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Queenstown(Coronet Peak) - Days 86-88
Queenstown has a really cool vibe. It is evident from all the new buildings and current construction going on that it is gearing itself up as the southern hemisphere premier alpine resort. It still nowhere near the scale of Whistler but vibe is very similar with loads of young boarder types flocking from all over the world to partake in the variety of adrenaline fuelled activities like bungying, sky diving, rafting etc. We had to have a little giggle at one of the retail stores selling All Black parafinalia, their brand includes the phrase 'champions of the world' ??! (see pic attached) - we have only one thing to say, "where are your trophy at!?" Our 1st and only alpine experience was 4 years ago in France so I've been chomping a the bit to get out onto the snow since we booked our travels. Some of you will remember that Kimmy and snowboards are NOT mates. Half way through the week Kimmy switched to ski's after badly bruising her tail bone on the icy fields in La Plange. With Rona's help she found a bit more confidence on ski's so we agreed that this time we would both ditch the boards and try our luck on ski's. We found an amazing package deal in Queenstown - for a meager $380, our package included accommodation, 3 day ski pass (incl. Night skiing), gear & clothes hire and more importantly, free unlimited lessons! Our instructor Jeremy, a French graphic designer doing a ski season in NZ, had been skiing since he was 3 years old. He managed to fly through the basics on the morning of day one and out of 12 starters only 5 came back for the follow-up afternoon session. We had two lessons per day starting at beginner level and ending the 3rd day going down a fairly steepish Blue run. Thanks to Jeremy for his laid back attitude and handy tuition. Rona & Basher, have to say that I gave been converted! Skiing is the dogs bollocks! I'm chugged that Kimmy convinced me to give it a try. There'll be no going back to snowboards for me anymore - way more freedom on ski's, you don't need to drag your board behind you at the bottom of the run and more importantly, you spend more time on your feet enjoying the decent than OK your arse trying to pick yourself up off the snow- oh yes, and no bruises to report apart from the nice one on Kimmy's bum after a small nudge from me coming off the chair lift on day 2. Wish we had more time to gather some more confidence on the steeper slopes but really looking forward to the next time - you're gonna be eating my powder! As mentioned before, the further south we've travelled the colder it has become (my beard is coming in really handy) but the bonus is that the sun has finally won it battle against the long white cloud. It's made for amazing views and left us with memories of how beautiful NZ really is. Our advice to those travelling to NZ (Tam, can you send us Dex's email address) is not to bother with the North Island if you're on a tight schedule. SI has way more to offer, both in terms of activities and visual splendour. We're in our way to Christchurch tomorrow to catch our flight to Sydney on the 14th. We've decided to give Milford Sound and surrounds a skip( budget & time really) but have agreed that the next time we're here it will be one of our stops. 2011 Rugby WC will be upon us soon and it would great to cone back here and watch the perennial 'WC Chokers' plan for another 4 years to 2015.
Queenstown has a really cool vibe. It is evident from all the new buildings and current construction going on that it is gearing itself up as the southern hemisphere premier alpine resort. It still nowhere near the scale of Whistler but vibe is very similar with loads of young boarder types flocking from all over the world to partake in the variety of adrenaline fuelled activities like bungying, sky diving, rafting etc. We had to have a little giggle at one of the retail stores selling All Black parafinalia, their brand includes the phrase 'champions of the world' ??! (see pic attached) - we have only one thing to say, "where are your trophy at!?" Our 1st and only alpine experience was 4 years ago in France so I've been chomping a the bit to get out onto the snow since we booked our travels. Some of you will remember that Kimmy and snowboards are NOT mates. Half way through the week Kimmy switched to ski's after badly bruising her tail bone on the icy fields in La Plange. With Rona's help she found a bit more confidence on ski's so we agreed that this time we would both ditch the boards and try our luck on ski's. We found an amazing package deal in Queenstown - for a meager $380, our package included accommodation, 3 day ski pass (incl. Night skiing), gear & clothes hire and more importantly, free unlimited lessons! Our instructor Jeremy, a French graphic designer doing a ski season in NZ, had been skiing since he was 3 years old. He managed to fly through the basics on the morning of day one and out of 12 starters only 5 came back for the follow-up afternoon session. We had two lessons per day starting at beginner level and ending the 3rd day going down a fairly steepish Blue run. Thanks to Jeremy for his laid back attitude and handy tuition. Rona & Basher, have to say that I gave been converted! Skiing is the dogs bollocks! I'm chugged that Kimmy convinced me to give it a try. There'll be no going back to snowboards for me anymore - way more freedom on ski's, you don't need to drag your board behind you at the bottom of the run and more importantly, you spend more time on your feet enjoying the decent than OK your arse trying to pick yourself up off the snow- oh yes, and no bruises to report apart from the nice one on Kimmy's bum after a small nudge from me coming off the chair lift on day 2. Wish we had more time to gather some more confidence on the steeper slopes but really looking forward to the next time - you're gonna be eating my powder! As mentioned before, the further south we've travelled the colder it has become (my beard is coming in really handy) but the bonus is that the sun has finally won it battle against the long white cloud. It's made for amazing views and left us with memories of how beautiful NZ really is. Our advice to those travelling to NZ (Tam, can you send us Dex's email address) is not to bother with the North Island if you're on a tight schedule. SI has way more to offer, both in terms of activities and visual splendour. We're in our way to Christchurch tomorrow to catch our flight to Sydney on the 14th. We've decided to give Milford Sound and surrounds a skip( budget & time really) but have agreed that the next time we're here it will be one of our stops. 2011 Rugby WC will be upon us soon and it would great to cone back here and watch the perennial 'WC Chokers' plan for another 4 years to 2015.
1 comment:
I tego Ci Bracie zazdroszcze! Tych szusów w Nowej Zelandii! To bylo moim marzeniem, zjechac z gory i sru... do Oceanu..... Ale, wyladowalemw RPA! Do milego i udanego nurkowania w Australii! Wiesio.
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