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Published: July 18th 2008
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Queenstown
View from the harbor The Shivers Family tour of New Zealand Ski Fields - Part 2
Arrived in Queenstown on Wed night in the dark. I know it must have been a beautiful drive, but we had to wait until the ride home to see it. We stayed at a Top 10 Holiday Park - nice room, but small. Top 10's are a mixture of camping sites, cabins and motel rooms. They tend to be clean, well managed and affordable. We needed to get out and do something. Syd wanted to go into Queenstown, the rest of us wanted to stay close to home and make it an early night. We opted to go to "Strickers", a bar and high tech bowling alley. This was fun for all even though we all stink at bowling.
Thursday - July 10th - We had talked about taking the day off from skiing but when Gregg got the weather forecast for the rest of the week, we decided we had better seize the day and attempt to ski (we were all pretty sore by this point). Syd had choosen a cool looking breakfast spot - Vudu Cafe - and Gregg needed to get his boots fixed.
Queenstown
Feeding ducks at the Wharf The kids and I ate a yummy breakfast at Vudu Cafe, full of interesting looking people. Gregg had a nice chat with Tyler from Steamboat Springs, CO at Brown's Ski Shop, and successfully replaced the heal pieces on his boots, avoiding having to buy $800 boots. We ended up in a ski and boarding store talking to the new rep for "Free wheelers". They look like skateboards for each foot. The kids had fun giving them a go. Gregg returned with lift passes to Coronet Peak and we headed up the mountain. This was by far the easiest to reach. And this resort was huge - like the American ones we've experienced. They had several high speed lifts and a very large restaruant/bar/cafe complex. The conditions were just okay. There are a lot of people who ski here since it is easy to get to and the modern facilties and snow making make for consisitent conditions. Gregg got to demo a pair of Solomon's that he promptly fell in love with. He said that he felt like he could ski like he did in his 20's. It was a good day of skiing. And then we were ready for the
Queenstown
Gregg and Lisa hot tubs. We booked a pool and left Sydney behind to enjoy some quiet time in a lovely relaxing spot with lots of good magazines, while we got our suits, towels, wine and cheese to bring back. Each pool is in a private room with a shower and changing area situated on the side on a hill over looking the Shotover River. Once you are in the tub, you have many controls to play with. One is for the retractable roof and wall so that you can view the mountains and stars. What a way to chill after a hard day of skiing. Back at the Top Ten Holiday Park we cooked dinner in the communal dining room/kitchen. I cooked the salmon we had purchased along the way - it was delicious! Since there was no TV at this spot, the boys spent hours on a trampoline while Syd, Gregg and I played Scrabble - Another great day!
Friday - July 11th - This was our day to play and relax. Contrary to the forecast, the weather was quite nice. We took a long walk to Shotover Creek to watch the jet boats zooming around - one of many
Coronet Peak Ski Field
Waiting for Gregg to park the van. high adenline sports in the area. We walked along the beach and collected interesting rocks. Graham took pictures of them to show Doc. After the hike we went into Queenstown in seach of a ball gown for Sydney's school ball next week. She found the perfect dress at a good price and was thrilled. On to lunch...again Syd's choice - ChopChop, an Asian noodle place. It was a fun place with lots of people watching on the street and good food that appealed to everyone. The next stop was for me. I have always wanted to go to an "ice bar". It's a little hokey and more touristy than I imagined, but loved it. Minus 5 - you get 30 minutes in the 100% ice made bar and surroundings. It is like being in an igloo with ice sculptures and a bar. Everyone had to wear their coats and gloves and they offered boots if needed. The price was nearly $100 for all of us and we got one drink - (virgin drinks for the kids). And speaking of kids, there were lots of them there. This is definitly not a "hang out on a Sat night kind of place".
Coronet Peak Ski Field
Wow, a six seater high speed lift! Okay, I can cross that off my life list of "things I want to do before I die". We wandered around town a bit more, bought a rugby ball, shopped and the predicted rain finally came... It poured so we opted to go see "Get Smart". Another good day...
Saturday - July 12th - It rained all night long. There was even some thunder and the Holiday Park was flooded and a mess So I was really shocked when Gregg got the forecast that the Remarkables - our final ski destination - had fresh snow and was suppose to be clear and sunny. It was another very steep, long drive - the big difference was that the road was wider and two vehicles could pass if necessary. It was still slick, muddy, snowy and icy. The weather was okay, there were moments of sun, snow and clouds. I think we were all a bit tired today so we took it pretty easy. I am just not that keen on pushing myself too hard to ski in powder or where the trails aren't marked. Gregg had some fun with this and the boys enjoyed some jumps in the terrain park.
Coronet Peak Ski Field
A view from the top of the mountain. I value my knees and my abiltiy to walk and don't want to jeopordize that function. None the less, I enjoyed the final day. The drive down showed us that "accidents do happen". We saw one vehicle nearly flipped on it's side towards the mountain (definitely the better way to go) with tires stuck in deep ruts and then we saw cool looking camoflouge jeep, with two young snowboarders that we had seen earlier, hanging over the edge. It looked like they were able to stop the jeep and get out but the jeep was perched on the edge of a huge drop off. I wanted to take a picture but it was too dangerous to stop. At that point I was happy the drives to the ski fields were over for awhile. That is not to say that there isn't more skiing in store for us, but I think we all need a break - esp. Gregg our fearless driver. Our minor mishap of the trip happened as we were leaving to go watch the All Blacks rugby game in town. Gregg backed into a car parked behind us at the hotel. Because of the trailer hitch on the
van, he left a nice hole in the fender of the Ford behind us - bummer!!! In spite of that, we did get to Queenstown and we did find a nice spot - Chicos - to have a cozy dinner by the fire and watch the All Blacks be narrowly defeated by South Africa.
It was a great trip - lots of good skiing, good stories, and great family togetherness , but it felt good to get back to Timaru. Out little house actually felt palatial, after a week in 1 and 2 room stays. The kids still have one more week of school holiday before the next term starts up again...
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CAROLL THROCKMORTON
non-member comment
WOW!
Lisa, we just love reading about all of your wonderful adventures. Thanks for sharing this trip with everyone! Caroll