22 - 31 August 1998

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Saturday 22 August 1998

The flight to Christcurch was uneventful, as was the airport there, and the short (45 minute) hop to the final destination - Queenstown (although the NZ scenery on the way was quiet interesting). When we turned up at the Avis reception in the tiny Queenstown airport to collect our car, someone (OK - me... duh!!!) had forgotten their driving license - guess this means Kim has to play chauffeur all week.

The whole place was very quiet, probably as everyone was off skiing (this was 4pm) as we drove into the town centre to pick up skis from Sports World before checking into the Novotel. Very nice place with a really big apartment and an ample kitchen area which was later christened with a pasta creation of mine (after picking up the supplies of course). After that we'd just about had it for the day... so crashed out early.

Sunday 23 August 1998

Arranged to meet Leigh and James in the Pig & Whistle (Queenstown's 'traditional' English pub) for drinks, and stayed for an unplanned dinner (nice pies... shame about the size of the steak).

Monday 24 August 1998

Right from the point we turned off the main highway (6) up to the resort the road was basically just a single lane mud and gravel track, add to this the fresh snow (with more falling), lack of roadside barriers for your reassurance and lack of grip... yes - the trip up there was an experience in itself! We did stop half way up to put on our snow chains which made things a lot better, even so it was almost 11 before we were taking on the first slope of the day.

Thankfully, once up on the piste the fresh snow was great and the day turned out to be pretty good, there were even some sunny spells in places, made the struggle up seem well worth it. And although there were only a couple of lifts running The Remarks were able to keep us entertained for a good few hours. The fresh snow made up for lack of marked runs, as it seemed you could take and route you cared from top to bottom.

There was time for just a quick run after our brief lunch break before the weather turned for the worse and we thought it best to leave for home, as the snow began to fall again and the wind picking up. As it happened it was quiet a pleasant day down in the valley but as there was only half an hour or so left before the lifts were due to close I wasn't too bothered about leaving.

Chauffeur Kim waiting patiently while I get a shot of the car and all it's ski attachments (before it gets too filthy).

Back home we'd felt like that was it for the day and simply crashed out, had a few drinks and watched an in house movie.

Tuesday 25 August 1998

There were a few of these Kea birds scavenging at The Remarks (we saw some later at Treble Cone too). They are apparently a great menace as they like to remove the rubber windscreen surrounds and wiper blades from parked cars!

Kim and I were happy to Ski until the last lift (at 4pm) before heading home for drinks, relaxation and another pasta delight.

Wednesday 26 August 1998

Drove home via Arrowtown - a small mining (gold rush) town and sampled pies and a desert from the local baker. Put our skis in for waxing and went home for some rest.

Having had enough of that (the resting), took a ride on the Shotover Jet - you know, where some loony in a black beanie drives you in a jet boat inches from either side of a canyon, does 360' turns, almost runs it aground (actually, we were a bit late in taking our ride, because one of the boats earlier today had run aground - very reassuring!), etc, etc. Excellent fun!

	One of the Shotover jets beginning a 360 degree spin near it's jetty.
	Me looking forward to a wet and wild ride!
	Kim having just had one.
	Just checking what's left of my hair is still there.
	The good old Route Master gets everywhere... think he took a wrong turn on Bow Road?

A bit cold and damp from the ride went home for a Sauna to warm up and more relaxation (yep... when on holiday it turns out you really can't have enough of this)..

Thursday 27 August 1998

Once there (at Cardrona) the skiing was the best so far, with loads of fresh snow and a bigger area to explore. Spent all day (5 hours of it anyhow) skiing the Captain's Basin which had many official routes from top to bottom, although by the end of the day all tracks were merged and top to bottom skiing by any route you fancied was the order - great!

Here I am taking a well earned break after one of our the many runs in the basin.

Afterwards, the pleasant drive onwards to Wanaka was a great improvement on the morning trip. Drove straight up to the lake to sample to the amazing view upon our arrival. A picture postcard view of the mirror smooth lake Wanaka, with snow capped mountains behind was our welcome.

On the shores of Lake Wanaka at dusk.

Tried to check into our accommodation, and the fun started (hmmm...). No record of a booking, so the owner rings round some other places in the area to no avail. In the end he tried to get us housed in a sub standard hotel round the corner. We had a look at this but were not impressed, went back to the original place and rang the Aussie travel agent we booked through. In the end they arranged accommodation at the Edgewater Resort which was much better (and a handy upgrade - I should think so too, as all this messing around kept us from checking in before 7pm).

Went to the Edgewater's bar for few drinks and a snack before turning in for the night.

Friday 28 August 1998

Treble Cone itself was a pretty decent area, and had few queues at the lifts all day. Amazing views down to Lake Wanaka when the clouds lifted and soaked us in sun all day. Here lay the problem... too much sun at too low an altitude which made for an enjoyable morning, but an ice and slush mix on the slopes by 3ish. Not that much fun to ski on so headed home to relax in the sun on our balcony and have a quiet walk round by the lake.

The panorama from close to half way up Treble Cone (just above the Moro six man chair). That's Lake Wanaka below and you can see the road we came up on (the only one here!) snaking around in the bottom left corner.
	Me trying to explain what a great view it is (when I'm not there anyhow).
	Another view from the shores of Lake Wanaka, close to the Edgewater Resort. You can see the shore is covered in rocks and pebbles... great place for skimming stones.
	Some of the wildlife to be seen here on lake Wanaka.

Stopped off at the bar on the way back home (how handy) and sat in the sun until it went down behind the mountains. Went shopping for some more drinks and snacks and had fish and chips on the way home.

Saturday 29 August 1998

Spent the day wondering round Wanaka (a tiny place, so this didn't take long) resting and watching TV (thank god for hotel movie channels). Had dinner in the bar again while watching the build up to the last Bledisloe cup game... the rowdy Kiwi crowd were to be disappointed though (ha, ha!). Didn't stay for the game though as we wanted to be up and away early.

Sunday 30 August 1998

Had a brief morning stop for a warming hot chocolate and met up for lunch with James and Leigh in the Mezz bar. These were our only breaks before finishing up at 3:45 as the weather turned colder and the Captain's Basin lift closed - a very satisfying last day.

Had dinner at the Wankai Cafe on the lake front which served strange (I had honey chilli chicken kebab, and Kim had a sort of nutty veggie dish) food, which was filling and tasty.

Monday 31 August 1998

Caught this great view of the sun setting behind the Harbour Bridge on the ferry home.