora and Chanel

Oahu

2007-01-04T16:04:00.000+09:00

OAHU...
Well after having spent a few days in Maui we heading to Oahu for a week. We decided to rent a car for 4 days and check out the sights outside of where we were staying in waikiki.. this proved to be the best part of our trip as we could go and check out the sights at our leisure as well check out those hidden sight that you cant see without a car.
our days were spent checking out different beach parks around oahu.. One of the highlights of the trip was checking out the Northshore known for its world famous surf spots-Haliewa,Waimea Bay, Pipeline and Sunset Beach.. We were lucky that there was abit of a swell up and pipeline was pumping.. probably the most primo waves i have ever seen.. just amazing..and had me buzzing about it for a couple of days..

Also while up at the Northshore we checked out the Polynesian Cultural Center which had different villages from throughout the pacific..we checked out the Aotearoa Village.. the had abit of a powhiri for vistors and we walked on with a group.. it abit touristy though.. but sweet as.. they had abit of a whaikorero.. and they had a group preform some waiatas... heck a couple of the bros got me to jump up with them to blast out Tika Tonu..Doitz!!!! that was cool and it was like i was back home...all in all it was a cool day

On xmas eve we checked out a first American football game.. we went to watch Hawaii Uni vs Arizona State Uni.. this was an awesome day and it was abit different not really knowing the rules, but it we had a great time and soaked up the atmostsphere and the buzz of gridiron..

Xmas... well this was our 3rd xmas away from home and we had a really cool time just chilling at the beach and going surfing which was cool.. also we did abit of bodyboarding which was primo and abit easier than surfing..That night we had a our Xmas dinner just me and chanel.. at first we thought we would go to a nice place for dinner...we went to a all you can eat place..heck asked them how much it costs and hello.. the say 130 bucks.. so hello we walk and find a all you can eat place that costed only 15 dollars and was a mean fed....so i hope every had a good xmas... Mele kalikimaka

The next day we spent bodyboarding for most of the day and chilling at the beach....On our last day we hired a car and went to the Leeward side of the island and just chilled at the beach.. after awhile we decided to cruise back to te Northshore and check out Pipeline one more time.. this was an awesome way to end our holiday...
Hawaii is a Beautiful place and is a great place to relax, unwind and has some of the most Beautiful beaches in the world.. All in all it was a primo trip and it was sad to leave...
Hui hou

Paora and Chanel

Maui

2007-01-03T15:01:00.000+09:00

chur whanau, well tiki toured to Hawaii for xmas...we spent 5 days on the island of Maui and then 7 days in Oahu..What a mean holiday...

MAUI...
Got to Maui and man was it so good to get away from the cold Japanese Winter and into some Sun, we stayed in a hostel in Lahaina..
On our first day we headed to check out the Maui swap meet in Kahului..here they had heaps of Island stuff and goods for sale.. it was a good chance to check out and meet some of the locals..after this we headed back to lahaina and sorted out doing a surf lesson..the rest of the day was spent just chillin on the beach and swimming..

The next day we had our surf lesson early in the morning, we spent about an half hour on the beach learning the basics on how to stand up and catching waves..after this we were out on the water and trying to put into action what we learnt. Well it took awhile but after a few mishaps i started to catch some waves.. what an awesome feeling..primo as.. chanel was a natural and was up and standing in no time.. we really enjoyed oursleves..after abit of a rest and chill we headed back out to try on our own..surfs up cuzzys.

the next day we spent just chilling and sunbathing...and in the afternoon we jumped back into the water for another surf..

our last day we spent up the line at the beautiful Kapalua Bay, rated one of the best beaches in the world.. it was awesome to chill, work on the old tan and going for abit of a swim..primo day.. that night we went to the Old Lahaina Luau.. this was Mean, here we were greeted with a maitai and a lei..after this we were escorted to our table and it was all you can drink..after having a few drinks we had the mean traditional hawaiian feed.after the feed we watched the Hawaiian Hula show which was really awesome to see..it was a really awesome way to cap off our time in Maui...

Autumn Days!!!

2006-12-04T18:10:00.000+09:00

chur whanau..well a couple weeks back was a holiday and we decided to take advantage of a break during the week. So we went with my teacher to visit eigeji which was out in the wops. This temple is famous throughout japan for its beautiful coloured leaves which change colour during autumn season. This place was really beautiful and it was a great spot to visit and it was awesome to look at all the different colours. Ahhh we had a awesome day and it was trully one of the sites weve been to here in japan.

Well a couple of days later... old cuzzy kanapu who lives down in fukuoka came up to visit with his girlfriend Eri. So we hooked up with them to get on the gas! it was so awesome catching up with them and slipping back into hori mode... reintroducing the old... chur.. cuzzy and bro back into the vocab. Was a mean night! Chur cuzzy. Chur chur eri...

Well last sunday we returned to kyoto but not for a few drinks but to do the annual japanese profeciency test. Well lets just say that it didnt go to well for me... not enough study i think but heiaha. it was a good experience taking the test and i think ill give it another try next year. As for chanel she did really well and was confident after the test.. so fingers crossed hopefully she past.

This will probably be our last post for the year so want to wish everyone a merry xmas and happy new year... wherever you may be in the world. We are off to Hawaii for the xmas period and it should be the miki... so look out for the report and pics early next year. would be cool to hear what everyone else is up to too. chur.

Paora and Chanel

Halloween

2006-11-09T22:04:00.000+09:00

Kia ora whanau.. well last week we had our annual Halloween party here in omihachiman... and yep it was pretty mean.. we started early with a few pre drinks.. this year i decided to dress as agent smith from the matrix and chanel went as an island girl..it was good catching up with a few mates before the party started.. we invited one of my cuzzies best mate,whetz to the party.It was so choice catching up with another maari and it was chioce having her here.. the party was cool, with everyone in cool costumes.. Well lets just say we got hammered...Hard... we had a primo nite.. well thats it for now.. the weather is getting colder now, so out with the heater.. ok enough of that.. hope everyone is well and safe..
chur
Paora

Arashiyama

2006-10-09T15:15:00.000+09:00

chur whanau.. have been on the down low for awhile..just saving some pingas...but a couple of weeks ago we went to the beautiful area of arashiyama in kyoto.. what a beautiful place, its got to be one of my favourite places in kyoto.. Arashiyama has a beautiful river where me and chanel went for bit of a tiki on a row boat that we hired.. it was really calm and the scenary was beautiful and tranquil..a beautiful spot for couples, quite romantic i think...

After the Romantic row boat ride on the river we trooped up a nearby mountain and checked out the monkey park there which was the miki... man there was heaps of monkeys everyway.. at the top of the mountain there was a feeding station where you could feed the monkeys.. these monkeys werent shy.. heck they munched hard and were quite friendly.. this was a top day...after which we criused and hooked up with some mates and watched abit of ruggers.. we watch a Top league game.. (Japanese NPC).. it was a good game but it pissed down with rain and we got soaked..all in all it was a top day..
chur

Arashiyama 1

2006-10-09T14:50:00.000+09:00

Chanel @ Arashiyama

Checking out some of the furry locals

On the river going for abit of a tiki

Getting wet at the rugby with our mates Stu, and Diana

checking out the locals

Fuji san!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-08-30T00:25:00.000+09:00

Kia ora whanau.. well its been 2 weeks or so now that we have been back in good old Nihon and have started settling back into life here.. But last friday we embarked on a trip that we have wanted to do for awhile and was on our list of things to do in Japan and that was CLIMB MT FUJI!!!!!.... So on friday after school we headed to Shizuoka to stay the night with our mate Hinekura who is also a JET who lives in shizuoka which is close to fuji.. So we meet her at the station and went out to dinner with her teacher and work mate... we ended up getting on the juice and her teacher got hammered.. i mean really cabbage.. ater dinner we headed to sing some karaoke at which this point her teacher got so cabbage that she ended up just saying random things all night.. lets just say this is the most cabbage i have seen a Japanese teacher ever... damn talk about a crack up.. pure Cabbage!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next day we chilled and got ourselves ready for the mean hike up the Maunga Tapu that is Fuji..we were both abit nervous and anxious about making the climb not knowing what to expect... Our plan was to get to the mountain at about 6pm then walk up the mountain all night and see the sunrise then come back down...

We caught the bus from shizuoka station to Fujinomiya 5th station which is half way up Mt fuji.. we arrived here at 6pm..It was abit cold when we arrived and we started trooping up the mountian.. At first the climb was not so bad as we reached the 6th station, but as we carried on it began to get harder and we needed to take more breaks to help counter getting altitude sickness.. As we got to the second 7th station it began getting pitch black dark so we had to use our headlamps which were life savings as we were climbing up in the dark...During some of our breaks in the dark we would turn our lights off and look up into the stars and around us and appreciate the serene quietness that we felt while having a break.. it was like we were the only people on the mountain.. this was one of highlights of the climb for both of us...

we struggled up the mountain for another couple of hours finally reaching the last station before the summit at about 11pm.. we were very early before the sunrise was to come up.. so we went inside the hut to see if they had any beds for us to rest at before making our last push for the summit.. luckily they had a few beds because it had began to rain and it wouldnt have been fun waiting for 3 hours in the rain..so after getting out of our wet clothes, we managed to get warm and get a couple hours sleep.. at 2:30am we woke to make the last push to the summit..we left the hut at 3am towards the summit.. it seemed really hard the last push to the summit as well as there were a few people now on the final path to the top... BUT we finally reached the top at about 4:30am... we had conquered the mountain!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were on the top of MT FUJI!!!!!!!!!... as we walked around the weather was starting to get really cold, it was still dark and the sunrise had not come up yet...we decided to wait for another half hour... luckily the sunrise came up.. although there was abit of cloud hanging around the mountain, it finally cleared for a while for us to see the beautiful Sunrise on top of MT FJUI... what a beautiful moment... after this we decided time to get off the mountain as we were freezing our balls off!!!!
the walk down from the top was beautiful as we took our time and enjoyed the beautiful sunrise over Mt fuji...

coming down was abit of a mish as fatigue was starting to affect us as we were slipping all over the place on the loose terrain and gravel... after 3 or so hours we finally reached the bottom.. the sense of accomplishment and relief of making it safe off the mountain was huge.. we were absolutely buggered..just shattered after the huge task of climbing up and down Mt fuji... this was an awesome experience that we both wont forget...

After this we headed back to shizuoka to catch our train.. we had a few hours with Hinekura and Max..had abit of ramen plus a few beers.. gee the beers hadnt tasted so sweet after that... thanks so much to Hinekura and Max for looking after us.. we look forward to having you fullas down here in shiga anytime..
well whanau thats it...As a famous Japanese proverb says" ONLY A WISE MAN CLIMBS MT FUJI ONCE AND ONLY A FOOL CLIMBS IT MANY TIMES" well i dont mind being a wise man on this one.. It was a mean Hikoi and i will remember it for a long time......

PAORA AND CHANEL

Climbing Fuji san

2006-08-29T23:23:00.000+09:00

Chanel on the Top of Mt fuji above the clouds

Ohhhhh yeah boy on the top of MT FUJI

Starting at the bottom

Chanel and me in the dark somewhere up the mountain

Aotearoa-Final destination

2006-08-19T00:57:00.000+09:00

A bit of a chilli morning....

Well after a full on week in wellies we drove up to napier to spend our last week with my mum..It was so awesome seeing mum and to spend time with her, especially as she had a roast and steammed pudding waiting for us once we got there..ohhh boy it was the bomb.. thanks mum
After arriving in napier there was no rest for us as we headed up to the east coast the next day.. we decided to stay the night in Te Teko with my aunty flo , which was cool to catch up with her and the whanau as it had been awhile since i had seen everyone.. thank you aunty for having us!!!kia kaha , kia maia, kia manawanui..

The next day we headed up back home into our whanau lands of Te whanau a Apanui..for me this was the highlight of the trip as we went about the business of sussing out our abit of land to build our whare on.. Mum really enjoyed having me and chanel help her out with this take..although we went about it backwards at times we managed to get things done and afterwards have a clear idea of what we want to do..

getting back to Napier after the coast was good.. but our time was fast coming to an end..friday was spent doing our last minute shopping and getting final gifts for our teachers here..the day/night was also seen as cooking heaps of fried bread for my uncles hangi the next day.. the day was full on and was glad to get some moe...

Saturday we had abit of a sleep in and later on in the afternoon went down to the marist rugby clubrooms to help mum out with her catering..Chanel loved the opportunity to work in the kitchen and play shop girl.. while i was outside watching my bro faryn play in the maddison trophy final...for mum and chanel it was to be a quiet night.. after we cleaned up we headed to the taradale rugby clubrooms to join in the celebrations with my bro faryn.. what a top night especially as the TUI was free for the whole night so needless to say we got PARA.. or hammered to say the least..we had a really good night.. chur faryn for the night.. good luck on making the HB team...

Sunday was a chill day..just resting and spending our last moments with mum...

Monday we were up early and to start the day we had a healthy breakfast of mince pies.. we had to get our last fix in before leaving...really enjoyed our time being with mum so it was sad to leave.. thanks heaps mum for everthing..love you always

our trip had gone so fast and it was sad to leave. One thing is for sure is that we ate everything on our "have to eat list" enjoyed all the kai and TUI that we had while at home maybe too much, will have to hit the gym again, but enjoyed it all the same..we had many fond and funny memories on our trip home and at the end me and chanel both felt that we didnt want to leave.. but we only have one year left and not too sure what our next steps will be but we know that home will always be there.. So finally to all our Whanau, Cuzzies, Bros and friends thanks for making our trip primo. Well the best way to sum up our trip as the say on CODE is " MEAN MAORI MEAN" ... kia ora
Paora and Chanel

Aotearoa- Apanui and Naps

2006-08-19T00:39:00.000+09:00

Entering APANUI lands

Back home @ the beautiful Whitianga Bay

Me and mum munching on some good old kiwi Fish n chips

Chanel at Pakihikura in Te whanau a Apanui

The end of our trip.. me and mum at the airport

Aotearoa -Wellies..

2006-08-19T00:04:00.000+09:00

well after after a week down south we heading to wellies...when we first got here it was our first chance to finally meet chanels nephew tremayne..this was really cool as he was born just after we left so it was awesome to finally meet him..

after meeting chanels whanau i headed off to catch up with some of the boys, while chanel had a few drinks with some of her mates and her whanau.. man it was so primo hooking up with the brothers again..big ups to wi for hosting the night at vibra train..sorry franny for making the place smell like a pub afterwards..it was so cool just chilling and catching up with the brothers plus downing copius amounts of the BIRD...Ngaio thanks for your efforts in getting the party orgainized..maybe next time you will last abit longer!!!! TAFF -serial!!!!!!!!!!!! it was cool to watch the ABs play, well the bits i remember anyway..lasting memory of the night..benny being a soldier and the call of "easy tiger-pass it on"..thanks bros for a top night..

the week was full on with catching up with friends and whanau plus doing some shopping which was awesome..our time in wellies seemed to fly by as each day was full on..

The time spent in wellies was to be the highlight of the trip for chanel ,spending time with her nephew and seeing him and being with him was the best part of the trip for her..

our last night in wellies we headed out to petone to catch up with Jody and kimi who had returned to aotearoa from japan..it was cool catching up with them and also getting on it with the boys again..Congrats Jodz and kimi on your fullas engagement...

well our time in wellies had come to an end and it was once again sad to leave and to also think that our time back home was slowly coming to an end..but we had one final destination...
and for me that was HOME

Aotearoa-Te Ika a Maui

2006-08-17T12:57:00.000+09:00

Chanel meeting her Nephew Tremanyne for the first tme

Me Catching up with my Brother Nu'u, with Chanels brother elli and hoani at Wellington NPC game

Tremanynes 2nd birthday- blowing out the cake with his mum and dad

On the piss with Turei and Hama

Enjoying the night with Benny and Nugget

Aotearoa - Te waka a Maui

2006-08-17T12:48:00.000+09:00

cher whanau, well finally after 2 years of being here in nihon we decided that it was time to go home for a holiday and boy was it awesome being home again.. Our trip home was for 3 weeks and split into 3 places..AUK/BLENHEIM for one week..WELLIES for one week then finally NAPS/EAST COAT for the final week.. BUT before we reached home we had a 6 hour stopover in TAIPEI, TAIWAN so ....

TAIPEI..
We had a 6hr stopover in taipei, so we decided to get out of the airport and have a tiki around the city..we ended up getting a taxi with a really cool dude named Jerry..at first i thought he was trying to rip us off, buthe turned out to be the man.. we went to see the worlds tallest building TAIPEI 101.. the building was huge and it was cool to down a TUI outside this mean building .. after this we went to have a look at one of the night markets.. as usual heaps to see and buy.. just ended getting a snack.. but it was cool as even our taxi driver jerry was shouting us.. mean alright.. after that we head back to the airport to carry on our journey to aotearoa..

AUCKLAND
Week one was spent in auckland for the night on our arrival in aotearoa and then a week down south in blenheim.. we spent our first night in auks with chanels cousin Brandon and partner Paul..it felt so wierd being home and seeing normal looking people and also hearing nz accents again..well we drove back to Pauls place but had to stop off at the bakery to say kia ora to some old friends..( Mince n cheese pie, sausaage roll)

Chilled at Pauls place and had abit of a nap, chanel was catching up with brandon and paul. Later on in the evening we went out to lonestar, to have a good old kiwi steak.. it was mean...after that criused home for a moe..

next morning we were up and went to the otara markets.. it was cool having a look around and getting a few things.. after that we went home and got ready for our flight down to bleheim.it was good catching up with brandon and paul.. cheers for having us....

BLENHEIM...
we arrived in sunny blenheim and meet up with chanels dad, and lil brother paul..after that we meet up with the rest of the whanau and it was good catching up... but the main part of the night was still to come, watching the ABS vs the Springboks.. we went down to the pub to watch the game.. it was also so primo to catch up with a lost cuzzy.. old cuzzy TUI... lets just say i savored that sweet nectar taste that is TUI...

The next few days were spent chilling around and just catching up...On the tuesday we criused down to Mangamaunu in Kaikoura, down to see chanels Marae and whenua , plus help chanels dad out with the sheep that he is grazing on their whanau lands.. what a truely beautiful place Mangamaunu is and we really loved being down there..

We returned that night and met chanels aunty Marcia and went and stayed a few days with her in picton..It was cool just chilling and also going to get some kuku..what a great day and the dinner we had was also pirmo..cheers heaps Marcia for having us...It was choice...

We only had a few more days with chanels whanau, so we just chilled at home and did a bit of carving which was cool..

Saturday was our last day in blenheim and we went to watch Paul play rugby which was cool.. he is a good player with abit of a step on him as well..after this we went home and chilled and got ready to leave.. it was so Primo being down south and spending time with chanels Dad and whanau.. This was the end of our southern journey as we heading to TE IKA A MAUI... It was so sad to leave but our next journey awaited us in TE IKA A MAUI!!!!!!!!!!!

Aotearoa

2006-08-17T12:37:00.000+09:00

me, Paul and lil Johnny going for a hi ika at wairau bar in Blenheim

Chanel and her dad looking out from her marae at Mangamaunu, Kaikoura

First night in Aotearoa-Brandon, Chanel and me at lonestar restaurant- Auks

downing a TUI outside the worlds tallest building in taipei, taiwan.

Me and Chanel getting ready to get some kuku in Picton

Taiku sai and sayonara

2006-08-17T11:29:00.000+09:00

cher whanau, well been awhile since our last post so have abit to talk about..well where to start.. well at the beginning of last month I had my Taiku sai or sports festival at school.. this was an awesome day with the students competing in various games, and dances.. this was my second sports festival and as last year the students went hard out especially in the team dances..some groups looked like hip hop videos and they were cool.. this was a primo day

well with the end of july came for the time for some of our whanau here in Nihon to say ka kite and head back to aotearoa and various places in the world.. we had the sayonara party here in omihachiman and our last chance to say good bye to peps in our ken so it was sad to see some people go , but it was a good night to be had and as usual we got hammered... the next day we caught up with jods and kimi and headed to Kobe to have a little good bye kai and sing some karaoke and get on the juice with our kobe whanau..damn what a day.. talk about hot..a typical hot humid day.. but soldiered on and caught up with timoti,chels ,and kahuroa.. it was great catching up with them and then later on with gav, linds and mel.. it was cool chilling , having a kai and singing some karaoke... but its sad to see timoti,chels , kahuroa go... congrats on your expecting pepi...JODY and KIMI well you fullas, we will really miss not having you fullas here. its been awesome being here in nihon and experiencing this place with you fullas..congrats on the engagement..cher cher cuzzies..

2006-08-16T13:54:00.000+09:00

The whanau @ Karaoke

me ,our bro david and and mattonabike in the background

The winners " Team purple"

me and some students @ sports festival

Kobe Touch "gaijin ninjas"

2006-06-11T19:29:00.000+09:00

Stu and Timoti in some deep korero

The gaijin ninjas

Linds, Chels and Paora

Linds, chels and Chanel

Kia Ora ano.... well the days are creeping up closer and closer till when we return to aotearoa for a holiday and finally get to do all the things we have been so hanging out for over the past two years... but recently weve been trying to be as active as we can... before the heat of summer really sarts to hit..... hopefully it might hang out till were gone and then we might miss the middle of it while were home....

We were down in Kobe playing touch with timoti, chels, kahuroa and the kobe crew, was a great day but unfortunately we didnt win... Was the last tourney for gaijin ninjas... but a great day... and a good chance to catch up before most of them head home in july.

Other than that we have been trying to get in as much time with kimi and jody before they head out too... We were up by them the other day trying out some of the home brewery largers that they have up there... really cheap about $2 a pint.... a cheap night.

Well not much to report on but ... would be good to hear from anyone...

Sweet

Horis in Kyoto

2006-05-29T22:22:00.000+09:00

Me and Cuzzy Kana's at Kinkakuji

Hurricanes what happened??? at Ginkakuji

kia ora whanau, well this weekend was great weekend with Cuzzy Kana's coming to stay for the weekend. Kanas is living in Fukuoka, so me and chanel played host and tour guide and showing him the sights and sounds of Kyoto and Shiga. Saturday was spent tiki touring around kyoto and taking in some of the temples of kyoto most notably Kinkakuji( The Golden Temple) and Ginkakuji(The Silver Temple). It was so good slipping back into hori mode again,and putting on my hori accent which was good. Well managed to watch the Hurricanes vs Crusaders final. Man what a letdown BIGTIME!! damn Christchurch Fog..well probably the worst game i have watched, but i guess you have to play to the conditions..

after this we cruised back home , where our neighbour was having his birthday party.. lets just say
cabbage!!!! gee had too many beers.. but what a fun way to end the weekend.. paid dearly for it the next day, but we had a great time and it was cool having Kanas here with us..
laters..
PAORA

Art Show & Miidera temple

2006-05-22T13:48:00.000+09:00

Me and Chanel at Miidera Temple

My Art work at Biwako Art museum

cher whanau, well the weather here is starting to get real warm now although we had a about a week and a half of rain but now its getting hot.. well things here are going real well..just on the weekend i put some pieces of Art that i have been working on in an exhibition that we had for 11 Shiga ALTs which was held in Otsu..This was my first time having something displayed at an exhibition , so it was really awesome to have people have a look at my work.. i got alot of positive comments which was really encouraging and cool.. the exhibition was for 2 days and we got about 170 people come through and look at the different pieces on show..

so yeah just got to keep on painting and hopefully might have my own show... well thats what my Art teacher keeps telling me and school says.. but i guess we'll just take it one painting at a time...

Also the same weekend we checked at Miidera temple in Otsu..it is one of Japans 4 Biggest temples..it was a really beautiful place and a good way to end the weekend..

Rugby 10s

2006-05-07T20:12:00.000+09:00

chur whanau, well ended golden week with a trip away for me to ichinomiya, just outside of nagoya..i was chosen to play for Shiga in the Western Japan 10s rugby tourney..well day 1 saturday went ok, but not the best start losing our first game 15-0 to Kagawa..i thought i went well, busting through gaps and doing the old jonah and bumping 2 -3 defenders at a time..but needless to say we lost...next game was against Koochi ,we needed to win or we would be playing in the bowl..this game we started slow giving up a try early on..but we managed to fight back and take the game.. no jonahs this game, just did my job and it was a good to win.

after the game heading back to our ryokan/tradational japanese inn..we settled into our place and then had dinner..we had a traditional japanese enkai dinner, plus heaps of beer to wash it down..gee the fullas in my team were going hard..so i was only too happy to indulge in the old waipiro..all in all it was a top night..

day 2 ...we were in the plate comp..first we played Tottori...well today it was p......ing down with rain so it back to good old wet weather rugby...we played a great game playing to the conditions and winning it easy..although this would be my last game as i strained my back..
next game we got hammered, getting thrashed..but i was just glad to get out of the rain as it was pouring...all in all it was a good weekend and a great way to end golden week...
big ups to all the boys of the Shiga team....

The big 2-9!!!!! aarrgghhhhhhh

2006-05-05T17:04:00.000+09:00

Me and chanel at Stamina taro for dinner

Me starting up the hill at Azuchi castle

Chanel trooping up the hill-Azuchi Castle.

Dinner with Jodes and Kimi outside stamina.

kia ora whanau..well have now offic ially turned 29...gee getting old.. .shocking!!!well had an
awesome day..its been golden week here in japan so we have 3 days holiday from weds..so its a good break to have...it was my birhtday yesterday and we had a really primo day..Me and chanel went tiki touring again, this time not so far, just up the road to the next town over at Azuchi..Azuchi is home to Azuchi castle..although now the castle is in riuns and there are no buildings remaining..it was home to oda nobunaga one of the meanest samurai of his time..it was pretty cool trooping around, most of the stone work and walls are still intact.. after azuchi we biked around lake nishinoko which was a great ride and cool views of the lake..

Later that evening we went to our favourite restaurant "Stamina Taro" the best all you can eat, restaurant in japan.. considering the the cost of meat in japan, its good to stock up on meat.. yakiniku or BBQ meat.. its the "BOMB".. it was cool to share the night with jody and kimi and catch up..its pretty sad that they have only 3 months left, but it was good to catch up...
all in all a great birthday..one i will remember....

more touch pics

2006-05-03T22:24:00.000+09:00

On the bus on the way home..tanuki time..bam!!! do ru do ru.....

chilling at the camping grounds after day 1

death touch 06

touch pics

2006-05-02T17:12:00.000+09:00

Jodes,chanel and me at Tokushima touch

Gaijin ninjas 06 champs..next year -death touch 07 champs???

Cuzzy Kanapu..MVP...shot cuzzy....

Tiki touring again!!!!

2006-04-29T18:52:00.000+09:00

Paora and Me at Chomeiji shirne, omihachiman.

Well its been ages since our last post and justifibly so, we aint been up to much so nothing to write about... however after the last couple of days we got some stuff to write about... so sakura or cherry blossom season has officially finished and they have all blown away... this usually occurs when the weather gets a bit warmer and to tell the truth i dont think it has at all... still wrapped up in blankets some nights...although the heaters away now so i guess that means its not as cold as it used to be. Didnt really do any sakura viewing this year as the weather was really shit! everyday we had free it rained so had to give that a miss.. but was still a beautiful site and time of year.

Other than that we had a great touch torney down in tokushima which is one of japans smaller island about a good 3 hours from where we are. Was a good chance to catch up with some horries from around the rohe and play some touch... unfortunately we didnt come home winners but at the end we were all winners... i guess but the winners chels and timotis team from kobe played some good touch and deserved to win... especially with lue coming back made the win all the more awesome. overall a good torney and some good times (no pics sorry still waiting on kimi and jody for those might have some soon to post).

Recently... well we have started to tiki tour around again as the weather has started to get a bit nicer and warmer. went to check out some of the places around our area that we havent yet discoverd ... chomeiji which overlooks the lake is the place we have been to lately... not bad, very calming and relaxing especially after the 1000 step climb to the top.

looking forward to do some more around here and other areas... next week is golden week where weve got 3 week days off... so will no doubt do some tiki touring and well keep the site updated with how it goes...

can now officially say its 3 months to were back home... really looking forward to it...

Let us know how things are going in aotearoa.. its always good hearing what people have been up to

Sweet
Paora and Chanel

Hiroshima & Kyushu

2006-03-23T19:15:00.000+09:00

Paora outside Horita Onsen - Beppu

Hiroshima Dome - Atomic Bomb Museum

Us at Miyajima Island Tori (Gate) not the best weather but a great day.

Discovering Japan

2006-03-23T18:44:00.000+09:00

Kia Ora all... well its that time again for a blog update.... well good because we got a bit to talk about. Well spring is slowly starting here and school is wrapping up for the year which means two things time to chill and time to get out and about and see more of japan. Yes thats exactly what we been up to. We headed down the island of honshu to check out Hiroshima and then down on to the lower island of Kyushu to beppu to get some r & r and chill in some onsen or hotsprings....

Day one we left home and headed down to Hiroshima on the local trains and did our best to scam the trains ... after about 5 hours we arrived in hiroshima where we intended to visit the Atomic Bomb museum and dome and also check out miyajima island which is famous for its shrine and huge tori or gate. On day two we woke feeling a bit jaded from the journey but nevertheless headed out to discover hiroshima first we checked out the Museum really amazing... in a sad way to learn about the affects of the atomic bomb dropped by the americans on August 6 1945 at 815. It is definitely a site that i would recommend anybody visiting japan to check out just the affects of atomic bombs on people is trully shocking... nevertheless having two bombs dropped. Was also really awesome to see the dome which was one of the remaining buildings today that survived the huge impact....

In order to get over the sad buzz which left us well me having a bit of a tangi we headed out to a island to check out a amazing shirne that is a popluar destination for both japanese and foreigners. Although it rained and we missed high tide we got the opportunity to touch it and get up close. We also ate some awesome curry rice which was probably the best we have eaten in japan.

After leaving hiroshima we headed down to beppu which is a popular place for onsen in japan.... arrived quite late but got settled in and because our hotel had an onsen went for a late night relax. The tikanga around using onsen in japan is pretty tuturu so we was a bit nervous not about being the only naked foreigners but just not really knowing what to do because it was a first time in an onsen. So we headed in acting like we knew what we were doing... paora into the mens and me into the womens. First you strip down to your birth suit and head into the washing room where you wash your self from head to toe... while sitting on these little stools before entering into the hot spring... indoors or outdoors.... while in beppu we tried our best to visit as many different kind of onsen as we could and got to experience the old... new... beach side and up in the mountains.... overall we can say that we pretty clued up about onsen tikanga now.

Overall an awesome trip and we really enjoyed it.... looking forward to the next one where ever it may be... maibara?

Graduation pics

2006-03-12T17:13:00.000+09:00

Hiro,me and Kenta..My Cool Students

English Club Students...final goodbyes

Me and the trendy chicks of the school

Graduation!!!

2006-03-09T02:57:00.000+09:00

Kia ora whanau..well winter is nearly nearing to an end..Man cant wait for the weather to warm up, and start getting out and about more..Winter this year has dragged on, big time!!! School is coming to a end and i have finished classes for this school year until april. Last week we had our 3rd graders Graduation (or 7th formers if in nz).. it was a pretty cool day..it was a big ceremony..heaps of the kids were crying as it was a last chance for them to see each other before most of the kids head to uni...heaps different to the way we finish school..but it was sad to see some of the kids leave as some of them were really cool...all in all it was a cool day..now that the weather is warming up, we are about to prepare for a touch tourney next month...man cant wait to play, should be sweet...well whanau..not much korero but heres a few pics of grad and some of my students...
sweet...
paora
Jaa mata ne!!

Wedding Pics

2006-02-05T17:14:00.000+09:00

The lovely couple Gav & Rie

Timoti, me & Jody Chillin at the wedding..

"The Girls on the bash"
Mel, Chanel, Lin's and Chelsea

Hori's on the Bash..Tim is that water Cuzzy???

Jody and Kimi looking flash!!! Kawaii!!!

Gavs Wedding

2006-02-05T17:04:00.000+09:00

cher whanau, well last week we cruised up down to kobe for our mates gavs wedding. Gav was marrying his japanese girlfriend Rie. So me Chanel, Kimi and Jody went through.We had primo night in Sannomiya catching up with Timoti and Chelsea and enjoying a great night. It was really cool to see gav and share in his and Rie's special day. Downed a few beers and got hammered even ended up doing the Haka which was primo. A top night , really enjoyed it. The Next day we had lunch with Timoti,Chels and Lil Kahuroa at this mean Restaurant.. was really good to catch up with them.. so big Arigato to the Brown Whanau. Also Nga Mihi to Gav and Rie...
Top Night..
cher ..thanks Chels tahae'd some of your pics...gomen..

Pics of our xmas trip

2006-01-13T20:21:00.000+09:00

The Great Wall of China

The Shaolin Temple, China.

Korean Xmas & Chinese New Year!!!!!!!

2006-01-05T14:58:00.000+09:00

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to friends and whanau, wherever you may be in the world i hope this time was special and many best wishes for the New Year!!
well its been ages since our last post, we have kept our heads down and have been waiting for the xmas period to do abit of tiki touring around asia. heres the lowdown on our trip to korea and china...

KOREA-SEOUL...
The first leg of our trip was spent in korea. we left on the 21st and spent 7days days here soaking up all the sights and sounds of Seoul..

SHOPPING....
boy what a great place to do some shopping..especially for paora-the places had heaps of leather jackets,clothes and american sports wear..great thing here was that they had normal sizes and everything was cheap..Itaewon is the place to go paora reckons..awesome place

XMAS DAY...
Well unfortunitly there was no hangi ,steammed pudding and raw fish for us here in seoul. we spent the day tiki touring around, and looking at markets..but we did have a mean xmas dinner though korean styles...we had pizza and what we both reckon is the best fried chicken that we have both tasted ever...it was great to share xmas together in seoul..so i hope everyone enjoyed their xmas and had a great time..

CULTURAL SIGHTS....
we visited a few cultural sights while being in korea-first we visited the korean war memorial-which celebrated the victory over north korea which was good..next we ventured to
gyeongbokgung palace(gee what a mouthful) this was the palace of the korean emperor-this was a unique place alittle different to the ones here in Japan. these palace building have underground heating-they had chimneys on the sides of the building in which they would light fires to warm the ground...Sunglyemun gate is one of the most famous sights in korea-its a huge gate situated smack bang in the middle of town and surounded by tall buildings and the contrasts of old and new is really awesome..

DMZ-Demilitirized Zone.. we took a trip to the DMZ , which is the zone which separates North Korea and South Korea-this was a unique and somber experience as the area was surrounded by barbed wire and guards packing machine guns..we also ventured down one of the tunnels which was dug by the north to sneak into and attack the south. But the overall feeling we got was that the south are longing to reunite and be one korea with the north again and the sooner the better i hope..

Korea on the whole was great and we both enjoyed our time, but as you will now read china left a lasting impression -both good and bad...

CHINA-BEIJING....

GREAT WALL....
Probably the highlight of the whole trip..An Awesome experience that i would recommend to anyone..There are many different places to see the wall but we decided to do the 10 km walk of the wall from Jinshanling to simatai-if you have a chance then this one is definitly the best..just walking the wall and climbing up and down over steep parts of the wall, can you only really appreicate the time and effort and manpower that went into making the wall-we only walked 10kms which took us 4 hrs but the entire length is over 5000 kms which is mindblowing..

the best moments for me was climbing the steepest section of the wall with the old lungs blowing hard the incline was at about 70 degrees..the next was having a TUI on the Great Wall..not sure if im the first person to that but it was a miki way to remember my time on the wall.

the hardcase thing was the locals who follow you once you hit the wall trying to sell their stuff..i've seen persistant salesman but these fullas go over and beyond the call of duty following you everystep of the way just to sell you something..these fullas are dedicated and can be abit of a hoha until you have to shout at them about a thousand times "no book" "no book" or "no money" "no money".. some people ended up buying but get ripped off pretty bad.. but all in all the wall is an experience that both of us will not forget..

SHAOLIN TEMPLE - ZHENGZHOU

Well on our third day in we headed in to central china - zhengzhou to visit the shaolin temple... the home of kung fu. We didnt choose the best day to visit as it was snowing hard out... but we solidered on and walk around the temple grounds and checked out what was on offer. first we watched a performance of some of the shaolin students which was pretty meke seeing some of the moves for real that i thought were all shit in the movies. then we went down to the temple and had a walk around seeing some of the history of the temple which was really awesome. An awesome destination.

However ....

THE JOURNEY... a key phrase that we now associate with this whole trip has been "its not the destination is the journey" why? Well on the way to zhengzhou we started off at beijing railway station where we saw what the locals are really like... in one word "Paru" for real.... the toilets... well they were like slits cut into the ground with 3 months of shit built up.... no shit! huh huh ..no doors, no toilet seat... squat styles...pay for paper when you walk in ... bad!!!!!! thats all we can say. next the station... sitting waiting gave us the chance to check out the locals or more importantly the locals checking us out felt like all 600 people in the waiting room looking at us... not even that they spitting on the floor and chucking rubbish straight onto the floor. Once we got onto the train... dont think it got any better ... actually it did because now there were only 5 sets of eyes looking at us.... we did an overinight train... so it wasnt like that the whole way... and to make it worse the trains werent smoke free so you had cuzzys lighting up whenever they wanted and just spitting too... lucky for us we werent on the bottom floor.....

anyway got there and then caught a bus to the temple ... which wasnt to bad until the driver actually started driving... swirving all over the place like he was haurangi or something not to mention overtaking on blindcorners..... out of it... got to the destination and that was sweet...... coming home was just as bad... but the bus was packed, like a loaf of bread and jam packed. but cause we were the only foreigners we got a seat each... but there were people sitting on each others laps, people in the aisles sitting on spit buckets.... out of it.... but i guess in the end we made it home in one peice.... i guess thats what people mean by experiencing different cultures.... out of it....

SHOPPING & BARTERING.....
cheap, cheap, cheap is the best words to describe china that is if you can bargin for it. The value of our money there made us into instant yuppies.... we could get so much value for our money... we went to heaps of markets selling everything from chinese crafts to the latest g shock watches... everything... but one of the saddest things about our shopping experience in china was always having the feeling you getting ripped off... by everyone... from restaurants to taxi drivers, there is definitely a price for foreigners and a price for the locals... but in the end got what we felt were some bargins so hei aha. One of the best markets we went to was the local night market where they sold local delicacies like centipede, frog, snake, beetle and much more although we stuck to the toffee strawberries and just looked at the rest.

CULTURAL SIGHTS
We visited heaps of cool sights here in beijing as there is just so much to see.. first was the temple of heaven... a place where the emperors prayed for good harvest.... Second Tiananmen
Square... this is the largest square in the world which could hold over a million people and was built so that president could hold big hui with everyone in the same place. Next was the Fobidden City... this was the home of 28 prior emperors... untill 1911 its was shut off from anyone who was not associated with the royal family. it is a huge palace and with heaps of difffernt halls and rooms ... really amazing.

Overall we had the bomb trip away ... we got to see a new side of asia and experience some cool things... and some not so cool things. but i guess thats what travelling is all about. we would definitely recommend travelling.... if you want you can go to china and korea but you dont have too.

finally hope everyone had a good xmas and new year.... would be cool to hear what you all got up to so drop us a email if you can .

Paora and Chanel

Halloween night

2005-10-30T22:17:00.000+09:00

cher kia ora whanau, well last friday nite we attended the annual JET halloween party and boy did we get hammered. We started the night with a few pre drinks at our pad and invited a few peps over to get the night started. I cracked open a few cans of the "Precious" or the sweetness that is TUI courtesy of chanels dad (thank you), so the night got off to a great start. Chanel was dressed a Ojisan or a Japanese Koro, while i was dressed as a Maori All Black or an old school Arthur Stone with a Fro.
By the time we hit the party i was a bit tipsy, while chanel was well on her well going hard on the whiskey in which she would regret the next day.The party was cool and got to catch up with a few peps and meet some new people, though it was sad that kimi and jody werent there but im sure they were having a miki time in NY(we'll have a tui cuz, once you get back).well the party finished at 12am then moved onto the 2nd party. chanel cruz home as she had had enough, while i continued on. stayed until about 3-4 then decided to call it a night.. had a really top time. gee next morning the old head was paying for it , but not as bad as chanel, well i guess thats what you get for going hard on the whiskey shots i guess...well whanau thats it from me laters..Paora

Halloween night

2005-10-30T22:02:00.000+09:00

Nate, Chanel and Dan on the gas

Paora at the halloween party with the masses.

Me , Chanel and our mate ken dressed as a kiwifruit or a eggplant ,not sure which one.

Dressed as a Maori All Black and sipping on the bird.

Dad and the Boys in Japan 2

2005-10-22T14:16:00.001+09:00

DAY 5 - Today Dad , the boys and Paora came to my school where they had a lesson with one of my classes. this was really cool and like paoras school the boys were again like lil superstars as the students were amazed at the boys and saying "kawaii", "kawaii" again. It was good my students to have a good interaction with the whanau and paora.

DAY6- Today we trooped to kyoto to look at the sights. we visited Toji temple, Kinkakuji, and Ginkakuji. This was a big day but Dad was amazed at the temples and the construction of the temples out of wood, it really blew him away to the piont where he was saying" gee its abit over the top isnt it".all in all it was a great day

DAY 7- today it pissed down with rain , but that did not stop us as we ventured to Hikone castle and checked out the castle and its surroundings.

DAY-8 chilled

DAY 9- today after recharging the batteries we headed to Nara to check out Todaiji temple. The boys were blown away by the deer that were wandering the streets and that you could fed and pet them and also that there were heaps of them. Dad was really impressed with the two huge wooden carvings of the warriors and at first thought that they were carved out of one tree but then after seeing how they did it was impressed at they you couldnt see the joins of the wood.

Dad and the boys were amazed at the sheer size of the temple and the amount of work gone in to build this temple and bronze Budda

DAY 10 - Chilled

DAY 11 - Well today after finding a plank of wood last night, was full on with making a Tewhatewha. Dad asked paora what he should carve, paora suggested a couple of manaia, then dad said why not a Tewhatewha, we then said sweet, and so the was us helping dad with the Tewhatewha. It was cool for paora to see the process of making and carving a tewhatewha and he is interested in having abit more of a tutu when we return home. It was a pretty rough job but for what we had and the resources we had on hand it turned out to be the miki. So a big thanks to dad from me and paora for carving us a tewhatewha.

later on that night we introduced dad and the boys to our favourite restaurant " StaminaTaro" japanese BBQ and all you can eat. This was a cool way to end our time in shiga before heading to Osaka. Dad reckons he might have to build one of those when he gets home...

Day 12 - Well today we all headed to Osaka. We started at USJ universal studios japan. We arrived about 10:15am we tried to do as many of the rides as we could but with all the long cues we did enough till we were nakid. Went on snoopy water slide, jaws, watched the water world show, jurasic park, backdraft and spiderman... an awesome but tiring day..... we all enjoyed the day and left about 6pm. headed back to the hotel and chilled, then headed out for dinner and a look about Osaka. Went up on the huge hep ferris wheel and went for a tiki in a huge gadget store, picked up paul a mp3 player which he was rapt with.

Final Day - Sent the whanau off about 11ish... said our goodbye's... pretty sad but a little envious too... felt like buying a ticket and jumping on with them. but said sayonara and headed on our way home..... so overall was an awesome time having them here with us... really made us forget japan and teaching ... thanks!

Dad and the Boys in Japan Pics2

2005-10-21T20:22:00.000+09:00

Dad me and the boys before saying goodbye

The whanau going hard at "stamina-taro"

The whanau at Toji temple in Kyoto

Me and Johnny on our "Mamachari"

Paul and Johnny at Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto

Dad and the Boys in Japan Pics

2005-10-12T20:31:00.000+09:00

Arriving at the airport
With Paoras Art teacher and Students
The Boys meeting new friend Yuki.
Johnny Trying some Japanese Kai
Johnny with Japans answer to meat pies "Onigiri"

Dad and the Boys in Japan

2005-10-12T19:43:00.000+09:00

Kia ora whanau..well saturday night we went to Kansai Airport where we ended up spending the night waiting for the arrival of Dad and the boys(Paul and John) and what a mish..well we thought that the airport was 24 hours running but this airport stops flights at 10pm..so me and paora were the only people in the airport although abit unsettling but sweet as, so we crashed at the airport as Dads flight was 6:20am.. It was so cool seeing dad and the boys and to actually have them here in japan is such a buzz ..we arrived home and chilled out most of the day and rested .
Later in the evening we went to have some Japanese food ..Katsu -don, this was abit of a eyeopener for Dad and the boys but they liked the food. Got home and crashed what a long day...

DAY 2.. today we watched paora play rugby in otsu so the whole whanau trooped over to see some rugby and look at the area of shiga,ended up being a long day but Paul and Johnny ended up making a Japanese friend which was cool and it seems that with kids language is no barrier..went home and chilled.

DAY 3 today we went to paoras school to check out his school and also Dad brought his chisels so showed paoras art teacher some maori carving..this was a cool day with the boys being like little superstars as paoras students crowded around them and shouting "Kawaii" " Kawaii" or " Cute"
" Cute"...
after this we went up to Hachiman Temple up on Hachiman Mountian..Dad could not get over the Japanese Carvings at the temples and shrines and was amazed by the quality of work..

DAY 4 -chill out day as we had to go to work...

well thats it so far will update later on...we've checked most of omihachiman still heaps to see and do..with Hikone,kyoto,Osaka and Nara still to see..so laters for now..

Rugby in Nagoya

2005-09-29T18:13:00.000+09:00

cher.. well i forgot all about the rugby that i went to that was in the end of august... I went to nagoya which is about 2 hours away by train from where we live to watch Toyota vs Newcastle from England (Jonny Wilkinsons team) . I trooped up there by myself and hooked up with a mate whos a rugby writer and works for a the national english newspaper....well man did i get the hook ups (cheers Rich) he managed to get me a press pass and got in for free so that was sweet!!!
well one of the luxuaries of having a press pass is that you can get to go down to the field this was the miki as on the Newcastle team they had Mark Mayerhoffler, Matt Burke, Colin Charvis, and Owen Finnegan but there was no Jonny Wilkinson as he was in hospital.Toyota had a few kiwis with Filo Tiatia,Orene Aii and Troy Flavell.

The match was a miki game with Toyota taking it to Newcastle and ended up beating them in which they deserved.. Orene A ii was the man using his hot step to perfection...One of the perks of the press pass was going to the aftermatch fucntion which was cool, getting to meet some of the players was a buzz especially troy flavell hes the man!! just like one of the Bros...ended up taking about ta moko and turns out we got work done by same guy(Richie), so that was cool, but what topped the night off was the free beers that was on offer, im not shy, so indulged in a few quiets..

We rode back to nagoya from Toyota Stadium with the Newcastle team so that was cool.. Ended up having a chat with Rob Andrew coach of Newcaslte and former England international about rugby and it was quite informative geeting to understand the rugby knowledge of one of the top coaches of world rugby... All in all it was a top night and big thanks to Rich for hooking me up and sticking around and doing the all nighter..Yoroshiku..

Todaiji... Biggest Buddha Temple

2005-09-28T22:23:00.000+09:00

Here we are at Todaiji Temple in Nara. This temple has the biggest bronze buddha in Japan inside it and it is also the biggest wooden building in the world... really cool place... Also the first bit of nice grass we have seen in a long time.... some cool wooden guardians at the gate... awesome... tumuch alright!

Whanau holiday in Japan!

2005-09-28T22:13:00.000+09:00

A few pics to sum up chanel's whanau's holiday in Japan August 2005. Tarina, Aunty Marcia and elli. We all had a cool time together... good catch up and alot of hot memories...

Himeji worth a visit!!!

2005-09-28T22:11:00.000+09:00

Himeji Castle, Himeji. This is Japan's number 1 castle. We were even able to go inside and reach the top level... and awesome castle, with beautiful gardens and surroundings. Sept 05.

Keepin in touch with the world!!!

2005-09-24T21:47:00.000+09:00

Welcome to our blog... so we had a website with yahoo before but updating it everymonth became a bit of a drag... cause it usually took about an hours or so to figure what we did last time so we hooked up with this blog and its soo much easier so yeah... here it is..

So here we are..... two months and a bit later time has flown by. Hmmm what has happened? Ok... so summer holidays (july-sept) came and had about a month or so of no school. Most of the summer was spent playing tour guides to Chanel's whanau who arrived here about mid august. Told them not to come during summer cause its really hot... but coming from winter.. it was exactly the medicine the wanted and boy were they surprised hot, hot, hot! Overall we all enjoyed each others company and was cool to have a bit of home kai!!! Tui, cookie time, mallowpuffs..... Tiki toured around shiga and then ventured out to the bigger cities kyoto and Osaka where we saw some culture and of modern day japan. When asked what they enjoyed the most...it was the shopping and huge train station... well i guess everybody is different! Was awesome sharing japan with them and especially ellioup! (chanels brother elliott).

After recovering from having manuhiri here we slowly cruized back into mahi here, starting school off with sports day and cultural festival which meant the students spending the first week preparing, which meant no teaching for us. And more time in the art class for Paora finishing off some of his works.... which was part of the exhibition by the school. We even got invited to eat Octopus balls! with the art class as a way of saying thanks for all their hard work.

Now that summer is slowly passing we have regained a bit more motivation to get out and see some of the sites that weve been wanting to go to but its been either to hot...or not enough putea. so have this month ticked off Himeji Castle (Japans biggest and finest example of a traditional castle of old) and also Todaiji (The worlds biggest wooden building which houses japans biggest bronze buddha) both were really amazing constructions... and we have to say you have to see it to try and appreciate the effort that would have went into building them.

Back on the homefront we went and had our last dip in lake biwa befor the summer ended... cruized over to the west side of the lake to join some of the english teachers at a popular water sports centre where we chilled with kimi and jody and got the chance to try water skiing and wind surfing... our only advice it looks a hell of a lot easier than it is... trust us we spent most of the day falling off again and again. Choice day! and to top it off we drove home with kimi and jody around the top of the lake back towards the east side... and got to see a whole different aspect of nature in japan....... reminded us of home travelling around lake taupo... Awesome!!!

Have finally put our A's into G's and have started japanese classes... yep one year later..... better late than never! its awesome actually being able to have one on one time with a teacher. So here hoping were the Bomb when we get back!

Well best be off for now... well be keeping this blog updated pretty regular... so keep in touch.
Sweet
Paora & Chanel