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Published: September 4th 2006
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The Canyon Swing from Above
Not only was i about to throw myself off the platform, but just for good measure the heavens decided to open up that fateful afternoon. I write this latest blog feeling quite proud of myself... 1)i think I am doing much better with the
regular updates, and 2) I threw myself into a canyon and didn't wimp out! I hope this finds all of you in good health, as ever things in QT are "sweet as"...
Since Claudia arrived, I have been trying to be a bit more pro-active with the things to see & do in Queenstown. Where better to start than with one of the extreme sports on offer out here. Along came the
Canyon Swing . I was wetting myself days before, whilst Claudia was very la-di-da about it all, saying that she wasn't scared in the slightest. For the record, despite my fears, I got to the edge, and jumped when they said jump... meanwhile when it got to Claudia's turn, it was all "i don't think i can do this".... "I'm really scared"..."count me down from 10" etc etc.
A gondola travels up and down Queenstown Hill all day and night, with all the usual touristy trappings at the top... restaurant, gift shop, etc. We took the trip up and the photo you see is of Queenstown and
Queenstown from the Gondola
Apologies for the pathetic Paintshop efforts.... you get the idea. the beginnings of Lake Wakitipu... You should be able to just make out my labels - which highlight a couple of places previously mentioned.
Queenstown life continues to be enjoyable... and as my boarding improves, the mountains are beginning to open up in terms of runs that I can accomplish. We went back to Treble Cone a few days ago, where they had had 70cm snowfall in the previous 3days... it was incredible. So much powder, much of it waist deep. Black runs become much less daunting when you know that you will be falling into a crashmat of snow.
Aside from the boarding, there have been/are about to be changes in my Queenstown life. I am leaving my job at Dux de Lux and will be starting shortly at
The Millenium Hotel as the Bar Supervisor. This is a step up in wages (yey!) and means i can get back to running my own bar again!! The hotel is even further from where I currently live, so conveniently a room has become available with some irish friends of mine, and I'll move in there to be close enough to work to walk. So a new era of my Queenstown
Claudia & Myself
Loads of the bars in Queenstown have outdoor fires, this one at "Barmuda" is probably the biggest and bestest. stay, but don't worry I'm definately not getting stuck here - I am focused now on getting enough money together to go and surf in Australia.
The other change has been having Claudia over to visit for the 3weeks. Unfortunatley she didn't offer to share the cost of my rent ;-), but it has meant that I have eaten better, my washing up has been done much more often and I have learnt that i don't have the patience to be a snowboard instructor! Though having said that, with only one or two proper lessons (the rest from me), I think Claudia managed to get hooked on boarding, and had there only been another week, would have been flying down the slopes. Having her here for such a short time, has emphasised the solitude of travelling without anyone from back home - so touch wood, there are a couple more visits from various people I've left behind, and maybe there will be another appearance on here by claudia if i'm really lucky!
The Lift Pass Saga And finally a little anecdotal story/confessional... So out here in Queenstown, most folk have "season passes" enabling them to ride
...before the Swing
my thumbs were tuicked into the harness, i don't usually hold my hands in such a way! two mountains as much as they want for the entirity of the season. Holidaymakers buy day or week passes depending on how long they are here for, and on my trips to Treble Cone, or any other mountain, I must buy a day pass if my season pass doesn't cover that mountain. So in late June I parted with NZ$1200, and had a hung-over looking photo taken for the I.D. card, all the while berrating myself for not getting the "early bird pass" online 4months previously, which would have cost a mere NZ$400. Everything was going well ( I wasnt getting up the mountain enough as i'd like, but the pass worked!), until that is a couple of weeks ago when my housemate, Mike, asked to borrow my pass for the day (the scoundrel never bought a season pass, and has been blagging it all season). He has blonde hair, I have brown hair, he is 6"2, I'm 6"0....there were very few similarities between us - he was just hoping the lift operators weren't too scrutinising that day......
.....To cut the story a little shorter... Mike got caught - he was fined $150 on the spot - made to pay $85 dollars for a day pass (which they wouldn't let him use - they kicked him off the mountain). They confiscate my pass, as they decided I had given it to him, rather than him stealing it from me, and it looks like both our seasons are over! I call the mountain trying to figure out what's going on, and get told that I am suspected of fraud (apparently it is a very serious issue to loan your ski pass to someone!!!) that I won't be getting my pass back, and I am banned from the mountain along with Mike. Obviously I protest my innocence, claiming Mike was a thief and a liar, and that he had snuck into my room without my knowlege, and that in all honesty I barely knew the guy - basically anything to get the pass back. All the guy on the other end of the phone has to say is "you haven't convinced me - you're not going to get your pass back".
Mike is leaving Queenstown, headed for Wellington in a couple of weeks, so he isn't too fussed about it all, and resigns himself to not boarding again this season. I meanwhile was supposed to have 6weeks of prime boarding left!! I set to thinking and decide in a last ditch effort to persuade my landlord to say that he has evicted Mike as a result of this "terrible affair" and if that wasn't going to be proof enough for the mountain, I was going to give up. After numerous phone calls, a meeting in the board room and me having to put everything down in writing, I still didn't know whether I would be getting my pass back. While I'm waiting up at the Mountain, I bump into a girl i work with, who also happens to work in the administration office at the ski area. I tell her my story, and she marches straight off to put in a good word for me. I don't think I'll ever know what made them finally decide in my favour, but a few hours later I had my pass back, and I got a semi-apology! A happy ending ....ahhh.
Ok, hopefully I still have your attention, and you're not asleep at the keyboard. I'll sign out for now, and simply say that I have done the skydive, but will save all that for next time.... peace.
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sparks family
non-member comment
simon!!!! how are u? we havent seen u for ages! we all miss u so much. how are ure travels going? how long are u going for? who's claudia? lol, u dnt have to answer tht question i think ive figured it out. hope ure having an amazing time! lots of love sparks's xxx