Curling

Nasby

Nasby Hotel

Rachel Curling

Me with winning stones

We went to a town called Nasby from Dunedin. Rachel had read in a book about the only indoor curling rink being there. We arrived in the evening to this small town. We could not imagine how this town could have a curling rink but we decided to stay the night anyway. There were two hotels in town. Both were built in the early 1800's when there was gold panning going on. We got a room at one of them. The local bar was in the front of the hotel. Much of the town had gathered for the local Rugby game. It was like stepping back in time. We went to our room which had a queen bed and two bunks in it. It had no television or Internet access. The bathroom was down the hall. There were no ice machines or any such amenities. We were indeed in rural New Zealand. The next day we had breakfast in the bar which at the time was the only place open for breakfast. They do make great omelets there. We then proceeded on our curling adventure. We showed up at the rink at about 10 thinking no one would be there but us. We were surprised to see a parking lot full. There was a group ahead of us that had about 15 in it. They like us had never curled . We were taken through a 10 minute video to show us the basics. One of the employees showed us how to push the stone and how to sweep. They were great about instructing us. We then pared off against each other and played a game. It was easier t the 50 pound stone down the ice that I thought. In fact we started having to push easier because we were going past the bull's eye often. It was really more fun that we thought. I especially enjoyed winning the game. My son told me it was because of my natural sweeping skills. Whatever the case, we had a great time taking a step back in time in Nasby.