Queenstown

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After flying in from Cairns in a zombie like state after the night out, we arrived in Auckland in the early afternoon. A quick nap followed and then we wrapped up warm and explored the city a bit and in the evening had a reminiscant meal at a Thai restaurant to celebrate our arrival in New Zealand.

The next afternoon was a quick flight to Queenstown where we booked in to a hostel and sorted out 3 days of Skiing (for Hazh and Dave, both experienced skiers) and 3 days of first time snowboard lessons for Mark. The resort of Cardrona was a one hour drive away from the hostel; the bus departed at 07:30 every morning! Luckily a free breakfast made up for the early starts. Dave and Hazh had a play around in the snow, whipping down blue and black runs and exploring the resort's numerous slopes. Mark spent 3 days on his bum (sorry, board) coming to terms with his new hobby. By day 2 Mark was embarking on little excursions with the skiers which was impressive.

On the the 3rd day we were sad to leave the slopes; Dave having just embarked on the snow park, Hazh having mastered the parallel turn, and Mark proclaiming himself as an 'intermediate' boarder. One thing to note from the New Zealand ski experience was the hot outdoor spa, when coupled with a post- ski beer, was a brilliant way to relax the aching muscles after a hard day on the slopes. We spent a night out on the beers after our last session at Cardrona but it ended rather fruitlessly. Three full days of skiing followed by an 'all you can eat' buffet that night were the limiting factors.

The next morning Mark and Dave hitched a ride to the airport to pick up a hire car for the journey north. This was a first for the pair who rather sheepishly stuck out thumbs, with Mark more interested in waiting at the adjacent bus stop. It worked tho, they were offered a free ride to the airport and a nights free accomodation, not bad eh? This last day in Queenstown was spent doing our own thing: Mark went for his exhilarating 134 meter bungy jump; Dave took a stroll up the mountain to access some panoramic views; Hazh spent the day catching up on sleep. All good fun in their own ways. A quiet night followed in which we made some serious plans for our 14 day venture back up to Auckland. . .

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Photos

Cardrona
All kitted out and ready to hit the slopes on our first day at Cardrona Ski Resort.

Bungeeeeeee!
For some reason, Dave and Hazh didn't fancy throwing themselves head first out of this pod...