Rain and an earth quake can’t quell Kiwis’ royal fever

Pesky weather, a bit of gumboot throwing and a near-miss with an earthquake have marked the penultimate day of the royal tour.

Harry and Meghan with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Picture: AP

Pesky weather, a bit of gumboot throwing and a near-miss with an earthquake have marked the penultimate day of Prince Harry and Meghan’s royal tour. Lashings of wind and rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of fans determined to see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they took a jaunt down the waterfront of New Zealand’s biggest city, Auckland.

Some waited as long as eight hours in intermittent downpours to catch a glimpse, with nine-year-old Ella saying she had been there all day with her mother to hand the royals a soft toy.

Meghan and Harry were lavished with gifts by the screaming crowd, including an All Blacks onesie for their baby, plenty of flowers and a Maori rendition of New Zealand’s national anthem.

Meghan’s winning gumboot throw. Picture: AFP

But as the crowd waited, an unusually long magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck farther south, terrifying residents where the Duke and Duchess had been just hours earlier.

However, it was a royal game of gumboot tossing that stole the day. While they had serious ecological work on the schedule during a trip to a native bush area in the morning, Meghan and Harry waded into the mud for an attempt at the unusual and quintessentially rural Kiwi game referred to as “wellie wanging”.

Stepping up to the mark with schoolchildren from their respective teams cheering them on, the Duke heaved a blue spotted boot, the Duchess a red one. Meghan took the trophy.