A Week From Departure

Well, we are a week out from departing Aotearoa for the start of our OE and are in the midst of finalising all the administrivia associated with such an event. Visa's are all in order, our tickets for the Cricket Wrld Cup have finally arrived and as Fidel Castro hasn't died, Cuba remains on the itnerary. Finally we've turned our attention to setting up a blog to keep you all up to date on our adventures without the monotonous drone created by the bulk e-mail... Before departure though, a quick entry to share some details on our recent nuptials (especially for those who didn't make the cut on the invite list!).

With the Wedding Party assembling from different corners of the world (Doha, London, Bangkok, Hailtron etc.) on Wednesday, we kicked off the week with a dinner at Beagaich complete with a magic show by Mozza and a reading on ice shelf physics from Mat's Masters thesis.

Thursday saw the Team Bride spend a day being pampered by the local Dar-Funk (Darfield) beauty fraternity before being joined by 20 other woman for an evening stroll in nature. The stroll was however ended as the sun set in the West and was followed by a less sedate boozing session. Amongst the ambience of the Washpen Falls setting the girls set out to consume all alcohol based products within a 5km radius with a few games along the way. For the record, Jay was frst to bow/blow out and Fox lasted the night by eating potatoes (see below).

Meanwhile, across town the Boys played a 9 hole ambrose golf tournament in honour of a fallen man. This gentlemanly event was followed by a whirlwind tour of the local drinking establishments (the Coalgate Tavern, the Hororata Hotel and the Darfield Hotel) for the 'Ginja Ninja Sporting Challenge'. The locals were amused (and fortunately significantly out-numbered) at each location as the groom arrived in specially designed attire ready to do battle with the bottle while twenty other men of all ages proceeded to watch on and down drinks with shoe-phones in use. Big ups to Young Buck who anchored the Marlborough Team to multiple boat race victories.

Friday saw the proposed roll-up at the local bowling club postponed due to rain (so much for an all weather green). A hastily arranged pub quiz (cheers to Cam and Mozza of Team Groom) for the 70 or so attendees saw some Aussies riding on the coattails of Kiwi brainpower in an ANZAC team take the honours, guided to victory on an infalable knowledge of the status of recreational ski licenses in the Selwyn District. Honourable mention to Gerbs who despite 4 years in Korea could still recall that 'Trinity' was the name of the super-computer used by 90's action doll band Gem and the Holograms.

The main event on Saturday was a fantastic affair. The Bridal party looked stunning and the groomsman turned up on time (unlike the Bride). The Service had some light-hearted moments with Morty into the tissues before anyone had taken a seat and Dodie burning his esteemed friend Bandy in the hug department at the altar. The speeches were highlighted by some some special messages from those who could not make it (including Helen Clark, Bill Clinton and the Pope), while the first dance was a massive hit with the audience despite the absence of robot moves. Some snaps below form the day and more photos at http://matandcaro.blogspot.com/

Mat & Caros