‘Ginger Ninja’ hits the south
He’s not known as the party prince for nothing.
It’s not uncommon to see the South Sea Hotel packed for its traditional Sunday night quiz, but trivia buffs were given a royal surprise when Prince Harry joined the fun last night.
Harry was a hit with the crowd, helping his team - the Ginger Ninjas - to an equal secondplaced finish and engaging in banter with punters as the scores became tight.
Sitting in a corner table with his press secretary, an army representative, Southland District Mayor Gary Tong and two women, the prince sampled blue cod and drank the pub’s special ‘‘Prince Harry ginger beer’’.
He appeared in a jovial mood, laughing and joking with his teammates.
He took delight in the antics of larrikin quizmaster Vicki Coates, known for having no tolerance for disruptions, taking a photo as she taped over the eyes of a contestant who was looking at his phone. Punters joined in the royal theme, with team names including ‘‘Harry’s hot lips’’ and ‘‘His royal taxi service’’.
Coates called on Harry’s help to give the answers to two of the questions: ‘‘name the three ingredients of an Eton mess’’ and ‘‘what is Welsh for dwarf dog?’’
The prince’s team scored 29 out of a possible 40 points across categories including bands with royal-themed names, bodyguards and geography, to finish equal second out of about 20 teams.
Stewart Island resident Leonard Conner said the pub was packed every Sunday night, but there was an added buzz because of the royal’s presence.
‘‘It’s always full – they come from all over the world to be here on Stewart Island," Conner said.
Harry was a hit in Invercargill and on Stewart Island with his fans.
He may have even slightly trumped his grandfather in the wildlife stakes when he was introduced to Henry the tuatara.
Handling Henry like a pro, Harry took it in his stride handling one of Southland’s most famous residents.
His grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, an ardent supporter of the World Wildlife Fund, visited Stewart Island in 1986 and was given the chance to hold a kakapo.
However, hands firmly behind his back, he declined to hold the bird. He did not want to be known as the prince who killed one of the last remaining kakapo.
While Harry couldn’t trump his grandfather by laying his hands on a kakapo, within minutes of stepping out on Ulva Island a weka wandered out in front of him.
Henry and a weka . . . we think that puts Harry slightly ahead of his grandfather in the wildlife stakes.
As Harry touched down at Invercargill Airport, it was a Southlander who had the honour of flying him south.
Southland lad Flight Lieutenant Tom Corkery, of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, said it was pretty cool to fly Harry south to his home town.
Corkery, a former head boy at James Hargest College, said he hadn’t actually met Harry, but flying him south was definitely an honour.
It was clear from the crowds that gathered at the airport and on Stewart Island, that Harry has a lot of fans in the south.
Many had arrived early in the morning, eager for a chance to see and shake hands with the prince.
Yvonne Gawn went one better, leaning in to give the tall red-head a hug.
While she was slightly more tame than the Australian woman who tried to kiss the prince, the experience made her day and she later said she was thrilled with the morning.
Two young girls were also left smiling after their encounter with Harry.
Invercargill girls Abigail Lawrence, 14, and Georgie Sunshine, 12, had the conversation of a lifetime with the young royal.
The pair were brandishing signs telling Harry he was a wizard and also referenceing when One Direction band member Louis Tomlinson nominated the prince for the ice bucket challenge.
The signs obviously caught the prince’s attention as he stopped while walking down the stairs at the airport to chat with the pair.
‘‘He asked us if being a wizard was a good thing or a bad thing, we told him a good thing,’’ the smiling pair said.
The conversation was the highlight of the day for the girls who arrived at the airport just before 9am.
‘‘We just squealed.
talked
to
Prince
Harry!’’
they