Rotorua

After our all-day skiing stint on Saturday we packed up the car and drove towards Rotorua. We decided to stay overnight as the 2012 Coastguard Conference was being held there, and since Jess used to live in Christchurch and was part of the Canterbury Coastguard Team, she was keen to meet with some of her old friends.

As we drove down to the base of Mount Hutt and turned the corner, we passed Mount Tongariro and  Mount Ngaurouhoe, joined by a saddle-like feature called the Tongariro Crossing. It is well known in New Zealand as it is a popular 'tramping' (Kiwi term for hiking) destination. Mount Tongariro erupted on the 7th of August this year, hurling rocks up to 1km, and sending an ash cloud as far as Napier (around 2km away). As we drove past we were able to see 'hydrothermal activity' from the road (the steam in the photograph below). We also smelt sulphur in the air and saw evidence of the eruption in the form of yellowy ash on the grass verge. It was all quite exciting really! 

After our brief 'brush with death' photo stop we drove down the scenic route towards Rotorua. We passed a large lake called Lake Taupo, which was incredibly beautiful. Unfortunately it was dusk by this point and too dark for photos. It's definitely somewhere I'll have to go back to in the daylight though. 

The city of Rotorua is famed for its geothermal activity, and features geysers and hot mud pools. Unfortunately these great assets come at a price - a distinct odour of rotten eggs! It has the nickname of the 'Sulphur City' because of the hydrogen sulphide emissions, giving it the rotten egg smell. It is worth it though, as the natural hot pools are great for curing aches and pains. They certainly helped relieve my sore skiing knees. It was also an amazing experience to be sat in a natural outdoor hot-tub at 9pm with a fantastic view of the stars in the night sky. Something I will certainly have to do again.

Following a relaxing dip in the hot tub, Jess and I met up with the conference attendees for a few drinks in the hotel bar after the conference had finished. We were both shattered though, and were practically asleep after a couple of hours, so didn't stay too long. Andrew had decided to stay behind in the little holiday chalet we were renting as he was too tired to move!

The next morning we re-packed the car and headed out into Rotorua for our day of 'tourist fun'! We began by driving towards lake Rotorua (which is right next to the main city centre) and stopped for a shot stroll along part of the shore. I took a couple of pictures of the sea plane and helicopter that fly tourists around the skies above the lake, and also do a little tour of the city. I'd have loved to have had a go, but they were both VERY expensive!

We hopped back in the car and were planning to get something to eat, but were distracted by a crazy golf course on the way. We decided that as it was a lovely day we would stop and have a game. I got off to a great start completing the first hole, a par four, in just two shots. My good luck continued throughout the game, and even when I had a couple of bad holes, both Andrew and Jess did too! I eventually triumphed by 11 shots, but shot of the day went to Andrew who got a hole in one!

Following our crazy golf experience we drove out of the city and towards some of the lakes surrounding Rotorura. There are three main lakes in the nearby area, the Green Lake (Rotokakahi), the Blue Lake (Tikitapu) and Lake Tarawera. They were all beautiful and its a pity we didn't have more time to explore some of the walks and stop for a picnic, but we had to have our ski kit back in Auckland for 5pm.  We did manage to get a few photos though, the first two are from the Blue Lake, the next two are from the Green Lake, and the last two from Lake Tarawera.

After a brief paddle in the waters of Lake Tarawera we got back in the car and Andrew drove us back to Auckland. We stopped off a couple of times for ice cream and then chocolate, but managed to return our skis before the shop closed at 5pm. 

I had a great few days skiing and really enjoyed our time in Rotorua. I will certainly be going back to Rotorua and plan to spend some time exploring some of the walking tracks, relaxing in the hot pools and having picnics on the beaches! 

Ruapehu Ski Trip

I know I have only just been on a skiing trip, but winter is nearly over here, and I wanted to get in one last holiday before the ski fields close. One of my friends at Coastguard is also 'ski-mad' and was keen to make use of her season pass for Mount Ruapehu. She also dragged her boyfriend along who had never actually been before, but wanted to give it a go. 

We left Auckland at about 6am on Thursday morning. I was absolutely shattered as I had been up until 12am unpacking all my boxes from the house move in an attempt to find all my ski gear. Jess had just finished her 12 hour Coastguard night-shift, so it was left to Andrew to drive us down. Needless to say it was a pretty quiet car for the 5 hour journey!

Once we arrived we dropped off our kit in the bach (kind of like a holiday chalet) that we had rented. It was quite small, but plenty big enough for three. Apparently it was supposed to sleep seven people, although I'm not sure how that would have worked with one shower and one toilet! Actually, I tell a lie. There were two toilets, but I'm not sure anyone would have wanted to use option number two. It was a bit public for my liking, and perhaps a bit cold overnight!

Mount Ruapehu is actually an active volcano, and is apparently one of the most active in the world, with its most recent eruption in 2008. Luckily nothing happened while we were there.... but it is pretty cool to be able to say that I have been skiing on an active volcano!

Once we had dropped our kit off in the bach, we headed straight up to the ski field. We were all quite tired, but were keen to make good use of our limited time.

After we arrived Jess and I did a few practice runs on the beginners slope and then got on the ski lift to go up the mountain. We left Andrew to have a lesson from one of the instructors, and get to grips with the basics.

After day number one Jess and I were pretty tired, and we decided to 'beach' ourselves at the bottom of the mountain and send Andrew to get the car and pick us up instead of having to walk there!

We all slept very well that night, and despite a few bruises here and there, were looking forward to day number 2. Andrew on the other hand, wasn't so keen as his boots had been rubbing him the day before. He dropped off myself and Jess at the mountain and went to play golf!

Day 2 was beautiful weather again, and the lifts weren't busy as it was a weekday. Jess and I headed straight up to to the top of the mountain and decided to do some off-piste runs as the visibility was great, and the snow was perfect. 

After a few runs we took a break at the cafe halfway down the mountain. We had hot chocolate, and then decided to get a couple of chocolate bars to dip in for extra energy! The view from the cafe was amazing, and it was warm enough to sit outside.

After another afternoon of skiing, we were both shattered, and called on our chauffeur to pick us up again. This time we managed to look slightly less 'beached' and didn't require the assistance of 'marine mammal rescue'!

Once back at the bach we got showered and had a few drinks out on the front deck in the evening sun. It was still really warm, and very peaceful. It was nice to get out of the city for a while! We then went out for dinner at one of the local bars, and had a few more drinks! Afterwards we headed back to the bach in preparation for our final day skiing.

Jess and I got up nice and early and were raring to go so Andrew offered to drop us off at the mountain and then return to the bach to pack the car. Needless to say, Jess and I jumped at the chance to get as much skiing in as possible! The weather was glorious again, and the snow was perfect. Unfortunately, this time as it was a Saturday, the lifts were much busier. We did work out that the further you went up the mountain though, the quieter the lifts, so we spent much of the day at the top. We did manage another hot chocolate and chocolate bar stop though :)

There was one hair-raising moment where Jess and I had a miscommunication, and she turned left to go traverse across the mountain and I went right and continued on down. We were heading towards the cafe so I said that we would just go our separate ways and meet there. I went a route that we hadn't yet been on, but I could see a couple of other people skiing in that direction, so I thought I would join them.... little did I know that I was about to go down a black run (the most difficult there is)! I did wonder at the time why there were so few people around, as from what I could see it looked like an intermediate run. I saw a half-pipe style run in the valley which I knew would be fun, so followed the other two skiers, and successfully negotiated it. The valley then ran on to the edge of a VERY steep slope, but knew by that point it was too late to turn back. I would either have to ski down or take off the skis and climb all the way back up the valley. I did quite well actually, and only fell over once. I was pretty pleased with myself, especially after I found out it was a black run. I can now officially say I have skied my first black run, and more importantly, survived it!

At 4pm the lifts closed and we packed our skis in the car and drove towards Rotorua. There was a Coastguard conference in Rotorua that evening and Jess wanted to see some of her old friends from the Canterbury team. We planned to stay overnight and then spend Sunday doing some sight seeing and touristy things.

I'll create a separate post for our day in Rotorua as I'm not sure how many photos a single post will take before the system crashes! 

Christchurch

Apologies for not getting the Christchurch pictures up sooner,but it has been quite a hectic week. I'm moving in to my new place this weekend so have been trying to packing my things up between coastguard shifts, evening courses, and working at uni. I'm just about done though so I'm taking the time to update the blog.

So, as we were shattered after skiing on Saturday and the weather was going to be rubbish on Sunday, we decided to visit Christchurch instead. We got up on Sunday morning and drove from Methven into Christchurch. Gihan is really interested in Antarctic exploration and counts Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott amongst some of his heroes, so he was keen to visit the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch. I didn't mind going either, because I quite like that sort of thing, and I knew that there would be penguins there too :D

After a brief McDonalds stop for the boys, we drove over to the International Antarctic Centre. It was really interesting, and good to read about the different scientific research that is happening there currently. I also enjoyed learning about what clothes the scientists have to wear, what foods they eat, and what they get up to on their days off (skiing, ice fishing, kayaking etc).One of the best parts though was the 'wind chill experience'. Basically you go into a small room and put on a large jacket and some shoe covers (to keep the snow clean). You then open a door to another larger room with a snow floor (and authentic mini igloo) and  large panels of glass looking to the outside (for those people not wanting to take part). The air temperature is already -8⁰C when you go in, then you have a few minutes to get used to that, and then the wind comes!! They dim the lights and have the sound of a strong wind playing in the background to make it more authentic, then they gradually increase the wind chill from 0⁰C to a bone-chilling -18⁰C (added to the room temperature -26⁰C). It gets to the point where you are unable to feel your face or hands (if you have them out of your pockets), but it doesn't last long thankfully. It definitely makes you appreciate wind chill though. After leaving the room I read that the lowest recorded temperature in the Antarctic was -79⁰C (without wind chill). Suddenly I was pleased I only had to put up with -26⁰C for a couple of minutes! 

After warming up again we moved on to my favourite bit - the penguins. I just love watching them waddle everywhere, and got a few good videos of them swimming around. They all had their own names and we could read about their different personalities too which was nice.

After the penguins, we moved on to the displays telling us all about the natural history of the Antarctic, its current wildlife, the ozone etc. There was also a place where you could stand on the North Pole and the South Pole at the same time.... well you could stand on a water sample from each of them anyway, so I got a photo of me on the North Pole and South Pole at the same time!

After enjoying the International Antarctic Centre we drove into the city centre to have a look round. James is a Structural Engineer so he was particularly keen to look at the buildings that had been damaged by the earthquake(s) in 2011. As we went into the centre I was overwhelmed at how many buildings had either gone or were 'red zoned' - i.e. to be demolished. Basically the ENTIRE city centre was red zoned, and it looked like something out of a zombie movie. The area was cordoned off, there was rubble everywhere, and the traffic lights were still flashing amber. It was really eerie, and I felt very sorry for those affected.

It was encouraging though to see that they had come up with an ingenious idea to keep businesses open that couldn't trade in their old shops. What they had done was ordered lots of shipping containers and made them into shops by putting in windows, sliding doors etc. It's a really clever idea and I was quite excited to have my hot chocolate in a 'shipping container cafe'!

I thought that the city centre would be the worst affected area, but nothing could have prepared me for seeing the coastal suburb of Sumner. The drive there was bad enough; the road was very undulating as a result of being buckled by the earthquake, but driving past the cliffs was just devastating. Those people that had built their homes on the cliff tops with million dollar views out to the sea were now unable to inhabit them, and the vast majority had been earmarked for demolition. Some of them were already ruined as a result of the cliffs collapsing, with people's belongings clearly visible at the base. In an attempt to protect the road from falling debris and rocks, Christchurch City Council had used more shipping containers to barricade the base of the cliffs. It was very sad to see though, and many of those people are still waiting for the insurance companies to give them the money they are owed.

The beach at Sumner is beautiful though, so I am hoping that they will eventually rebuild and it will once more be a bustling seaside town.

After our time in Sumner, we drove back into the city for some food. I had roast beef and yorkshire puds, all washed down with an ice cold pint of Erdinger beer. Delicious! We then drove to the airport and boarded our flight. On the way back we were given the choice of some chocolate, some biscuits or a bag of crisps. Needless to say I chose the chocolate! James then collected his car from the airport car park and drove us all home. I was absolutely shattered and couldn't wait to get into bed. As I got undressed though I noticed a few war-wounds from skiing, so I thought I would show you the best ones!

I plan to go skiing again (this time in the North Island), so maybe I can collect a few more to add to the collection! This week though, the main priority is moving house, so I will get a few pictures of my new abode for you to all to see.

Right, off to bed now, pretty tired - and it's only Tuesday!

Skiing Weekend

As most of you will already know, I flew down to Christchurch this weekend to do a spot of skiing. I packed my bag on Friday afternoon and met up with my friend Gihan, who I know through anatomy demonstrating. We got on the bus at the Ferry Terminal and headed to the airport. Once we had arrived, we waited for Gihan's friend James and then all checked in together. We just had enough time for a quick beer and then boarded the plane. Air New Zealand are definitely my favourite airline by far. We got a snack on the plane consisting of some cheese (cheddar and brie), some biscuits and grapes, all washed down with a glass of wine. Considering the journey is just over an hour, that's pretty good going. I hope you are reading this Easyjet and Ryanair, you have a lot to live up to!!

Once we arrived in Christchurch we located our rental car and headed to our accommodation in Methven. We took the scenic route to Methven, but unfortunately it was too dark to see anything. We got to our hostel at about 10.30pm, dropped off our bags and then drove back into town to try and find food and drink. Methven is absolutely tiny though, so all we managed to get was a bar snack, but they were pretty good nachos. We also had a couple of beers before heading back to our accommodation. The room was pretty basic, but nice and clean, with a good hot shower so there were no complaints.

On Saturday we got up early and put on our thermals ready for a day of skiing. We had some toast and jam and looked over the snow report for Mount Hutt. We were very disappointed to discover that it was going to be a windy day and most of the ski lifts at Mount Hutt would be closed. The owners of the hostel advised us to travel a bit further and try Porters Ski Field. It's a little smaller than Mount Hutt but is sheltered from the wind and they said it would probably be a bit quieter than Mount Hutt. We followed their advice and drove firstly to rent equipment (the rental guy was from near to St Andrews!), and then travelled using the scenic route, to Porters Ski Field. On the way we stopped at a couple of places and I got some good photos of Rakaia River (famous for its turquoise blue waters, I'm not sure my photos do it justice!), the mountains we were heading towards, and even stopped in Sheffield (yes there's one in NZ too) at the 'world famous' Sheffield Pie Shop.

We reached Porters Ski Field at about 10am, got suited and booted, and then picked up our lift passes. Gihan and I made our way to the beginners slope to get warmed up, while James went straight up the mountain on the lifts.

After a few runs on the beginners slope I plucked up the courage to get on the lifts and headed to the top of the mountain with James. I was glad I did, as the views were spectacular! 

After a few runs down the mountain we decided to break for lunch. We had a hot drink at the cafe and a couple of raspberry and white chocolate muffins each. I chose a hot chocolate which was delicious and made with real chocolate. 

After lunch then we went back on to the mountain. Unfortunately by this time the weather had begun to close in, so my pictures from the top weren't quite so clear, and eventually they closed a couple of the lifts. By this time though we weren't too bothered as we were all shattered. I had got to the point where I was falling over a lot because I was so tired, and was consequently collecting a lot of bruises.... it was probably best I stopped when I did!!

We left the ski fields late afternoon and got back to the accommodation at about 5.30. We went to the local supermarket and bought ingredients for a spaghetti bolognese. James had offered to cook, and he made enough to feed the entire population of Methven! It was absolutely delicious though, and afterwards we settled down in the living room to watch The Lord of The Rings The Two Towers. I nearly fell asleep several times, and was glad when the film finished and I could go to bed.

The next morning we got up early again ready to ski, but unfortunately the snow report was pretty bad for the day. Since we were all tired and the weather was going to be bad, we made the executive decision to spend the day in Christchurch instead. This suited me fine as I had never been to Christchurch before, and was looking forward to seeing the city. We all went back to bed for another couple of hours until check-out time.

I'll put our day in Christchurch as a separate post in the blog as it's quite late here now and I will have to get up for uni tomorrow. Will hopefully update the Christchurch part tomorrow, but if not will definitely do so on Wednesday!