On Tour!

Halfway thru the NZ National Tour now. Started in Christchurch on Sumner Beach, staying in the very nice Grand Chancellor Hotel. Was good to join back up with the sandy crew and also did a bit of refereeing along with coaching Team Biopaints. Drove back to Nelson taking the boys from Chile and sandy Tony stopping at the very nice Maruia Falls . In Nelson we hosted a Grand Slam tournament—had 2 perfect days of hot sunny weather on Tahuna Beach—the best beach volleyball beach in NZ! I played with Cory—pulled him out of retirement we won 3 games and lost 1 and then defaulted our quarterfinal meaning we finished in 7th. After a day off on Thursday to finish packing and have a nice BBQ/swim up the river with mates and family, it was off to Wellington via the ferry with Team Biopaints. Wellington was its normal wet self on the first day of the tournament. I played as well as my coaching and crew duties making for a busy day. Finals day was much finer however and we had some great semis and finals. Monday was a long drive up the North Island to Whakatane which is where I write this from. Its hot here and today we setup on the beach and tomorrow the tournament starts. I will be playing again but mostly hoping Anna and Bailey do well—they are seeded 8th and have a favourable draw so here's hoping!!