David Ferguson’s Rugby World Cup blog

Signing off and saying goodbye to New Zealand

Kia Ora for the last time before I begin the trip back to Scotland.

One final blog to catch up on the past week in Auckland and an apology to blog fans out there that myself and Tom English have not been as prolific on the blogosphere as we were in Wellington and Invercargill.

Hopefully, many of you have seen the newspapers over the past week and will have some idea of why the pair of us have struggled to find more words for the blogs, but while 12-hour deadlines have their advantages regular 5am finishes are not great for the body and mind!

But, here we go, with a last whirlwind trip around the off-tour aspects of the World Cup and a final thank-you to the people of this wonderful country.

Before we get to Auckland, I must pay tribute to the people at Zealandia in Wellington, where we spent three hours in the darkness with a motley crew of visitors from across the globe searching for a kiwi. Jo Heaton and Ania Peszynski of Wellington tourism set up the media with some fantastic opportunities around the great little capital city and finding a kiwi was a must.

Zealandia is one of the most impressive natural habitats ‘created’ by man I have seen, in an effort to restore parts of the country to its most colourful natural state and encourage wild life to thrive.

It was difficult not to see the funny side as we hunted for a kiwi with our red-light torches, people coughing, giggling, tripping and getting lost, and our patience was rewarded by the sight of a little kiwi … or at least those of us quick enough to pay attention at the right moment were rewarded!

And then we were off north to Auckland. After sampling the delights of Scottish winemakers Christine Kernohan - who has the great “12,000 miles” label to remind her of her Glasgow home – and the hugely enthusiastic Angus Thomson at Urlar in the Wairarapa Valley, we were treated by the Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development team, notably Diane Berghan and Rebecca Lay, to two trips in the country’s largest city.

The first was a ferry trip to Waiheke Island, an island that started out as a refuge for hippies and artists, and those just fed up with the pace of city life, and has grown from a few hundred people 30 years ago to now house 8,000, with double that in actual houses, which reveals its popularity as a holiday home destination.

We were informed by our guide that the Rothschilds of New York came here where frightened by JFK’s feuds with Cuba and fears of a nuclear war, and they still have million-dollar property on the island, while Graham Henry, the All Blacks coach, also has a house here.

We could see why with a stunning array of glorious little inlets and beaches every corner you turn, and a lovely slow pace to life. The island has famous Stony Batter World War Two gun emplacements, built in case the Japanese reached New Zealand, but never used, and Stony Batter is now a popular wine label.

It is one of 26 vineyards on the island, and what is captivating about the ones we visited was how small an operation they all are. But that takes you to the heart of wine-making with delightful German Heike Sonnenschein at Kennedy Point, Waiheke’s first organic vineyard, revealing an absorbing passion for every little detail of trimming the vines and getting the best possible grape harvest for her bosses, in the same way an experienced farmer would speak of the challenge of getting the best crops. And Heike came to New Zealand as a civil engineer!

There was a similar down-to-earth appeal at ‘Wild on Waiheke’, where they produce a superb range of unpasteurised beer in their microbrewery, which gives it a purer taste than many, as well as good wines.

Olive oil is also big on Waiheke and I have to admit my palate has never been particularly stretched by different olive oils. It has now, first by Anne Stanimiroff and Colin Sayles, who took us through the whole process of producing their gold medal-winning olive oil from the trees to the bottle, which should always be dark, by the way, to keep its taste, and by the Kennedy Point team. We also were treated to Te Matuku Bay oysters, but Tom had had his fill in Bluff.

The trip was topped off with lunch at Mudbrick Restaurant, which moves wine-making into another league. Like the others, it is relatively new, the first vines planted only in 1992 by owners Nick and Robyn Jones, but already this is a good-sized operation producing first-class wines. They have gone further with a stunning location for a restaurant, made from hand-hewn mud bricks funnily enough, and cooking worthy of the finest London venues.

The New York Times reckoned Mudbrick was “a must-see when visiting Auckland”, and I can only wholeheartedly agree. The view alone from the restaurant table is the best I have ever witnessed. My Italian media colleague Paolo Ligammari of Corriere Della Sera was similarly blown away, and the Roman has probably visited many more vineyards than I.

In truth, to visit New Zealand and not take the short hop from Auckland to Waiheke Island would be to miss a wonderful slice of unexpected heaven.

Back on the mainland the following day and with a few hours to kill before heading to Eden Park for the long-awaited clash with England, a small group of media headed out of town to have a shot at quad-biking. It was eventful to say the least, but we will spare the blushes of those who could not get their bikes moving, were happy to stay in first gear all day, let out small screams at the prospect of their bikes sliding down sand dunes and those of us who had an ever so slight ‘off’.

It was a great way to banish some cobwebs, escape the laptops for a few hours and quicken the pulse rates … though that turned out to be unnecessary as we took our seats in a packed Eden Park and endured what followed on Saturday night.

It has been a memorable tour, for too many wrong reasons on the field sadly but plenty of great ones off it, as New Zealand tourism, the cities and ordinary people have gone out of their way to offer the hand of friendship to World Cup visitors. Invercargill, Wellington and Auckland, especially Waiheke, have been wonderful places to get to know, all with different, but equally alluring attractions, and I would wholeheartedly endorse the idea of skipping one or two summer holidays in Europe to save up for the experience of visiting New Zealand.

And when you do make sure you check out Tourism New Zealand at newzealand.com. From Stewart Island and Bluff in the south, through the wine trail from the tip of South Island up the North Island and to Waiheke, there are wonderful gems in this country that I never appreciated, even after six weeks here covering the British and Irish Lions tour in 2005. We have been given a small insight into some of them, for which I thank all the staff across the country that have been so accommodating – particularly with ever-changing writing and press conference schedules.

It has certainly provided us with a great experience and fuelled the belief that my family would be missing out if they never had the opportunity to come here.

Thank you New Zealand.