Summer Lovin'

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Hi-Di-Hi campers! I guess you guys will all be either fighting off frost bite, fanning back flames or trying to survive the recession so what better way to cheer you up then a gloating blog from your friends in paradise. We will do our best not to sound too smug, promise ;-) Seriously though, we do hope you are all ok. Sounds a little like the world is falling apart out there, anyone who wants to run away is welcome to come stay with us!

Life down here has been pretty good. Christmas and New Year was VERY busy at work but we still managed to have some fun. Christmas was a traditional Turkey for lunch, a Finnish Dinner, lots of pool time and then some good old drinking games to finish it off, perfect! (Spoons’ is a hit the world over). New Years happened I know, but it’s lost somewhere amongst a blur of busy nights. What I do know is that we are a loooong way from the 21 Club!

Our Christmas presents to each other were Mountain Bikes and it is on these glorious machines we have slowly been uncovering delightful places in our local area.

The Millenium track around the edge of Lake Wanaka was our first adventure. An easy undulating cruise up and down from private beach to hilltop lookout, we spent a lovely day exploring, fishing and lunching. Not a bad life at all.

Our first major foray was to Macetown , a ghost Gold Mining town 16km up the Arrow River from Arrowtown. Cycling alongside a River that has gorged out a valley is just spectacular. The uphill struggles were worthy of the views, the spring flowers were out in abundance and the tumbling down shacks and gold mining relics interesting. The 40 river crossings sucked a lot (Knee deep in water with the bike across your back) but the downhill ride home was sweet as!

A brief moment of insanity saw us on our next journey cycling up a 45 degree incline to the Cardrona Ski Field. Long and hard it took 2.5 hours of pure torture to get to the top. The tin of Hot’n’Spicy mackerals we shared was a poor reward!


Diamond Lake was next, a spot high on Ard’s to do list. The 10km rode ride was boring, but the 30min walk to the top and lunch with a view was worth it. Stupidly forgot the camera so return journey is planned!

The next journey was exceptional. After a bone shattering 45min drive along a corrugated dirt road and then forging through 6 or so river crossings we got to the end of the road, Raspberry Flat . From this carpark it is 9km’s or so across farmland to the Aspiring Hut which marks the entrance to the Mt Aspiring National Park . Bike’s aren’t allowed in the Park itself, but the ride to the Hut and back has got to be one of my top 5 life experiences. The Matukituki river follows the path carved through the mountains by the ancient glaciers and encapsulates the breath taking beauty New Zealand is renowned for. We cycled on the farmland flats beside the river with ancient forests covering the sides of Glacier topped mountains. Every corner revealed another incredible vista. Each new glimpse of a glacier left us spell bound. It was humbling. We are planning many more trips to this incredible area and will be definetly adding some walks on in order to delve in deeper.

If staggering beauty wasn’t enough we are also enjoying the adrenaline inducing single track mountain bike area called the Plantation which is literally minutes from our door. It’s awesome, with runs marked out like pistes from green to double black. Scary as hell, but awesome!

Our days off are certainly full and we have plans for so many things. Work is such an inconvenience!

And we are working I promise. In fact Rich has started up his own business Wana Clean Car as well as still working at the Bar so things can get hectic. We are also starting the winter countdown and thinking about instructing again. Snow is still heavy on our minds. Between waves of jealousy we are keeping a close eye on friends in the north and hoping the predictions of a big winter here follow through. Snow or ice both of us can’t wait to get back on it and instructing again.

Well that’s it. Happy Birthday to Dad, Sarah, Spike, Rod, Zoe, Alex, Clemmie and the numerous others we are bound to have missed. Lots of love and stay safe. xxxxx

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