Advertisement
Published: October 10th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Well! I am a little scared to look back and see when I last updated, as I feel it may be nearing to 5 months now, which is shocking. The winter has passed through with such pace, I honestly haven't had a chance to stop and take stock!
So, my season closed last week having worked my last shifts on the Ski fields, and this was a very funny feeling. It only seemed like 5 minutes ago i was amongst a massive group of strangers trying to learn the job, meeting new faces every minute, and struggling to come to terms with staying upright on a snowboard. I look into Queenstown high street now and nearly everyone has left town, the snow has nearly completely melted, and my poor board is now redundant! New Zealand towns seem to be so transient and seasonal, I wonder how many people switch their lives upside down every 5 months on a regular basis.
What did this winter bring? Well, the scenery has been simply awesome. Completely taken for granted most of the time, but that regular bus journey in the freezing cold and dark to work became a nice way to start
and finish the day, the sunrise over the peaks is truly a sight i will never forget. Although i must say,(and can only tell my mother now) dear god i thought i was going to die on those buses on occasions! They are huge 4 wheel drive state-of-the-art machines, which i am sure are as safe as tanks, but there have been a few occasions where we have been caught in blizzards with no chains on etc on sheer drop gravel mountain roads where i know the driver has been willing the bus to stop skidding on corners. We only had to be evacuated into smaller vehicles twice though, which in 5 months is quite a small percentage i suppose!
I learnt that Customer service work can at times be the most testing job, especially when Australian families are involved. As soon as we heard the phrase "we have never have seen snow before", we all knew we had yet another family with 5 screaming kids and about an hour's worth of explaining to do to sell one lift pass. We did all get to know each other quite well though, and the team was great fun to work
with. There were many drunken nights, which i do have to say i didn't get too involved with ( i am sure i'm getting old!) But each pay day had a themed party to celebrate. As a fancy dress-hater, i do have to say we had a great time and have come round slightly to dressing up.... Especially when Christmas is involved!
I achieved my biggest aim of learning how to snowboard! With my faithful kid's board (which i saw children of 7 riding the same size!) i had such a great time. We did all become a bit snobby about when we chose to board, making up excuses of clothes washing on grey foggy days, but i feel i did make good use of the free ski pass and actually ended up being able to keep up with the long standing boarders by the end of the season! There was a Burton Girls Camp day at the end of the season which i signed up for and started to learn how to ride the Park, which involved lots of jumps, boxes and rails. This stuff is seriously crazy, and it really challenges your confidence and sanity levels! I
managed to ride each feature at least once successfully during the day (albeit not very gracefully), and there was a great atmosphere. I never thought i would be able to ride in the park by the end of my first season, so this for me really made my winter. If you can spot me - (i have white snowpants and a khaki green jacket with a ridiculously big grey helmet) follow this link -
Before anyone thinks it looks easy - trust me it's not as easy as it looks!!! I'm not sure i would do it again, as it was on the edge of what i was comfortable with, but who knows - many one day i'll throw myself off a ramp again!
I have always wanted to do a ski season, and feel very lucky i got to experience this, although i have also seen it's downsides of freezing 24/7 and have just about avoided the bug to spend the next 4 years chasing the snow, as many do get hooked. Now the season has ended it does feel a little sad, and many of my friends have either left or are a little lost wondering
what they should do with themselves now. For me, my travel plans had ended here and i have too struggled deciding what the next step is. My NZ visa expires in a few weeks, and the decision to move on or home felt too big to make in that time, so i am taking advantage of the second year extension, just to give my brain a little more time to adjust! I have also learnt that a winter season ends up costing you money, and is only done for the love, right now i cant really afford to come home if i wanted to!! So another summer it is - With such beautiful weather and scenery on your doorstep, it would be rude not to!!
As a lady of leisure - i have decided to get some sunshine and warmth for a few weeks while i can, and return to the Bay of islands for some rest and retreat. I am looking forward to seeing some familiar faces, the sun and see the sea!!! It does feel very landlocked being surrounded by mountains, and a lake doesn't quite feel the same as the sea. So a very sad and
fond farewell to the winter, We shall see what spring brings! x
Advertisement
Tot: 0.106s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 51; dbt: 0.0599s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb