vidmar
Bencher
Kia Ora!
Well nearly time for us to be heading across the Tasman for the first MWTS International tour of the year – And I, for one, can’t wait…mind you, having looked at the MWTS and NZ trip Facebook pages it would seem I’m not the only one!
When we last played the Warriors in NZ it was round 1 of last season and many of the regulars had “done their dough” on the World Club Challenge tour a couple of weeks before so numbers were fairly low for that NZ trip but this time - a different matter with around 100 people gathering so far for Sundays game (We do always pick up some “waifs and strays” along the way – some of whom are now regulars on these trips!)
Most of the MWTS group travelling with Marks Ambassador Holidays group from Sydney and Brisbane are heading over early on Saturday morning however some have already left and some are heading over Thursday or Friday (AM & PM).
As we have a decent sized group travelling we’ve been able to negotiate all manner of discounts for such things as airport shuttle busses, staff discount at an airport coffee shop we’ve chosen as the meet point and even free/discounted drinks at venues in NZ so nice to be able to be able to offer some additional benefits for the tourists over above a really good time with great people.
Over the weekend there are a few groups scattered around town in various levels of accommodation with the main group opting for the Crowne Plaza so that will be Manly HQ for the weekend.
There are also quite a few locals who support Manly and we have met over the years and they will also be joining us for the weekend along with those “doing their own thing” outside of game day.
Saturday early evening we’ll have a meet and greet and then on to O’Hagan’s bar (in the Viaduct area of Auckland) for dinner and drinks – all welcome and we should be there from around 7.30’ish if anyone would like to catch up with the group.
Be mindful that the All-Blacks play a test vs. the French that evening so most bars will be busy - we’ve arranged a “reserved area” for the group so we’ll be right (As we’ve been to O’Hagan’s before and they love us they have even done us a deal for discounted drinks which is much appreciated!).
Sunday is game day and after a hearty breakfast we’ll be heading in 2 coaches to meet members of the Mt Albert Rugby League Club at their club house for a hangi, some Haka lessons and a couple of pre-game drinks.
The Club is tour host Darrell Williams old club and we are looking forward to hearing some true stories about Darrell’s youth….
We’ll also be joined by some of the ex-Manly players that live in the local area so this promises to be a lot of fun and a great way to build the atmosphere for the game.
We’ve sorted transport to and from the ground, have got decent match tickets and as we have a great group of people it means we’ll be a passionate and vocal support group for the boys so we’re hoping for a great game and a big win!
Post-game we’ll head back for a quick change and for those who want to kick on we’ll head back to the Viaduct post game (Cowboys bar is doing us pizza and beers post game so head there if you want to join us?)
To those heading over – safe travels and looking forward to catching up with you all.
For those not travelling but who would like to be kept informed of future MWTS trips - email your name to Mark at [email protected] and he’ll be happy to add you to the group email list (No SPAM or Junk mail sent and only Manly tour related info will be sent to you)
Well nearly time for us to be heading across the Tasman for the first MWTS International tour of the year – And I, for one, can’t wait…mind you, having looked at the MWTS and NZ trip Facebook pages it would seem I’m not the only one!
When we last played the Warriors in NZ it was round 1 of last season and many of the regulars had “done their dough” on the World Club Challenge tour a couple of weeks before so numbers were fairly low for that NZ trip but this time - a different matter with around 100 people gathering so far for Sundays game (We do always pick up some “waifs and strays” along the way – some of whom are now regulars on these trips!)
Most of the MWTS group travelling with Marks Ambassador Holidays group from Sydney and Brisbane are heading over early on Saturday morning however some have already left and some are heading over Thursday or Friday (AM & PM).
As we have a decent sized group travelling we’ve been able to negotiate all manner of discounts for such things as airport shuttle busses, staff discount at an airport coffee shop we’ve chosen as the meet point and even free/discounted drinks at venues in NZ so nice to be able to be able to offer some additional benefits for the tourists over above a really good time with great people.
Over the weekend there are a few groups scattered around town in various levels of accommodation with the main group opting for the Crowne Plaza so that will be Manly HQ for the weekend.
There are also quite a few locals who support Manly and we have met over the years and they will also be joining us for the weekend along with those “doing their own thing” outside of game day.
Saturday early evening we’ll have a meet and greet and then on to O’Hagan’s bar (in the Viaduct area of Auckland) for dinner and drinks – all welcome and we should be there from around 7.30’ish if anyone would like to catch up with the group.
Be mindful that the All-Blacks play a test vs. the French that evening so most bars will be busy - we’ve arranged a “reserved area” for the group so we’ll be right (As we’ve been to O’Hagan’s before and they love us they have even done us a deal for discounted drinks which is much appreciated!).
Sunday is game day and after a hearty breakfast we’ll be heading in 2 coaches to meet members of the Mt Albert Rugby League Club at their club house for a hangi, some Haka lessons and a couple of pre-game drinks.
The Club is tour host Darrell Williams old club and we are looking forward to hearing some true stories about Darrell’s youth….
We’ll also be joined by some of the ex-Manly players that live in the local area so this promises to be a lot of fun and a great way to build the atmosphere for the game.
We’ve sorted transport to and from the ground, have got decent match tickets and as we have a great group of people it means we’ll be a passionate and vocal support group for the boys so we’re hoping for a great game and a big win!
Post-game we’ll head back for a quick change and for those who want to kick on we’ll head back to the Viaduct post game (Cowboys bar is doing us pizza and beers post game so head there if you want to join us?)
To those heading over – safe travels and looking forward to catching up with you all.
For those not travelling but who would like to be kept informed of future MWTS trips - email your name to Mark at [email protected] and he’ll be happy to add you to the group email list (No SPAM or Junk mail sent and only Manly tour related info will be sent to you)
