The Race That Stops Two Nations

Tuesday

To Ronan it may seem like he's in school for a long time each day, but it goes by fast. After Sherry dropped him off, we all piled in the rental and headed for Hamilton. Carver drove, only taking one errant turn, but we kept cautioning him that he was riding the left shoulder. Mark was in the front passenger seat, and was constantly afraid that he was going to meet the business end of a bridge abutment. There were plenty of construction zones which slowed us down, and Carver nearly knocked down several traffic cones, quick to point out, "But I never did." The rumble strip on the side of the road eventually served to make Mark's point, though.

The rain that pestered us for most of the way cleared as we reached the Hamilton Gardens. We knew we were pushed for time, so we walked straight to the Paradise Garden collection. The Japanese Contemplation Garden reminded N&C of the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. The Italian Renaissance Garden and English Flower Garden were probably the most impressive today. Unfortunately, we caught the Indian Char Bagh Garden (our favorite) the week they were plowing it under for replanting.

Enjoying the Japanese garden

"Is that a...no, it's a...wait, it might be a..."

Crossing a bridge in the Chinese garden

Entrance to the Chinese Scholars Garden

Norma & Carver by the Waikato River

Overlooking the Italian Renaissance Garden

Sherry's just happy it was a good hair day

We stopped at the Gardens Cafe overlooking the turtle pond for lunch, where Carver got a bitter lesson in how to order coffee in NZ. He ordered a "short black," thinking he was ordering a small black coffee, but in Australia and NZ a "short black" means an espresso! He kept spooning Norma's chocolate milkshake (closer to chocolate milk) into his cup to dilute the strong taste. We all ate off the large pieces of cake N&C ordered as we waited for our sandwiches. Sherry got a toasted veggie on rye, while Mark and Carver got bacon paninis, which were delicious. Norma didn't order anything else, not expecting park cafe food to be very good, but was pleasantly surprised with Carver's selection.

Carver was a hit with the birds

It started raining while we were eating, and although we stayed relatively dry under a table umbrella, the prospects for seeing more of the gardens and still making it home in time to pick Ro up from school were fading rapidly. We headed for the car, and Mark drove to save time. We stopped briefly at the overlook at the crest of the Kaimais to take in the expansive view of the Waikato Plain, and the weather turned much nicer once we crossed over to the Bay of Plenty.

Above the Waikato Plain

We freshened up back at home, and Norma came over to our place to assemble the platter of baklava to take to Kathryn and Bill's party. Meanwhile, Mark walked down to the liquor store for a bottle of wine and stopped in nextdoor at the TAB (i.e. off-track betting), which was packed with revelers anticipating the race. We drove over to Kathryn and Bill's place, parking at the beach and walking across Marine Parade where Kathryn had done up their house with balloons and flower petals. We all felt a little under-dressed when we walked in, but the champagne was flowing too fast to care. It was time for the 149th running of the Melbourne Cup!

Half the Mount seemed to be at the TAB this afternoon

With AUS$95 million bet on the race in New South Wales and Victoria alone, it is the biggest betting day in Australia (and NZ for that matter). The horse race is one of the longest in the world, which traditionally nullifies the notion of a "favorite." It's anybody's race! To keep things interesting, Bill ran a "sweeps"; basically a betting pool where you pitch in $5 or $1 and get a horse to cheer for at random. If it wins, you collect what's in the pot. Mark put a buck in for each of us in the dollar pool, and Norma won! The winning horse, Shocking, paid 10-1 at the TAB, but Norma outdid that, winning $23.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Cup

"There's MY horse!"

Norma collecting her winnings

Even Ro and Mat got into it, cheering on "their" horse, Daffodil, a local Kiwi favorite. Bill handed out the money to the "sweeps" winners, then gave out traditional prizes to the best dressed woman and the one with the best hat. The women socialized in the living room and kitchen, as the men adjourned to the sunroom overlooking the beach. Our hosts constantly refilled our glasses, and we eventually had to take our leave to avoid becoming completely sloshed. Those Aussies know how to party!

The Kiwis were very interested in what Carver had to say about Schwarzenegger and Obama

Once home, we put Ro in the bath and whipped together a quick dinner of lamb pockets (from the butcher), steamed veggies, and salad. Mark offered to make gin and tonics for everyone, but was quickly vetoed as Sherry and his parents uniformly shouted, "just water!"