To start our summer off the Stanford Men's Rugby team ventured to the beautiful islands of the Pacific, Fiji and New Zealand. Departing on Tuesday, June 15th we first traveled to the island of Fiji. Coming off the plane greeted with bula's we immediately felt welcome amongst the Fijians. As soon as we left the plane, the memorable times began.

The first stop on our trip was the beach. Travelling on buses that we would never forget, we headed for the Natadola Beach Resort. Even the rain couldn't stop us from enjoying the beautiful white sand beach, as we swam in the turquoise waters and played our first game of rugby on the sand. Although others decided to enjoy the beach by playing a game of chess with pieces almost as big as they were.

After the beach, we travelled to our first hostel the Tsulu/Lagoon Resort. That night we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Uprising Resort, during which were able to enjoy some traditional Fijian cuisine and watch and learn the Fijian war dance. Mike Guirguis even treated us to some of his dancing skills. Our first day was an excellent start to the tour and left us excited for what was to come.

Our wonderful times in Fiji continued with a Jungle canoeing trip down a river to a small village. At the village we were served lunch, arguably one of our best meals in Fiji, and enjoyed another traditional Fijian war dance. After lunch some of us were introduced to the wonderful drink that is kava as we enjoyed our first traditional Fijian kava ceremony. After our visit in the village we ventured further down stream to enjoy the site of an amazing waterfall one of many that we would see while in Fiji. Some members of the tour decided to stay behind and embark on their own adventures. One group decided to kayak into the ocean and up a river to enjoy the natural beauty of Fiji and another pair ventured out into the ocean on a sail boat. But by the end of the day we all had experienced the amazing beauty of Fiji.

On the following day we embarked out early to travel to the Natalei Village were we would play our first real game of rugby on tour. We arrived at the village prepared to play a game of 15's but the villagers didn't have enough players to play a full game of 15's so we decided to split our team and play a few games of 7's. Slightly disappointed at first (mostly the forwards), but as soon as we were on the field everyone was having fun. The villagers were very good and had excellent skills but we didn't let up. Summoning all our athleticism and speed were able to score some tries and impress the villagers, even Chris Riklin scored a try using his very deceptive speed. In the final match we assembled our best team and faced off against the villagers best. It was an exciting and close match, but our speed and aggressiveness (Alex Menke) were too much for them. We were also lucky to have the elusiveness of Peter Livesey, who managed to evade the defending villagers for the last minute of the match by himself, helping us to pull off the upset. Although, later the villagers would get us back.

After the game, we went straight for the ocean, even Julian Brooks decided to enter the water. We really saw the primal being come out in a lot of us, or the primate in Gianni Maize's case who decided he was going to climb every tree on the island. Later, the villagers set up a bonfire on the beach. We enjoyed some delicious Fijian food as we watched the sunset and were treated to by far the best traditional Fijian war dance of the trip. After dinner many of us were both full and tired from the day, but the villagers invited us to a kava party, I mean ceremony, so we rallied. At the ceremony, we sat around the large wooden bowl in which the kava was made and learned about the customs of the ceremony. First we watched as the chief spoke then drank the first bowl of kava and the festivities began. After that it was high tide all night as we sat, drank kava and made jokes.

The next morning wasn't as pleasant as many of us suffered from the infamous kava hangover, but as they say no hangovers on tour so we were up early excited for the next activity on the agenda. Up next were the dolphins and they performed excellently, we rode out into the sunrise to see the dolphins, spinners as they appropriately call them for the amazing acrobatic tricks they love to perform as they jump out the water spinning while performing flips. We also went snorkeling along Half moon reef, were we saw beautiful coral and many beautiful fish of all colors. One of us, Nick Mendoza or Aquaman, encountered a shark and almost caught a lobster for dinner. After lunch, some of us enjoyed a nice hike to another waterfall and later on the villagers had another kava ceremony which many of us opted out of after being bested the previous night. Feeling like tour couldn't get any better we packed our bags, excited for what was to come in New Zealand.

We started our tour of New Zealand in the beautiful capital and city of Auckland, where we would play our second game of the tour at Auckland University. We spent the first day, settling into Nomads Fusion hostel, exploring for the city and preparing for our first 15's game of tour against Auckland University's Under 85kg XV.

On Tuesday, June 22nd, game day, many of us still weren't feeling well from our all too memorable kava experience, but as soon as we hit the field everyone's adrenaline was pumping. After watching the women's team play excellently versus Auckland Area Senior Women Barbarians XV, we were ready to play. We started out the game strong with the first try being scored by Alex Rabkin in the early minutes of the game. During the first half of the game Tommy Kramer went down with an injury and was taken off the field. After a second try by Nick Mendoza, Auckland battled back to take a one try lead. Toward the end of the game we ended up tying the game at 22-22, with tries by Peter Livesey and Marcus Henderson. But in the final seconds, Auckland managed to score a try to win the game 29-22. After the game we found out that Tommy Kramer, unfortunately, had to return home in order to undergo surgery on his cheek bone. His presence was greatly missed on the rest of the tour.

After the game we were invited to Auckland University, where the Auckland University Rugby Club had an excellent event planned for us. During the event, we enjoyed a traditional Maori dance, delicious food and the company of our fellow ruggers of the Auckland University Rugby Club. Julian Brooks was named Stanford's man of the match and received an Auckland University rugby jersey. And fellow teammate Connor McKenna received the reward for best dancer for his impressive moves on the dance floor. Following the event, we continued to enjoy the company of the Auckland ruggers as they showed us around Auckland.

Although we were disappointed by our loss the day before we were excited to begin our travels through the land of the shire. Our next destination after Auckland was Rotarua. Rotarua is known for its wonderful thermal springs but what they fail to tell you on the travel guide is the wonderful smell that we all enjoyed during our time there. Besides the smell of the place, Rotarua was the perfect place to go after a rugby game. After we settled into our hostel, we immediately (well all except one) went over to the spa and enjoyed the relaxing thermal baths. We stayed for hours as we moved from bath to bath sampling the different temperatures.

The next day, after having our injuries soothed by the thermal baths we ready for the extreme activities that Rotarua had to offer. After getting an exclusive tour of the geysers from our very well-educated bus driver, the men on the tour decided to test their fate in white water rafting. Although nervous because of the extremely cold weather, we faced our fears and dove in. Equipped with helmets, paddles, life vests, wet suits, polar fleece tops, spray jackets and wetsuit booties we were ready to face the white waters of the Kaituna River. Unaware of what was to come we got in our rafts and set out. The ride started in calm waters as we practiced using our strokes to maneuver the boat, gazed at the beautiful underside of the silver fern and listened to wise cracks from our extremely witty, fast talking river guide. But in no time things had changed as we had just went through our first rapids and over our first of three waterfalls. Unfortunately there was a short pause in our rafting experience as we had to wait for a member of one of the other boats to be escorted out because of a dislocated shoulder, but we were not fazed as we prepared for the largest of the three waterfalls and we were still not fazed when we were told there was a 50-50 chance of flipping. Our nerves were calmed, somewhat, when we saw the first group of tourist go over the waterfall and come up afloat. So now it was time for the first group of Stanford ruggers to head over the waterfall. They were the lucky group, who received the full experience of white water rafting. One lucky member of the team, Stewart Youngblood decided to show off his impressive lung capacity as he stayed under for 16 seconds. In the end, white water rafting was an amazing experience that I don't think any of us will forget, thanks to the great pictures we bought.

The following morning we headed for Taupo, but on our way we decided to try out the wonderful New Zealand invention, the Jet Boat. In the beautiful Aratiatia Scenic Reserve, we sped over the crystal clear waters of the Nga AwaPurua rapids, holding on to our seats as the boat performed exhilarating spins, some were squished against the side of the boat as other couldn't help from sliding in their seats. We also enjoyed the amazing views of the Aratiatia Scenic Reserve and learned about the wildlife and history of the area. Every one was blown away by this experience and will add this to the list of unforgettable memories from tour.

Next up, Taupo. Taupo was an amazing city, very reminiscent of our own Lake Tahoe. Taupo bordered a very large crater lake famous for its trout. So we decided to take out a boat and go fishing. As we travelled out into the lake were able to see the beautiful landscape of Taupo, looking out into distance we were barely able to see the peaks of mountains as they pierced the skies. We were even lucky enough to see some amazing Maori inspired stone carvings in the cliffs around the lake. Although we only caught one fish we could take home, caught by Nick Mendoza. Everyone enjoyed the experience, even the moments of anticipation before it was their turn to catch a fish. Later on that night, Jason Prestanario came down with a bad case of the scrumps but luckily after a good nights rest he was fine the next day.

Our next stop on tour was Hamilton, where many of us would see our first live professional rugby match, the All Blacks vs. Wales. Arriving to Hamilton with plenty of time to spare, we spent most of the morning looking for Alex Menke who we lost almost immediately after getting of the bus. We spent the rest of the day walking around the city and excited for the match. Nearing game time the atmosphere of the city changed dramatically as the population of city nearly tripled as people began arriving from all over New Zealand as we saw a sea of black headed for the stadium, with tides of red, green and white representing Wales. Once inside the stadium it was an experience unlike any other as we listened to supporters sing there national anthem and other rugby songs in support of their club. The game started out with the traditional haka being performed by the All Blacks, which left chills down all of our spines. The game began and before we knew it the All Blacks were dominating the Wales with a level of play most of us had never witnessed before. It was life changing experience and hopefully will influence the level of rugby we choose to play in the future.

Immediately following the All Blacks match, it was time to get focused for our own game as we drove to down to Wellington overnight in order to get to Wellington early enough to get some rest before we played Wellington University's Under 21 XV. Prepared for the match and rested we woke up only to find out that thanks to the wonderful winter weather of New Zealand our game had been rained out. Disappointed that our game was cancelled we were surprised to find out that Wellington still wanted to have a social with us at one of their local pub. The Wellington Rugby team ended up showing us a great time, one of the best outings on tour and we participated in some great Wellington Rugby traditions and shared some Stanford ones also, most impressive of all was Ben Allanson who even impressed the New Zealanders with his skills. In the end we were all still a bit disappointed about the game being cancelled but we were glad to have had the chance to hang out with Wellington Rugby team and hopefully we can return the hospitality someday.

The last excursion of the trip was to travel down to the south island of New Zealand and explore the beautiful country the south island has to offer. For the remainder of the trip, we were lucky enough to enjoy the company of two lovely Canadians, who Mendoza also scared off with his excellent manners. Our first stop on the south island was Picton. Picton was a small port town at the north of south island that we had to travel to by ferry. We stayed in a small hostel that was very welcoming and had a great jacuzzi. While in Picton we went on a Wine Tour on which we were able to sample the delicious wine that the Picton river valley had to offer. We also learned of the history of the valley, including the history of some of the first interactions between the Maori and the Kiwi.

After Picton, we travelled south to the beautiful peninsula of Kaikoura. In Kaikoura, we spent most of the day along the coast watching the seals lay out on the rocks and enjoying the breathtaking scenery of the coast. On top of one of the cliffs along the coast, standing in one spot we could see the awe-inspiring mountains of the south island and the ocean. The mountains looked like a scene from the Sound of Music. Our time in Kaikoura was when we really saw the beauty of the south island.

Unfortunately, the last stop on our tour before we headed back to the states was Christchurch. And again we would like to say thank you to Chris Riklin's mom for treating us to a lovely dinner. Our time in Christchurch was short but we enjoyed every minute of it. Being our last night in New Zealand, we made the best of it and enjoyed the company of the Kiwis for the last time, well until we return.

On Thursday, July 1st, we left New Zealand to return home, but apart of all of us will always be in New Zealand. We are all grateful to have been given the chance to enjoy all the wonderful experiences we had while we were in New Zealand. Many of which have changed our lives forever and all of which we will never forget.

Note: If you would like a more detailed account of the trip contact Dave Grundfest who kept a very detailed log book of all events that took place on tour.