A day-off from training and media activity for both the Lions and the All Blacks should have meant a quiet day for me too, but as it turned out, no chance of any rest for the wicked.
So there I am Thursday morning, having my full Kiwi breakfast (where the grilled tomatoes are joined by grilled kiwifriut), chatting with the Lions fan who was checking into the Windsor Hotel the same time as me yesterday, when a familiar face beams out at me from the morning newspaper.
A photo appears alongside an interview with this same person, a Lions fan, who is touring New Zealand in a campervan with a few friends.
"They had brought enough shirts so they would not smell," reports Mike Crean in The Press, which surely is more information than anyone needs, though a handy reminder that I'll actually have to iron mine today, as I just slung a whole heap of clothes in my bag before leaving Dublin.
"We had some of the biggest bags you ever saw come into this country," says this fan, who continues: "We also get a laundromat whenever we can."
And the name of this supporter, who loves his whites whiter than white? Ger Lawton, former sports editor of the Imokilly People!
I'm duty-bound by my editor to meet up with Ger anyway on this trip, so I'll be hearing of his adventures later tonight I'm sure.
Martin from Coventry, who's at the breakfast table next to mine, isn't part of any official tour party, and saved quite a lot of money by going the independent route.
However, as he's having to buy his tickets "unofficially", he is only guaranteed to be at the First Test, thanks to an act of charity from a former clubmate of his at Coventry RFC, who despite selling the tickets on the auction website Ebay, decided to accept Martin's losing bid anyway.
I reckon he'll be fortunate if he can get in for anything less than ?500 for the last two Tests - that's if he can get in at all.
Local station Classic Hits 97FM is playing on the radio, and after telling us of the latest PR disaster for the Lions - they're pulling their players out of a parade in Manawatu next week, and the locals are furious - they break news of much more significance.
"We'll probably have snow for the Test Match on Saturday, folks."
As Christchurch is the final stop before Antarctic explorers head south, maybe that's no surprise.
When you're lounging around in your sun-drenched beer gardens on Saturday morning wishing you were down here with us, we'll be wishing we were up there with you.
Actually, I think I wish I was travelling around in a campervan down here, seeing a bit of the country, and not having to do all this work!
Paddy Power rang me last night to ask if I could do a couple of preview packages for their in-store and internet radio services - essentially these would be two-minute reports detailing the latest news from New Zealand, including a few clips of the key men.
Now, while this work sounds simple and straightforward, getting the audio to Ireland is more of a problem.
The Windsor Hotel's internet computer has broken down, meaning I'll have to rush to one of the nearby hotels to send the reports via WiFi.
After skipping around a few establishments, it emerges that there's a branch of the Starbucks coffee emporium in Cathedral Square which acts a WiFi hotspot, where you can sit down, and use the internet to your heart's content.
But, says the girl behind the counter at Starbucks, that's only if you're a customer of New Zealand Telecom... and it's very expensive...
So, after some humming and hawing, I decide to bite the bullet, discovering that it only costs about two euros to sign up anyway, and for the duration of the Lions tour, WiFi access is free! Brilliant!
Well, brilliant apart from being on the phone an hour to register, and constantly being transferred across to a help desk where everybody's at lunch... but isn't that how all call centres work these days?
By the time all the pieces are sent, not just to Paddy Power, but also to the various radio stations in Ireland and the UK taking INN's coverage of the Lions Tour, into Starbucks walks another member of the East Cork/West Waterford mafia, and he looks as if jet-lag's caught up with him the same way it's doing with me.
It's Oisin Langan's first day here, and he's been out speaking to some Lions fans in Cathedral Square for the local Dublin station he now works for.
He's also following the tour by campervan - it's obviously the way to travel this year!
Cathedral Square is right in the heart of the city, and it's very much Rugby Central for the next few days.
Along with a huge cut-out of a New Zealand player doing the Haka, there's also a temporary rugby shop right in the middle of the square, alongside a screen demonstrating what you can pick up from the referee's microphone during games.
Three fine Welsh lasses pass by, declaring they're off to Warners Hotel to find some Lions players. You're going the wrong way girls, but still...
One of the more permanent elements of the square is Christchurch Cathedral itself, which outside has a huge banner depicting Daniel.
After all, he knew how to deal with Lions....
One thing is earning my ire though. This side was always known as the Lions. Just the Lions. Then, on the last New Zealand tour, NZTV dubbd the side the "British Isles". ITV, who had won the rights for the first time off the BBC, called them the British Lions. Irish TV retaliated, and dubbed them the British and Irish Lions. Can't we just get back to basics?
Such was the impact of the last England cricket tour here, where the large numbers of travelling fans were dubbed "the Barmy Army", that the name has stuck. If you're Irish though, you don't really want to be identified with English cricket.
After a quick visit to the tiny Christchurch studios of Radio New Zealand for a link-up with London ("Are you with the Barmy Army?" asks Elina, one of the two journalists on call there tonight), I then spend a few hours in the bog.
That's The Bog bar on Cashel Street, one of a plethora of pubs brimming to overflowing tonight. Despite the cold night, most people are enjoying the cool air of the beer garden, including a large group of fans over from Cork City.
It really doesn't matter where you go, you'll always find ex-pats from the Rebel County, won't you!
Posted by akilduff
at 12:01 AM EDT
