Saturday, July 13

[Maze]

Kyle, Melita and I attempted a massive maze at some sort of puzzle land thing in Wanaka. The aim was to navigate to all four corner towers and then find our way out. Kyle did spectacularly well, but Melita and I got so bored and frustrated that we escaped out of one of the emergency exits. Says a lot about our tenacity really... but we decided that we could cope with this level of failure. :)

posted by pete at 3:22 PM

[Treblecone]

Kyle said Treblecone was a super ski-field. He went there yesterday; I would have loved to have gone, but my fate took Melita, Goss and I to Mt Cook. The drive was beautiful, but unfortunately the mountain was blanketed by thick fog, and we only glimpsed it once on arrival and then again on our departure. Thankfully the Tasman Glacier was visible in all its glory and it truly was a spectacular sight. This majestic river of ice hurtles (in glacial terms) down the valley at 200m per year, before breaking up into an icy lake in a rock-strewn valley. I've never seen a glacier before, and I think in many ways it is one of the most beautiful things I've seen so far.

posted by pete at 3:15 PM

[Light aircraft]

How terrifying. Today we travelled to Milford Sound, which is an incredibly beautiful body of water flanked by immense snow-capped mountains and sheer vertical surfaces. However, we travelled there in a single engine aircraft which we could barely squeeze into. Genuine terror surged through me as the plane was tossed and heaved about by whatever air currents the mountains below cared to direct towards it.

As Melita, Lisa, Goss and I exchanged faux-reassuring smiles, our tiny vehicle buzzed along above seemingly endless ranks of mountains and valleys, before finally plummeting down to the Milford Sound airport. The cruise on the Sound provided welcome stress reduction time, and for a while I considered forfeiting my return flight and taking the seven hour bus trip instead. The return flight was far more enjoyable – I even started to fall asleep – but I was just so grateful to be back on terra firma. I don't think I'll ever get into a plane like that again.

posted by pete at 3:03 PM

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Thursday, July 11

[Latte]

One of the best things in New Zealand is their lattes, which come served in bowls. Seriously, bowls. No handles or anything. And huge. So, so good!

posted by pete at 4:12 PM

[Head injury]

Yesterday I dropped my skis on some poor woman's head. It was such a freakish accident; they just slipped from my grasp. In any case, she completely over-reacted, telling me that she "didn't know" whether or not she was okay, despite my repeated questions as to whether she felt dizzy or sore. It's not like I chucked the skis at her deliberately. I should have thrown a hissy fit and asked her how she thought I was feeling about it all, and told her not to ever touch my skis again. :)

Well today was my last day of skiing at the glorious Cardrona, and what a good day it was. Such fun... and Melita is very quickly turning into a total ski-bunny.

posted by pete at 4:11 PM

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Tuesday, July 9

[Skiing]

We went to Cardrona today. The skiing is so incredibly good. Here are some reasons:

-The snow is of wonderful quality – even the terrifying black runs seem manageable with the soft powder beneath
-The scenery is breathtaking
-The ski runs are very long, resulting in less time spent in queues
-There seem to be fewer people per square metre than there are in Australian ski fields, and better still, fewer snowboarders
-The ski runs are generally wide and invite exploration

I quickly got back 'into' skiing and I'm looking forward to the next few days. Who knows, we might even give the rather formidable Treble Cone a go.

posted by pete at 4:58 PM

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Monday, July 8

[In NZ]

We were welcomed to New Zealand with a Scottish fanfare and free miniature chocolate bars at Dunedin airport. The Dunedin region was settled by Scots, so that explains the seemingly irrelevant nature of the festivities. As if that wasn't exciting enough, it turns out that our hire cars have CD players, and I'm still getting over my excitement about that. Immediately apparent was the cold weather and incredible landscapes that abound in this country.

We are staying in a terrific apartment in Wanaka with mountain views, balcony, stainless steel kitchen, shiny bathroom fixtures and all the appliances one craves. This country is unbelievably beautiful, with majestic scenery that constantly varies and surprises. Today we went to Queenstown, which purports to be the extreme sports capital of the world. Such a title means very little to me as I'd rather be sitting in a coffee shop than throwing myself off flimsy platforms suspended miles above the forest floor. We did go for a gondola ride, which afforded breathtaking views.

The scariest part was taking a different road on the way home, which led us through snowy mountain passes laden with rockfalls and possibly icy roads. I'll claim that my nerves of steel got us through these perils, but Melita and Kyle might tell a different story.

I'm going skiing tomorrow. Tonight we're being very bohemian and having a cheese and wine evening in our apartment. That is, if I ever get out of this Internet cafe.

posted by pete at 6:20 PM

[Melbourne]

Melbourne is always fantastic. We left at 5am from Pt Elliot, which I'd bussed to the night before. My goodness I love Melbourne. I found Melita on Bourke St, thank goodness, and we partook of really good sushi before walking to the other end of the CBD with a rather large and awkward bag between us. We met up with the Sallys, who were resplendent and gorgeous as ever, have a lovely new house and own gorgeous creatures, and also with Brooke, who never fails to be wonderful. We had dinner on Brunswick St – which required a fairly lengthy wait and wasn't very delicious – but the atmosphere and company more than made up for it.

Melita and I then bunked down in a single fold-up bed for the most uncomfortable night's sleep I've had for a while.

posted by pete at 6:09 PM

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