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We're up at 9am again, we hang around accom while others go diving..... we take a back seat and chill throughout the day and take the leisurely route back south to H-town....

Next week we're in Palmerston North and Napier.

From Kawakawa we drive north again for an hour or so to the Opononi. Opononi and Kawakawa can be added to the northern communities such as: Dargiville, Paihia, Horeke, Kohukohu, Kaikohe and Kaitaia that we've played at over the years, and yet there are still more places to visit and play.... and explore.

We arrive around 11am and kick back at the resort..... an outside stage is errected and the sound crew is busy putting up the rig. we have seafood pizzas before soundcheck...

After soundcheck we hang around, eat more seafood and wait till lobby call which is at 9.30pm...

A steady flow of people are filling up the outside area..... around 500 people with more people hanging outside.
Karakia -Gig. An electrifying gig, the energy of the people, the destination the vibe was something special made it memorable for all... much love to everyone who came out to Opononi.. but if you were'nt - we'll be back : ) roots.....!

And then there was Kawakawa.... : ) scheduled to leave Hamilton at 9am we set off for another destination this time to the Northern part of New Zealand.
This will be our first time playing in Kawakawa.
We arrive and settle in at the Hotel, soundcheck as usual then wait for the gig.

An Early gig due to start at 9pm, it's decided we start at 9:15pm to allow more people to come on in.
We did our thing and sang and played like there was no tomorrow, we finished a little after 12:30am and went upstairs for the rest of the night.

Breakfast with Johno at 8am, airport at 10am... 3 flights to Hamilton....

woke up to a wet day.... usually we fly back to Hamilton but today we're staying in Q-town for an extra day so an adrenalin rush is what Q-town is all about...

lobby call at 10.30am for those who want to take an oppurtunity to go white water rafting we hit the rapids and get back to accom at 5pm

We kick around and have a few drinks and socializzle in town..... watched the Rugby League game...

woke up to another hot and sunny day with 3 little birds outside my window..... breakfast in town

kicked back at accom till the arvo then headed up the the Gondala for more spectacular views and ride the Luges...

No need for soundcheck as the gig is in the same venue, back to LoneStar for dinner at 6pm then the usual, accom-gig.

10.30pm lobby ..... 11pm onstage... the crowd was vocal and rocking from the first song. 'Roots Music' and 'Redemption Song' was added to tonites gig.... green room to cool down before going back to accom and/or hitting the town

Jamie's view on the gig was 'Norm Hewitt'

Check in at Hamilton airport at 9.30am.... NZ5083 to Wellington, NZ5401 to Queenstown.

Queenstown AKA Q-Town is a well known NZ tourist attraction, very scenic and usually ver cold.... except for today... it seem like summer has already hit, it is hot....

We met Johno who takes us to accom... we settle in and roll to the Revolver Bar for soundcheck. we head around the corner to the Lone Star fot tea and meet up with west-Ackland's reggae band 'Tahuna Breaks' we Katchup invite them down to tonites gig and we even saw Rugby Star Norm Hewitt who could be coming to tomorrows gig... 1030pm Lobby call.... Revolver Bar is just in stumbling distance for accom.... our green room is across the road.

The gig was mean, Monie doing a great job bringing out the best with limited resources no luxury EQs and effects... a diverse crowd with people from both near and abroad....

Tuesdays, we usually assemble in Hamilton to meet and discuss....... stuff........ and then practise, practise, practise...... new songs.....

We hang around the Armitage till 5pm Soundcheck. The Brewers Bar is a favourite destination to play at always a cool crowd skanking hard out.

Soundcheck went smooth, once everyone is satisfied... a pork roast waiting on the pool table is in need of attention... we consume then head back to accom.
9pm comes and we're in the van again. It's raining, strange, it always rains when we play at the Brewers, it's either wet or cold... still, it does'nt affect what's going to happen inside with the 'Fire' blazing...

We sing and play and notice a few faces from last nights gig...
Big ups to everyone, the locals, the usuals who come out every time we play there and espcially those who came for the first time.... peeeaccce!

The van rolled out of H-Town around 2pm... heading for the Bay of Plenty, Tauranga, a beautiful place on the East Coast of Aotearoa. We'll be spending both nights here.

Soundcheck at 5 as usual then kai at 6.30pm... Accom is at the Armitage across the road (and down a bit).

The stage sound on a tight fitting stage was mean... the Bass and Drum Rythmn section was grooving and set the scene for the the rest of the band to follow... 'Mr Flava' and 'Hey Girl' was added into the set.
200 odd, skanking till 1.30am! on this Halloween night at the Colosseum.

Sunday we spent time kicking around accom and occasionally going over to the festival.... our plane departs this arvo... a wicked weekend and time spent on Stranbroke Island.

So, anyway we make a reverse journey back to New Zealand ....

The following is a 24hour pictorial account of 'a day in the life of Katchafire'. Although we left hamilton at 3:30am we start taking photos starting from 5:13am.... check it out... Our gig is Stardbroke Island, we fly from Auckland to Brisbane then ferry to the Island Vibes Festival..... peace and Love.