After many months of planning and fundraising the tour party comprising of mainly first XV members and some second XV members embarked on the schools second tour of South Africa. On Wednesday 2 July the team departed Hastings en route to Auckland for a nights accommodation at the Travellers Inn.  An early flight to Hong Kong saw the team arrive at Auckland International Airport just after breakfast. After successfully completing a group check in and getting through customs the team departed on a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. Eleven hours later the team touched down in Hong Kong, a magnificent sight at night with the sky line and the city below. After a four hour stop over the team departed on a twelve hour flight to Johannesberg where they would catch a connecting flight into Namibia.

It would be here that the team would spend the next four days being hosted by Windhoek Hoerskool. The team was to play in the inaugural Windhoek Sports Tournament a first for any New Zealand school. On arrival the team was taken to the Kalahari Sands Hotel and Casino which was to be the base for our Namibian leg of the tour.

The first game of the tour was against our old foe Paarl Boys College. This encounter proved  to be a difficult one for the team as the heat, the long haul flight and new ELV's finally took its toll on the boys which saw them go down 21 – 11.

The next couple of days saw the boys do a game drive at Okapuka Game Park a city tour and have their first taste of shopping African style. The team quickly endeared themselves to their hosts and hotel staff with many of our boys on a first name basis with the buffet breakfast crew at the hotel.

After this leg the team flew to Cape Town which would see their next game against Stellenbosch Boys cancelled due to the fact that the schools fields and many of the parks were under water after nineteen days of rain. The disappointment of this was soon forgotten as the team was taken to the biggest shopping complex in the southern hemisphere Century City. The team spent the day here and at the Vand A Waterfront making the most of the bargains and a strong kiwi dollar. The next few days included such sights as Table Mountain, The Cape of Good Hope, Access Park where the boys bought sport shoes, boots and casual shoes from as little as NZ$30.00. The team was also treated to a guided tour of the informal townships of Cape Town. This tour proved to be one of the high lights of the tour as the students and supporters were exposed to poverty and a standard of living they had never seen before. They also tried their hand a bartering at the many street markets around the city.

The team’s third game saw them play a well drilled Bellville Hoerskool side. The game started at a ferocious pace and by half time we found ourselves trailing 15 -0. A more committed approach by the team saw the game settle and the forwards  make inroads into the Bellvile half but the damage had been done and the team lost its second match of the tour 25 -7.

From here the team flew into Johannesberg where they would see out the remainder of the tour. The tour party was hosted by Bekker Hoerskool  a co ed boarding school two hours out of Johannesberg. The boys stayed at the school while the staff and supporters were hosted at the Hornbil Lodge. Whilst in Johannesberg the team was treated to a Curry Cup game at Ellis Park. The stadium, cheerleaders and the food vendors ensured a great time was had by all. The team also got to tour through Loftus Stadium home of the Super 14 side The Bulls. This enabled boys to visit the changing room of the Springboks and the changing room which the All Blacks use. Interesting to note the difference in quality of the two rooms. The next day saw the team on another game drive through Pillannesberg  National Game Park where zebra, elephant and rhino were spotted. An evening meal at Carnivore Restaurant where all meats are cooked on open spits and served on swords at your plate finished off another memorable day. A day at the famed Sun City Resort was another highlight. At Sun City is the Valley of the Waves which includes waterslides beaches and a man made wave pool that sees a four foot wave every three minutes. This was the perfect way to conclude our Johaanesberg leg. The final day of the tour also saw us play our final game of the tour. In a very physical and tense match against Bekker the final score ended up being a nil all draw. This was a fair and true indication of the game and was a fitting way to end the tour.

The final part of the trip was a ten hour stop over in Hong Kong where the boys did the hard yards in 35degree heat at 80% humidity. This however did not slow them up too much and many of the team could be seen with new phones, PSP's and iPods on the way back to the airport. On the 17 July the tour party departed Hong Kong en route for Auckland. Eleven hours later the plane touched down in Auckland, with a six hour bus trip the only thing left between the tour party and HOME SWEET HOME.

Q Crawford

Teacher in Charge