My favourite part of the year.
Last weekend I went down to Surfers Paradise with an old mate for his birthday. Nothing but warm sun, beach and drinks. Thanks to the Le Chelsea for another enjoyable stay. Highlights were the pasta at Billy Baxters, The Sushi Train at Broadbeach, The Beer Garden nightclub and The Groove Train bar in Robina. Top weekend as always.
This weekend marks the annual Brisbane Oktoberfest at the RNA Showgrounds. Thousands of people enjoying beer, sausage, pork knuckles and the music. If you're bored pop down for a beer, we'll be there, starting just before lunch on Saturday the 13th.
Pics from last year
A little late, but I did end up going to the South Island of New Zealand and it was magnificent. I'm still getting together all of the photos and will put them up on my website soon.
Our itinerary was:
Flew from Brisbane to Christchurch and stayed one night there. We had dinner down the road from the motel at the Monteith's Hotel. It was fantastic, the beer was superb and my first taste of NZ seafood was a terrific blue cod fish and chips. Sarah had the pork belly which was massive.
The next morning we flew to Queenstown and checked into our hotel at the Mercure Queenstown Resort, which was nestled on one of Queenstown's massive mountains. The view was spectacular. Since we arrived a little early to check in, the concierge booked us lunch at a restaurant that is only assessable via gondolier. We travelled up into the sky and had a huge all you can eat buffet. We got some great photos, checked out the town and went to bed early after some tasty room service.
Early the next morning we were picked up from our hotel by Real Adventures who took us on an all day tour to Milford Sound. The trip was long, but enjoyable. Once we arrived there, we were put onto a boat that took us on a nature tour around the sound. We got some more photos and got close enough to see some lazy seals. After the long day, we had dinner at the hotel restaurant, which was nice.
The next day we had two things booked in. Number one was an exciting ride on the Queenstown Shotover Jet. A high powered jet boat that goes through the Shotover river and through some canyons. Pretty cool. After that we went into town for lunch and then got picked up for our afternoon event, which was a tour out to the Onsen Hot Pools. We had the indulgence package which included champagne, grapes and an hour in our own private hot tub that had its own retractable front wall and roof that gave us a view over the mountains. After that we went into Queenstown for dinner, Sombreros Mexican Restaurant. Definitely recommended.
After another early morning pick up, we headed out to do some skiing at the Cardrona Ski Fields. Sarah went skiing, I did the snowboarding. Sarah was probably the better of the two of us. We spent most of the day in lessons, so in hindsight we should probably have done two days there. Dinner was room service again...gotta love those room delivered pizzas.
The last day in Queenstown was unplanned, so we just hung around the town. Breakfast was very nice, we killed some time at the Wharf Casino, then some Chinese for lunch and then hit the local wine tasting place. After some very tasty beverages we tried the local Italian place. The service was wonderful and the wine was prefect. The pasta itself was a little bit of a let down, but still an enjoyable day.
The next day we flew back to Christchurch where we once again hit up the Monteiths Hotel (massive chicken wings with sweet chili sauce and sour cream for entree...so awesome). Steaks and Lamb for dinner with some more of their great beer capped off our trip nicely. The next day we flew back to Brisbane.
A terrific holiday that I would thoroughly recommend. We did have perfect weather the whole time, so I guess we were a little lucky. Also with all our early morning starts, we didn't get a chance to check out the Queenstown nightlife, so a return trip with a group of mates will have to be done.
choice trip bro
Ok, been a while since I last posted. Tax time has come and gone for me. For once the tax man was kind. So the next logical step is a holiday. I've thrown around a couple of options, but the one leading the race is the New Zealand South Islands. The plan is to land in Christchurch, then make my way over to Queenstown. Plenty to do there I've been told. It will probably be cold. Other options are Fiji and on a smaller budget, our own Hunter Valley. Fiji for the beach, the Hunter for the wine. Kiwi-land will be the more expensive option. We did get Flight Centre to do a quote for us. Although Sarah might not be happy with the possibility of driving with snow chains. I would, but unfortunately hire car company's don't care for P platers. Ether way I should be flying somewhere around mid August. Any of my kiwi friends let me know your tips for the South Island if we end up on going. It will be choice bro.
Ok, so I was off in a few of my tips. Who would have picked Greece and Czech Republic to finish top two of a group that contained Russia and Poland? Especially after the Russians smashed the Czech Republic in the first game. My Spain v Germany final is still on track. The competition is now up to the quarter final stages.
Czech Republic v Portugal
The Czech's will need a bit of luck and players like Rosicky to be ready when Christiano Ronaldo and Nani come to town. Ronaldo is flying and will tear them apart if they are not careful. The Czech's will rely on a bit of experience in their keeper Cech and striker Milan Baros. But i think Portugal will be too strong after emerging from the group of death and gladly playing the Czech Republic instead of Russia.
Prediction - Portugal 2-0
Germany v Greece
The Germans couldn't have planned it better if they tried. The Germans are just rolling along at the moment, not smashing teams, but doing enough. Even in second gear, the likes of Ozil, Gomez and Schweinstiger will be way too strong for the 2004 champions.
Prediction - Germany 3-0
Spain v France
The game of the quarters. Both teams loaded with talent. Spain started a little slow but are still the best squad on paper. Torres is liking his starting spot, Xavi is calling all the shots and they are about to hit their stride. France are struggling a little, but are all class. Benzema is demanding up front and with a little help from Ribery and Nasri, they could cause a big boil over here.
Prediction - Spain 2-1
England v Italy
England are performing very well despite their lead up. New manager Roy Hogdson has the squad gelling very well. Rooney leading the front line with Wellbeck should ask the Italians some good questions. The Italians are struggling to score. Pirlo is pulling the strings from midfield, but the strikers are failing to capitalise. Balotelli could be the wildcard if he gets some time on the pitch.
Prediction - Italy 2-1 (in penalties)
One of the biggest football events is about to take place on the far side of the world. The 2012 UEFA European Football championship. The final tournament is played between 16 teams every four years (2 years between the world cups). Unlike many other big world-wide supporting events, the Euro's are tough to follow when you live in Australia. SBS is the free-to-air holder this year and they are treating us to 8 games out of 31. 4 of these are delayed coverage that airs over a day and a half after the game is played. 2 quarter finals, 1 semi final and the final are live. I could live with that as long as the other games were covered by foxtel. Unfortunately that is not that case. The Irish television network Setanta currently holds the rights for every game. So you have to pay an extra $50 to get the channel added to your foxtel packaged for a minimum of 2 months...so i did.
Now the event itself should provide us with the best football nation in Europe (please don't let it be Greece again!). This year's host nations are Poland and the Ukraine. The defending champions are the all conquering Spain, who also currently hold the world cup. Here is my rundown of the key players:
Greece - Samaras (Celtic striker, experienced campaigner)
Poland - Szczesny (Arsenal keeper), Brozek (another Celtic striker)
Russia - Arshavin (Arsenal striker), Pavlyuchenko (Tottenham striker), Pogrebnyak (Fulham striker) Zhirkov (Former Chelsea midfielder currently plying his trade back in his home country)
Czech Rep - Cech (Chelsea keeper, champions league winner), Rosicky (Arsenal midfielder), Milan Baros (Galatasary striker)
Germany - I could list the whole team here, but the key players IMO are Ozil and Khedira (midfielders in Real Madrid), Gomez (striker for Bayern München), Podolski (striker I believe is heading to Arsenal) and captain Lahm (Bayern München)
Netherlands - From what i saw this morning, Schneider (Bayern München midfielder), Van Persie (Arsenal striker) and Robben (Bayern München midfielder) will be their key players. Van Der Vaart (Tottenham midfielder) will provide able support
Portugal - One man, Christiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid midfielder/striker), they will also rely on Nani (Man U midfielder) and Pepe (Real Madrid defender)
Denmark - Bendtner (Arsenal Striker currently on loan to Sunderland) and Agger (Liverpool defender)
Italy - Captain Buffon (Juventus keeper), De Rossi (Roma midfielder), Pirlo (Juventus midfielder) and up and coming superstar Balotelli (Man City striker)
Spain - Again could almost list the entire team here. Great depth at the keeping position with Casillas (Real Madrid), Valdes (Barcelona) and Reina (Liverpool). Ramos (Real Madrid), Pique (Barca), Xavi, Ineista, Fabregas (all Barca), Silva (Man City), Mata and Torres (Chelsea)
Ireland - Given (Aston Villa keeper), Damian Duff (Fulham midfielder) and Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy striker)
Croatia - Look to Tottenham for their stars Corluka (midfielder/defender), Kranjcar (midfielder) and Modric (midfielder)
France - Clichy (Man City defender), Evra (Man U defender), Malouda (Chelsea midfielder), Nasri (Man City midfielder), Ribery (Bayern München midfielder) and Benzema up front (Real Madrid)
England - Tough to name players that aren't key in this team. Hart (Man City keeper), Terry (Chelsea captain and defender), Gerrard (Liverpool midfielder), Lampard (Chelsea midfielder), Rooney (Man U striker) and Carroll (Liverpool striker)
Sweden - Mellberg (Olympiacos defender), Ollson (Blackburn defender/midfielder), Larsson (Sunderland midfielder), Ibrahimovic (Milan striker)
Ukraine - Led by experienced striker Shevchenko (Dynamo Kyiv) and Tymoshchuk (Bayern München midfielder)
My tips will be a Spain v Germany final. I would expect to see England challenge along with the Dutch. Italy and France will be thereabouts. My roughies are Sweden and Ireland. I hope Germany can get up, but i would expect Spain to take out the title again.
Player of the Tournament to be Xavi
Golden boot to be Van Persie
"Niech rozpoczną się Igrzyska"
(let the games begin in Polish)
Ok, lets talk local footy. The Mighty Yeronga Thirsty Thirds have just completed their first round of the season (played all of the other 4 teams once). What we can take from the season is this: Another top quality team has joined our competition replacing the outgoing young, fast and strong Bond University as well as the older other 'thirds' team Beenleigh. With one team coming in for two outgoing, we are now down to a 5 team competition. With a top 4 finals finish, the equation is simple. Don't finish last and you will play finals.
The final 5 for me will be in this order:
Pine Rivers Swans - This new team who arrived from Div 3 North are a force to be reckoned with. They are the remaining members of the now defunct Strathpine team, who once won the senior div 1 comp that our Yeronga Seniors used to play against. The new brand of Swan player is big and fast. They love the dry conditions and will be hard to beat at home. Mike Salmon and Nate Boucher among their better players.
Jimboomba Redbacks - The reigning premiers finally have some competition from new boys Pine Rivers. They have been the dominant team of the past few years. The redbacks are an older team with good team structures built around a solid bunch of blokes who have played together for a long time. Their key player is Kim Watson. This bloke is probably the player of our division and is very hard to stop. Old stager 'Ringa' tends to be at the top of the goal kicking list most years. He has recently taken the coaching position and along with the Heppel brothers, Luke Valdes and Bear they form a formidable opposition. They should make the final this year, but might be a little behind Pine Rivers at this stage.
The Woodsmen - Playing out of the Sherwood ground, the Woodsmen have always been a tough team. They rarely have all their players available at the same time, but when they do they can rack up a high score. They are the most improved team this year and could challenge those two above. Their oldest player Mousy is their most skillful, but does tend to get injured. Their star at the moment is Tim Green, back from a spell on the sidelines with a broken arm.
Yeronga - I think we have what it takes to grab the decisive 4th spot. Our mixture of experience and youth is coming together well. This season is probably the newest team we have fielded in a few years. Some great ins and some tough outs (Jorgo, Doutta, BJ and even single game player PT). Skipper Vossy and VC Kieran are the heart and soul of the team. The latter missing a few games recently with a calf problem. Best players are hard to judge, but the form players for us at the moment are: Ben Freke - Tough as nails defender who reads the ball better than the opposition forwards. His run out of defence sets up a lot of our play. Josh P is a new addition with a lethal left foot. Josh is not typical thirds player and would be playing in the higher grades if it wasn't for work. Josh is a fitness machine and racks up huge possession counts. Russ is another key thirds player who has also suffered from injury lately. On his day can be one of the most damaging players in the competition. Russ has sublime skills and is tough to bring down when in possession. Others of note in the season new crop are; Josh H, Nate A, Jordy, Aidan and Bryan. Returning super stars Carlo, Jeremiah, Beefy and DJ Tribe have all been in good form. The next matchup between us and Collingwood Park will be a terrific contest.
Collingwood Park Power - The team we need to beat to make the finals. Like us this team is a combination of a few older players mixed with a lot of young blokes learning the game. Yeronga's last taste of finals came at the Power's expense. Their skipper Duey is the coach's son and their best player. He is tough, hard, fast and can tear apart the opposition. He is also a little hot tempered at times which i'm sure causes Collingwood Park some headaches. Livewire runner Jesse Koining can also be damaging on his day.
Well that's the wrap up. Apologies to those that don't like football, but I'm sure you wouldn't have read this far if you didn't.
Well what a big day Saturday was. I won't go into detail about the Pies v Lions game as I don't remember much of it. But the parts i remember were fun. During the day we went down to the Piney for some beers and footy. We also got to meet the DT Talk website guys. These guys really know their stuff.
