waitangi day pub crawl 2014 style

For the second year in a row I made the trek down to London for the Waitangi Day Pub Crawl shenanigans.

Possum costume!!

While I appreciate the significance of the Treaty of Waitangi and that there are ongoing issues with this, I appreciate the opportunity to celebrate Waitangi Day in more of a national holiday sense. It's nice to get together with fellow kiwis overseas and know that everyone understands the ridiculous costumes and associated inside jokes. 

So here are some of my favourite moments of the day! We went with hoodie style costumes again after the success of last year, and noticed quite a few other groups did too! My cousin made the journey from the Netherlands and I got to show her how awesome it is to dress up and run around London with somewhere between 4000 and 10,000 kiwis (can't actually find out how many it really is!) 

On the bus to Notting Hill Gate

Tui's on the bus!

Tui's taking off in Chiswick

First it was off to the meeting place at Notting Hill Gate

Meeting up with more people in the crowds

Just a tiny amount of the people there. 

Possums unite!... and PIES

Four Kiwi possums and one Scottish 

From there we slowly made our way around the circle line.... very slowly. I tried to meet up with people at various places but it's pretty much impossible to even keep a group together!

Some football players

We somehow came across the Newcastle football team bus and got photos with these guys. I have no idea who they are but it was exciting...

A repeat of last years "how many sheep fit in a phone box?" was repeated with possums. Since there was only 5 of us it wasn't quite so epic, but still fun.

Debating whether to attempt closing the door...

Hmm maybe not

Who knows whats on that glass..

Squished possum

Just after that we got to Hyde Park and I saw the opportunity I had been waiting for all day... climb a tree! After all that's where possums belong right?

Renton and I braved the climb

Didnt make it that far...

Some possums are afraid of heights

Renton and I

We didn't end up making it that far past Hyde Park and cheated by catching the tube to Westminster.

Somehow we kept together with the Tui's

Sophie and I, Pub Crawl veterans

Cheating on the tube

The Whare in London

Everyone (who makes it) meets at Westminster, although this year was a slightly different location. There is generally a haka (or five) at some point, followed by probably the loudest national anthem I have ever heard, since no one at home sings it much!

Some of the crowd

Beached as

All in all it was another awesome year, and I have vowed to go next year if I'm in the vicinity of Europe!

x