Powered by TimTams: NZ South Island Road Trip

Arrowtown Heritage Buildings (Arrowtown, 31 July 07)
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We were delighted that our friend Nicky, an Aussie girl we met in Canada, could join us for a couple of weeks in NZ. Nicky flew into Queenstown on 1 August to fresh snow, and with a scratch free snowboard we were hoping that the piste rocks would get covered! She had decided that she couldn't survive without some Australian "timtams" (like UK Penguin Biscuits) and arrived with a good supply.

Our first week was based in Arrowtown (20mins from Queenstown, but a world away from the "bungy madness" with heritage buildings and a lot of peace and quiet) where we explored the local skifields, including:

Our Arrowtown Cottage with Coronet Peak in the background ( Arrowtown, 31 July 07)
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Coronet Peak: The skifield nearest to Queenstown, this area has a fairly unscary access road for NZ and the 2 chairs and t-bar offer a reasonably good variety of terrain access. A good terrain park (including some girl sized jumps) meant a few days fun was had here. Great view of Queenstown from the top of the mountain.

The Remarkables: If ever a ski field were misnamed this were it, we found the terrain very unremarkable! Almost every slope had a flat area which snowboarders had to walk along, and the rock count was pretty high. That, combined with icy cold winds and a terrifying access road, meant this place was low on the "must ride" list.

Nic and Rob have fun at Coronet Peak ( Queenstown 31 July 07)
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Cadrona: Although billed as a "beginners resort" we found plenty to amuse us for a day - a huge park (with v scary jumps) but a good beginners box area. V and Nic surprised themselves by riding entire runs switch! Quite easy access road too.

Treble Cone: Slightly further away from Arrowtown, this resort has the most expensive lift passes ($99 per day!) but in our opinion is worth it. Nic wasn't mad about the mogul count, but V&Rob loved the steep terrain and softish moguls as well as the awesome natural half pipes and "backcountry" feel. We will be returning...

Cheeky Kea (Alpine Parrot) at treble cone skifield (Wanaka, 5 Aug 07)
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A great base in the cottage at the awesome Poplar Lodge, with our own kitchen, meant that good home-cooked food and times were high up on the agenda. We did go out to Saffron (a great pizza place) one night, with the pizzas being so huge they lasted for lunch the next day!

V & Nic also spend a day at the wonderful Millbrook resort, with its saltwater pools, outdoor hot pools, and yoga and gym area. Suitable restoration for some exhausted bodies!

Driving up the skifield access roads unfortunately took their toll on our trusty car, Cecil. He banged and clattered for a few days before we decided to take him to a garage, upon which his CV joint fell out of the bottom on the garage forecourt! We were grateful he had lasted that long, and so gladly paid for him to be fixed in Wanaka. It was good to be back in Wanaka, if only for a day, and we were delighted to see Moons, a friend of my cousin Lisa.

Nearly perfect reflection on Lake Pukaki (Wanaka, NZ 7 Aug 07)
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We then drove a "loop" through the Southern Alps to the west coast, stopping at the amazing Fox Glacier (see separate entry), the shut down out of season seaside town of Hokitika, and then up through Arthur's Pass, hoping to stop at the club skifields there but passing on through due to lack of snow. We stopped for a night at Lake Tekapo, but with the weather worsening decided to keep on our way rather than hike.

We arrived at Buscot Station being followed by some ominous thunderous looking clouds, and quickly shelved our plans for a hike when they burst open to throw buckets of water out onto the high country plains. We soon found that we couldn't have taken refuge in a better place; our host, Tony explaining all about the area (and merino farming) in front of a warm log stove, whilst the weather raged outside.

Big fruit and Big Dutchmen in Cromwell (Cromwell, NZ 12 Aug 07)
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Thankfully, the system was short lived and the next day was good enough for us to go skiing at Ohau. This small commercial field (one lift!) was reached by possibly the most treacherous access road we have encountered so far, including venturing across a foot deep ford half way up! The promised 45cm of snow was not entirely around within the main ski area, but V and Rob's hike above the main piste was rewarded by an awesome run in around 20cm of powder. Well worth the trek and the perilous walk across the mountain ridge to access the bowl, even if V nearly got blown away!

Alice the sheep on Buscot Station (Twizel NZ, 12 Aug 07)
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A great veggie curry was served up by Rob for all at the sheep station that evening, and was much appreciated by all. Then (after gaining a very tall dutchman with an even bigger rucksack!) we set off back south to meet Nic's flight home. We spent our last night in Arrowtown, and our last day hiking up Sawpit Gully. This old Chinese gold miner's route was a hard hour of vertical uphill (500m elevation gain!) before a gentle walk across the ridge to snow covered pastures. The route back down was pretty tricky, with numerous river crossings, ice slipping bits and no paths. We were quite glad to get back to town as the light faded!

Fresh tracks though the Ohau skifield higher bowl (Twizel, NZ 12 Aug 07)
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A great two weeks and wonderful to see Nic. We look forward to catching up with her at her alpaca farm on the gold coast!

V&R