Rugby practice and an extinct volcano
On an evening walk, it started raining. I passed a rugby field and saw some locals practicing rugby. They were having a grand time under the lights while getting wet. They were intent on their practice. I wondered if it was a high school group or possibly people in college, though today the local university was doing registration.
As I passed, I realized it was a girls’ team. I’d be surprised if the majority of young women in New Zealand haven’t played rugby at some point. One of the Sky Sports channels has rugby on, and both men’s and women’s, nearly all the time.
But then well passed them on the walk, I had to stop and turn around and check something that had just occurred to me. Yep, confirmed. There wasn’t an adult around. Perhaps it was a college group, but even if it was, I was impressed.
Auckland has over 1.5 million people in it. In the winter, after dark, and in the rain, here were some 10 girls or so, by themselves practicing rugby, happy, and without a concern. I wondered how many other cities in the world where this would be possible, where there wouldn’t be hovering adults.
But that’s sort of Auckland.
Earlier in the day, I’d been at Mt. Eden, an extinct volcano where the dome had collapsed and was now viewable via walkways with signs that ask hikers not to step into the cone or on the grass as the area is considered sacred space to many. I only saw one tourist break that, and only for a second.
There’s something about walking around a volcano that once blew lava that lends itself to just feeling awe and respect. I certainly have that for Auckland and New Zealand.
Safety and care are seemingly becoming more and more dormant and extinct, though clearly not here. It’s hard not to be impressed with the walkways, the rugby practice, and the view of what life could be here.