Fun in the sun: Paceman James Fuller brings us up to speed on his time in New Zealand
20 January 2015
Hi all,
It’s been a little over a month since I landed in New Zealand and the time has flown by.
Unfortunately due to my injury history I haven’t been playing any cricket over here. Initially I was gutted but the extended break has given me a good opportunity to focus on my fitness and hopefully build a more injury resistant body for the upcoming season.
Soooo, what have I been up to in beautiful New Zealand?
My cousin from South Africa was over for three weeks, which gave our family a great excuse to travel the North Island and show him the best bits. We started off with the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a one-day trek that is ranked as the best in New Zealand and in top 10 in the world. It’s a 20km walk that twists between and over active volcanoes and gets to an altitude of 1900m. We had clear skies all the way to the top and the scenery was truly spectacular.
But the weather changed in a flash making the descent tricky as we had to deal with wind, rain, sleet, clouds and extreme cold due to the altitude. The scoria slopes however were great fun and we found the best way to deal with them was the lunge and slide technique. By the time we made it to the end we were shattered.
A quick trip back to Taupo saw us enjoy the famous hot water springs and a celebratory drink on the lake’s edge, followed by an indoor barbeque thanks to the rain.
So that was Day 1. Jet lag… what jet lag!
Christmas Day was an absolute belter. We spent it with family and friends, food was cooked on the BBQ and the afternoon was spent playing back yard cricket. I must have taken 20 wickets before we headed down to the beach for touch rugby and a swim. Perfect.
On Boxing Day we drove to Mount Maunganui where we spent the next two weeks. One of my daily activities included running up the Mount (see pic) - my personal best was 15mins but I couldn’t make it all the way to the top without stopping.
We also visited Rotorua to give my cousin the authentic cultural experience including a Maori Hāngi where the food was cooked underground, heated by rocks. We also had a go at downhill luge and wake boarding as well as visiting the boiling mud pools and geysers of te WhakarewarewatangaoteOpeTauaaWahiao (full name - give it a try!).
I then jetted over to Melbourne to catch up with a mate. While there I played some golf and went to the MCG to watch the Big Bash game between the Stars and Renegades, a classic that went down to the last ball in front of a crowd of 37,000.
But it’s not all been fun. As part of my fitness training I competed in a sprint triathlon that consisted of a 600m swim, 27km bike ride and a 5km run. My time was 1hr 33min 19sec. I’m glad I play cricket because the guys who do that are seriously fit! On the plus side I am feeling good and I’ve been back bowling off the long run and it’s coming out nicely.
It’s now less than two weeks until I fly back and I am looking forward to seeing my girlfriend Lucy and catching up with all the guys in the changing room. I am also looking forward to re-establishing my number one ranking in table tennis. My arch nemesis Denty had the wood over me before I left - hopefully he hasn’t been practicing.
Cya Soon! Do I need to bring any sun block??
James
