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Winter Path
look at all the snow NZ Day 14
Snow Day you say…..Don’t mind if I do!
Seasons Greetings
Dear Family and Friends,
I can’t believe it’s that time of year again. It always seems to go so fast and I never seem to get a holiday card out in time. I have done so much since last Christmas season it will be hard to fill you in on all the happenings in this short Holiday Card but I will try……….I’ve been upside down for a while and I’ve had blast……. Wait! It’s July Not time for holiday cards, but it sure seems like it with all of the snow outside. Today while we were hiking Sarah and I were singing Christmas carols. I thought about writing a holiday card because of good ole Bing singing in my mind about dreaming of a white Christmas, “with every christmas card I write”. Well I didn’t write any cards and I didn’t have to dream today!
I woke up to see a winter wonderland of white freshly fallen snow outside. I had a cup of tea and made some scones for Sarah and I to enjoy when she woke
Trailblazing
We were definatley trailblazing. Look how high the snow is on my pants. up. From where I sat at brekky I could see a glacier on the mountains outside and snow everywhere. Mmmmhmmm delicioius!
Sarah and I couldn’t let the snow stop us from adventuring so we trail blazed through the freshly fallen snow on a walk to see Mt. Cook. It was supposed to be a two hour return trip but that was what it would be if you walked it in the summer and weren’t having to walk through snow banks and try to decipher the trail by the way the snow had fallen.
I led the way most of the time because my boats are gortex and Sarah only had sneakers. Unfortunately this gave me the responsibility of picking the path. We were supposed to be on a trail but there was no signage. Most of the time I found myself following bunny footprints in the snow but in retrospect it seems like bunnies like the trail because I think we were on the actual trail for all but about 10 metres of the trip.
Along the trail we took several stops for snow licking. Something Sarah introduced me to. We licked the freshly fallen snow off
Licking Snow
Mmmmhmmmh Delicious! the branches. It was like a snow cone and it was delicious. I admitted to Sarah that I enjoyed it and she said she eats so much snow it should be another food group. It was nice to stop and taste the snow along our route.
Unfortunately, the view was clouded, over bringing more snow, when we got to Kea’s point. We did take some pictures in the general direction of Mt. Cook and you can tell me whether or not you see the tallest mountain in NZ in the photos.
The walk back was much easier. 1)because we had already paved the way 2) because more (less hardcore) people came behind us on the trail so it was good and tramped down.
When we got back to the hostel we asked at the desk if we should put chains on to drive out because it had started to snow harder. The guy advised us yes. Although we were cold we decided to put the chains on in our wet and gross clothes already before we got inside in dry clothes to warm up before our journey. Our hands almost froze off but I finally figured out
Mt. Cook
I swear its there behind us on my right. Do you see it? how to put the chains on and got quite dirty in the process.
Then with my cold cold hands we went inside to dry clothes a cup of hot chocolate and a little bit of My best friend’s wedding. Once we had a little lunch and warmed up we collected all our belongings and said goodbye to the winterwonderland.
Driving out we realized after a little bit that the air had warmed up and we didn’t need the chains. So I figured out how to take them off…..much quicker than putting them on. Then it was a smooth and simple drive to Lake Tekapo.
We arrived here to a small YHA, a warm shower, and to Sarah’s delight a house kitty. For dinner we had herb and cheese scones (which were delicious if I do say so myself) and chicken soup & noodle casserole with cheese on top, with a side of green beans. Our classiest dinner so far this trip. I loved it!
Tomorrow we will head to Christchurch for our last two nights in NZ…….sad face.
Then I have about 36 hours of traveling before I arrive in Portland ME on the 9th
Kea Point Man
Here is the little snow man we made a Kea Point. of July.
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Brittany
non-member comment
Do you know how hot it's going to feel when you get back to summer? I'm melting and it wasn't even that dramatic of a difference.