Wow, what a trip it’s been so far. As James and I continue to live in New Zealand, the bonds we’ve built with our teammates just keep growing stronger. We finally feel settled here, and it’s not just because of the games — our teammates have made us feel so welcome, whether it’s hanging out after practice or catching up after a match, that we’ve gone from being friends to feeling like brothers.
James and I were both called up to play for the Premier Two team for our upcoming game, and we couldn’t be more excited. I even scored my first try in New Zealand, and there was no better way to celebrate it. Not long after, we happened to run into a legend — former All Black Mils Muliaina — which only made us fall more in love with Wellington.
Before our final game of the season with Poneke, James and I decided it was finally time to get outside and explore. We hiked out to the wind farm and took in the incredible views along the Wellington coastline, then followed it up with a trip to the famous Red Rocks, soaking in the beauty of the beach and the natural landscape. Our last game with Poneke was bittersweet, but we ended the season with a win and one final celebration at the clubhouse surrounded by our teammates.
By then, James and I had already planned our next adventure: a trip to the South Island before officially leaving New Zealand. We spent one last night with our closest friends at our house in Poneke before setting off the next morning. We landed in Christchurch, picked up our rented campervan, and began our road trip across the South Island.
We started at Lake Tekapo and were immediately in awe of the natural beauty the South Island had to offer — it felt like New Zealand kept finding new ways to surprise us. From there we made our way to Mount Cook, then on to Wanaka, where we saw the iconic Wanaka Tree and spent the evening skipping rocks across the lake. Our favorite hike of the whole trip was Roy’s Peak. We woke up at 3:30 in the morning and didn’t finish until noon — our first real, challenging hike together. It felt intimidating at first, but nothing compared to the sunrise we watched from the summit, surrounded by sheep grazing along the mountainside.
From there we made our way to Queenstown, where we packed in a few smaller hikes and some of the area’s most popular activities, including a soak in a hot spring and a kayak tour through Milford Sound that let us take in the South Island’s beauty from an entirely new angle. We wrapped up the trip driving back to Christchurch for one last night in New Zealand, and on our way home to the US, we made sure to stop in Wellington to see our closest teammates one more time.
Who knew a rugby trip to New Zealand would turn into one of the most fun experiences of my life — and also one of the most bittersweet? Being thousands of miles from family while embracing a completely different culture wasn’t always easy, but I know James would agree: it’s exactly what makes Michigan Rugby special. Getting to represent this team at a club on the other side of the world, and building an entirely new life alongside people who started out as teammates and became family, is something we’ll never forget.
Written by Ali Salih
