Ngaruawahia High School Yearbooks 2010-2012 Kapa Haka Tour of Western USA 1998 | Page 196

Page 194 - Ngaruawahia High School Kapa Haka USA Tour 1998

Kura, Al Duane, Riki Lee and Kameta back up Marrin at Universal Studios.

A Blues Brothers concert played and was
watched on an open-air theatre before the group
left for Hollywood Boulevard and the starstudded pavements.
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, with its names
and hand-prints in the concrete, was crowded. The
group walked much of the Boulevard looking for
familiar names in the stars on the footpath. Cheap
T-shirts were on sale everywhere.
The students saw Melrose Road, the locale
for Melrose Place and the school running track
where John Travolta tried to Impress Olivia
Newton-John with his hurdling technique in
Grease. There were many other movie and TV
show sites that were viewed from the bus.

Laundry arrangements were made with the
hotel before a 7:45pm meal at a Chinese
Smorgasbord Restaurant just around the corner
for $6.99 (plus tip) each. The group was on a
natural high and dinner conversation was noisy.
The hotel had a pool and a spa, which were
both well utilised by the group at all hours up to
the 11pm curfew.
Poppy Ranga’s husband joined the group
today as well as all other members of Robyn
Roa’s family – Tom and the four girls. The
extended whanau were to be together over most
of the remainder of the Los Angeles stay. The
Rangas would be leaving on the Wednesday for
an extended family holiday in the Pacific Islands.

Members of the group watching the Blues Brothers perform at an outdoor stage at Universal Studios.