Bowling Over the High Seas
With Thanks to Ann Armstrong
The idea was simple and just my idea of heaven. A 14 night cruise for a maximum of 50 lawn bowlers, sailing Brisbane to Brisbane on the Sun Princess and a game of bowls at a local Club near each of the six ports of call around the east coast of New Zealand.
A member of the Kallangur Bowls Club, Phil Blank, a gentleman with a fetish for organising, hand delivered flyers advertising his plan to most Brisbane Clubs including Cleveland and posted more to Clubs far and wide. The trip was booked out six months before the departure date 24th January, to the surprise of the local travel agent Phil had approached.
The Sun Princess proved to be a very comfortable home. We had 4 days of cruising and a scenic sail through the Fiords to enjoy before our first call at Port Chalmers near Dunedin. Phil had arranged for a coach to collect us for a tour of the city before delivering us to the Westpac Bowls Stadium. This is an indoor facility like the one at Tweed Heads. We were put into teams and played three short games with some of the locals. This setup is mainly used in the winter when it is very popular because playing outside is not possible. Most of the bowls group were seated together for dinner each night so much fun was had talking over the happenings of the day. Even our waiters were memorable, one preferring to be known as Bond, James Bond and Ketut (Kiss me Ketut). They were a side show every night.
Our next stop was Akoroa a French flavoured town of 600 inhabitants 85 kilometres south of Christchurch. The cruise ships can’t dock at Christchurch now because the recent earthquake wrecked the wharf and its infrastructure. The ship anchored and we clambered aboard a tender for the trip ashore. Akoroa is situated around a pretty bay. The bowls club, so Phil told us, was an easy walk away. Just as well we had a couple of hours to spare because it took all of that time as some of us looked into every shop and the markets along the way. This club had never hosted a visiting group before so the members all pitched in to try to kill us with food and friendship. There was only one green, an old artificial type of surface and it was lightning fast.
We were getting into our stride now and the next morning the ship docked at Wellington. The Wilton Bowls club members welcomed our group with a large lunch then a game of bowls on their weed greens. These strange looking greens consisted of what looked like tiny dandelions. They looked wet and slow but ran like our fastest greens. We had a good look around Wellington and a great guide to tell us all about the effects of earthquakes and volcanos on the landscape. We heard a lot about earthquakes everywhere we went but didn’t experience one thank goodness.
Napier Bowls club was our next call and then on to Tauranga to the Maunganui Sports Club; different again, very flash and modern with two good real grass greens and one artificial one. We enjoyed a tour and a visit to the local shopping centre where we discovered we had made the local paper as the Australian bowlers coming to play New Zealand (underarm bowling was mentioned! very funny). We played bowls with the ship for a backdrop. For each day’s play Phil chose one team at random for a challenge match against a team of locals. The locals didn’t play fair and chose their best, even importing players from other clubs. Fearing a 6 zip drubbing Phil picked his best team for the last game against Mt Eden in Auckland. The format was arranged before the game, 18 ends, but when New Zealand was just in front at 16 ends they rang the bell! I’m glad that Australian cricketer bowled underarm!
After six days in a row of bowls, the four day trip back to Australia allowed tired muscles to recover. It was a wonderful trip, beautifully organized, the food and service top notch, even the weather was perfect, no wind no rain and smooth seas all the way. The 47 bowlers from 30 different clubs and three bowls supporters from around Brisbane and as far north as Tully will I’m sure agree it was a cruise with a difference that will be fondly remembered.
Bowls Tour of New Zealand
With Thanks to Thea Beswick
'Cruising and bowls, I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven'
This remark came from Ann, one of the lawn bowlers over dinner on our first night at sea on the Sun Princess. We were on a two week cruise to New Zealand where we would play lawn bowls in the six ports of call with a tour of each destination included. There were fifty of us, three being non bowling spouses. The tour was arranged by Phil Blank who is a keen bowler and an ex New Zealander with local knowledge. When Phil floated the idea of a bowls tour combined with a cruise the response was enthusastic. Soon after posting the advertising for the tour to Bowls Clubs around Queensland the tour was booked out.
We boarded the Sun Princess in Brisbane on the 24th of January 2013 and spent the first three days at sea getting to know each other and enjoying the on board activities. The Bowlers came from twenty clubs, Tully in the North to Burleigh Heads in the South. We made a colourful show all wearing our Club uniforms on our first port of call in New Zealand. We disembarked to find our bus waiting to take us on a tour of the lovley old city of Dunedin before dropping us off at the very impressive Westpac Community Bowls Stadium. We were made welcome by President Paddy O'Neil, then served an enjoyable lunch. After three games of ten ends we were back on the ship in time for a shower and dress for dinner. Our next port of call was Akaroa, a delightful town which was settled by French Walers in 1840. As the bowls club was only a short walk from the wharf we took our time investigating the shops along the way. The Akaroa Bowls Club house had only recently been re built after the last earthquake which caused more damage to Christchurch. The warm weclome we received from President Robin Griffiths belied the fact that this club had been through trying times.
Wellington on the North Island was our next port. Our bus driver gave us a running commentory on the history of the area on our tour before taking us to the Wilton Bowls Club for lunch and two games of bowls. President Grant Smith made us most welcome. The next stop was Napier, the art deco city of New Zealand. After our bus tour we were taken to the Napier Bowls Club at Hawkes Bay. We were welcomed by Robyn Pritchard for lunch and an afternoon of bowls. The port of Tauranga was our next stop. This port was huge, with much of the shipping traffic of New Zealand using this facility. After a comprehensive tour of the city sights we were taken to the Mount Maunganui Sports Stadium where we were once again treated to an enjoyable lunch. Our tour group had made the local newspaper at Mount Manganui with the tongue in cheek comment 'under arm bowlers visiting'. A test match had been set up at each bowls club with four of our best playing four of their best. So far, NZ 5 – AUS 0 .
Sadly, our last day of bowls was upon us. After our bus tour of Auckland city, we were taken to the Mount Eden Bowling Club which was a grand old club house established in 1896. President Donna Cross made us feel at home and after a hearty lunch we had our last game of bowls in New Zealand. Test match - NZ 6 -AUS 0 local knowledge won out.
The general consences of the tour – thoroughly enjoyable and a wonderful bowling experience. Without exception we were warmly welcomed and heartly catered for by our New Zealand host bowling clubs. The tour included bus tours of five cities, lunches and green fees at all clubs. On the 7th of February we disembarked in Brisbane, back to the real world.
Thea Beswick 04.03.2013