We woke very early today so that we could make it to the ferry to the North Island in time. The first thing that I did was checked to see if the roads were open and the ferry was running. Fortune was apparently in our favor. The road to Picton was open, though all of the other major routes out of Nelson were closed. The ferry was running. And the previous night’s storm had apparenly blown itself out. The weather for our drive would be mild. We packed up and hit the road in the dark. As the sun rose, we drove along flooded fields.

After a couple of hours, we reached the ferry terminal, dropped off the cars and waited. In the terminal we noticed quite a few people wearing gear for the All Blacks, New Zealand’s legendary rugby national team. I discovered online that both the All Blacks, which is the men’s rugby team, and the Black Ferns, which is the women’s rugby team, had games that night. The All Blacks would play France — Les Bleus — and the Black Ferns would play Australia — the Wallaroos.

Around 10, we boarded the boat, and by 11 we were headed off to the North Island. We’ve immensely enjoyed our time on the South Island, particularly the unspoiled natural beauty and the lack of crowds. The North Island is much more developed. It’s a bit smaller than the South Island but has three times as many people. I think we were all a little sad to be leaving the South Island.

But the landscape should be the only thing around here that gets dramatic. We were lucky to have had such an amazing experience on the South Island. We’ve seen and done far more than most people. Over the past month or so, we have driven more than 3,000 miles on the South Island. That’s more than the width of the entire United States. And all of that driving was in a space smaller than the state of Georgia.

Besides, the North Island is still New Zealand, and New Zealand is still amazing. Indeed, the North Island welcomed us with a small rainbow.

On the boat, we noticed even more people decked out in All Blacks and Black Ferns swag. The ferry announced that it was offering face painting for the kids. I figured it was just something to pass the time, as the ferry crossing would take about 3 hours. But then we started seeing kids with black ferns on their cheeks, a symbol of support for both Kiwi teams. Julie said that she thought the games might actually be in Wellington. I jumped online to check, and she was right. And there were still a few tickets, which I immediately bought. I couldn’t believe our luck! I’ve been hearing about the All Blacks my whole life — the world dominating team from the tiny country of New Zealand. The All Blacks are currently ranked second in the world, just behind South Africa.

We got to Wellington, picked up a new rental car, and headed off to our AirBNB. This was house number 12 for Team Hubbard.

Time was tight. There was no way we were going to make the Black Ferns game against the Wallaroos, since that started at 4:30 pm. In fact, it was going to be tough to make it in time for the start of the All Blacks match. We raced through the grocery store and wolfed down dinner. Unfortunately, we also had a small casualty. Cassie wasn’t feeling well, and opted to skip the rugby match. But she was also supportive and insisted that we all go and enjoy ourselves.

We also had to figure out how to get back downtown to the stadium. Parking nearby would be impossible. When we had picked up our rental car, we’d seen signs saying that the car parks were already sold out. We decided to take the bus, which had a stop near our new house. Of course, we were running late and had to run to the bus stop, arriving with just a couple of minutes to spare. But then we discovered that the bus required passes that you couldn’t buy online. The driver told us to get on anyway and didn’t charge us for the ride. Because New Zealand is New Zealand.

Soon, we were in our seats in a stadium packed with more than 33,000 fans. As I watched the All Blacks warm up, I surreptitiously brushed up on my rugby knowledge on my phone. The game started with the French national anthem, and I was surprised to hear a number of voices singing. Indeed, there were French flags scattered here and there in the arena. It turns out that rugby is a popular sport in France, and Les Bleus are currently ranked fourth in the world. But the francophiles were far, far outnumbered by Kiwis. Strong voices rang out around the stadium for the New Zealand national anthem, which includes portions in both English and Māori. Fortunately, there was a screen with lyrics for newbies like us.

After the anthems, we got to the part of the match that I most wanted to see—the All Blacks Haka. This was why I’d been rushing my family to get to the match on time.

Tip of the hat to Les Bleus. If I’d been on the field watching this intimidating display, I might have politely declined to play the match. And what a match! The All Blacks dominated the French, outscoring Les Bleus 29-3 in the first half.

We were sitting right behind the end zone that the All Blacks were attacking, giving us great views of the action. Lydie quickly became an All Blacks fan.

Julie was also an enthusiastic supporter, but she was also a little cold.

The second half was evenly matched, with both teams scoring two tries, much to the delight of the small number of French fans.

The game ended 43 to 17, a resounding victory for New Zealand. We left the stadium elated.

The South Island set the bar extremely high. On the ferry, I’d wondered if the North Island would deliver the same unforgettable experiences. Yep. It took Wellington less than 8 hours. Wow.

-Will