Day 56. Leanne’s back! The crew learns you get what you pay for and local acts of kindness find the clan.

Kyle spent the day frustrated with now-non-existent WiFi at our sweet Airbnb on the river (how possibly could 5 teens hit the data cap?). He suggested we have a date morning at the local Starbucks pretending to drink coffee while we really soak in Free WiFi. After an hour post-latte, we were both convinced that the baristas were purposely kicking us Americans off the free WiFi! We signed on at least 20 times, enjoy about 2 minutes of surfing and then another kickoff!

Yesterday was such a whirlwind jam packed day (black water rafting a group highlight) so we looked for calm today. We opted for an easy afternoon river cruise to learn about New Zealand largest and perhaps most historic river, the Waikito. 200 years ago, this river was protected by red carved wooden war canoes up to 100 feet long steered by Maoris, the Polynesians that settled on the North Island circa 1250.

We thought we’d hear tales of the war canoes or river spirits but the sound system was completely inaudible. Guy yacked away anyhow while it poured rain on us. Strike two for the day. Afterwards, the boys went to play basketball while Kyle found better Wifi at an Internet cafe for $2 for an hour. He wished he found it this morning instead of suffering at Starbucks as some things (e.g. good WiFi) are worth paying for. Tour guide John was particularly excited about the crew’s post dinner event — heading to a professional rugby game, New Zealander’s favorite sport.

I must admit I was a bit in panic mode about having to chauffeur the gang to the rugby game. It would mean a night drive on the left side of the road at a crowded stadium. Crowds aren’t fun for me. I even considered finding a Kiwi Uber for them and catching some sleep. But after three weeks down under, it was time to see what all the fuss over rugby was about. Nearly every pub and bar we walked by in Australia and New Zealand displayed rugby games on big screen TVs. We would be culturally remiss not to enjoy the sport firsthand.

We arrive to the stadium 10 minutes before game time and find free parking adjacent to the stadium. Shocked, we walk up to buy tickets and it’s a super short line of only 8 people in front of us. Then a nice young woman walks up to Kyle and hands him two free tickets worth $85 in the Red Zone, saying they ended up with two extra tickets. Just gave them away. We quickly learn that the Red Zone is twice the cost of the Green Zone, shocking us further. What an act of kindness! Things are looking up.

Ok this was meant to be. We purchase 6 more tickets in the Red Zone and Ashlynn notes that the expensive Red Zone seats are actually behind (further away than) the cheap Green Zone seats. There must be a reason for this but we couldn’t come up with the answer immediately. Why we would spend 2x to sit behind the $10 seats. When we get to the red zone we see 80 percent of the fans coughed up the premium price for the premium seats. Not only that, It was opposite of American stadiums - everyone huddled to the highest nosebleed seats one could get. The closer you get to the field and players the more empty the seats. Still not totally obvious why to us.

That was. .... until after halftime.

It starts to rain. All the cheap seats empty quickly presumably the spectators now must head home. You see there’s only one awning over the stadium and it prefers to shelter only the Red Zone premier seats.

With 74 percent chance of rain, we now got it. Go figure. In a country with high rainfall, the higher ground is always preferred.

Turns out the game was 80 minutes of nonstop action and fun. We spent the night ranting and raving for the home team - the Waikato Bulls vs the Canterbury Somethings.

Rugby resembles American football but with no pads, no stops and few penalties. We loved the fast moving scrums and figured out just enough of the Game happenings to cheer at appropriate times! Kyle cheered as if it was his beloved Yankees down there getting beat up and soaked. Although he clearly gave us away as Americans yelling American Football terms like touchdown and the extra point is good

Final score. Waikato 31, Canterbury 28

Final assessments. Rugby is cool, just don’t buy the cheap seats. Sometimes free sucks (e.g. Starbucks WiFi) and sometimes free rocks (e.g. rugby tickets). No you don’t always want the front. Finally, Acts of kindness are always welcomed here!