All For A Round of Disc Golf

It shouldn't be any surprise that when I got to New Zealand I looked up the nearest disc golf course and was determined to play it. So with yesterday being my sister's last day of work and me having the entire day to myself, I mapped out my route to Upper Hutt and play the course in Harcourt Park. 

The route included taking the train about 45 minutes northeast heading inland then a short bus ride and about a 15 minute walk to the park. All went smoothly at first until I got off the bus for my walk to the park. Because I don't have a smart phone or anything, I had to write down my directions beforehand and rely on them. 

Turns out that I must have written the directions down wrong because the road I was supposed to go down just ended and didn't seem like anywhere near where a park would be. The Hutt, from what I had been told, is a bit seedier area with a lot of, for lack a of better term, white trash. That seemed to be the case of the neighborhood I was in. I eventually saw a police officer and flagged him down to see how far off I was. He informed me that I was faaaaaaar from where I needed to be and could give me a lift. It wasn't until later that night that it even dawned on me that I rode in the back of a Kiwi (New Zealander) police car. 

The disc course was not well marked so I was able to jump on with this guy who knew the course. Turned out he was from Berkley but raised his family in Portland. He had moved out here six years ago for his photography. Below are some pictures of the round (note: the park was in a nice part of town):

On the last hole, my luck peaked. I got a hole in one on hole 10 (which we played last for some reason). Super fucking stoked, I snapped a picture from the tee and John signed the disc to verify the accomplishment. You can't really see the basket (or the f-ing disc in it), but it is at the middle end of the lawn. 

Of course, to keep the excitement going, I accidentally got on the train going the wrong way on my way home. My thought was I would just simply get off on the next stop and wait for the next train going south. The guy checking tickets let me know that there were no trains going south tonight this far north. So, kindly enough he found someone that would give me a ride from the stop to a bus station so I could get back to the Upper Hutt train station to head back to Wellington. 

Such a great day. Glad I left my comfort zone.