Long White Cloud

We are rudely awoken at about 8.15am this morning by the fire alarm. We have to dress and run our to the carpark and it is then that the alarm goes off and we find out that someone in one of the other apartments has burnt their toast. Awesome! We had the same problem at about 7.30pm last night cause someone burnt their sausages. We very grumpily head back to the apartment and get ready to start the day. We decided to head to the second ski park in the Queenstown called Mt Coronet. It is the more popular ski field in the area probably for the facilities, the base looks like an airport terminal. We think it is also a bigger ski field, but the summit of the mountain is at the same level as the base of the Remarkables. This means it is slightly warmer and the snow is not as firm. There are hundreds on snow-makers on the mountain which work overnight to keep a fresh layer of snow on the ski runs. There is also only one beginner run and it is about half the length of the Remarkables.

We wanted to check it out so we take the ½ hr drive to the base and are pleasantly surprised that its is paved all the way. There are hundreds of people there and we had to take the shuttle bus from the carpark to the base cause its too far to walk with all the gear. We eventually wade through the people and make it the the chairlift for the short trip to the start of the beginner's run. The snow is extremely slushy and the ground is not level which makes it a bit more difficult to ski on. We do a few runs before grabbing some lunch and then make the decision to go back to the Remarkables as we both feel more comfortable there.

We spend the rest on the afternoon on the mountain at the Remarkables and are pleased to say we both now look more like a skier and not just a beginner. We only have tomorrow left on the ski pass so we hope to get in a bit of tubing, maybe even build a snowman!

We started this morning with a nutritious Maccas breakfast. The weather is great again so we decided to take a walk to the lookout point of the Remarkables ski field. We take one of the chairlifts up to the top of the ski field and start the hike up. The walk is only about 100m from the chairlift and on an angle. Its also pretty steep. We did not think to put regular shoes and were wearing our ski boots, not very smart as they are almost impossible to walk in.

We start the climb. Kimberley is quite nervous as she is afraid of falling and sliding down the mountain on her bum. We eventually make it to the top and the view is spectacular. It is the highest point that we have ever been. We take a couple photos and slowly work our way back down the mountain and onto safe flat ground.

We grab some lunch and take the the ski fields Today Kimberley only falls once and it really wasn't a fall. Brett falls a couple of times which makes her feel a whole lot better considering yesterdays drama. Our confidence grows and while our technique isn't perfect, we can make it down the mountain reasonable successfully. We both have a few bruises mostly on our lower legs where the boots have been rubbing but nothing is broken (which is amazing!).

Feeling a bit stiff and sore this morning, we decide to take the day off from skiing and take the hour drive back to the town of Wanaka to a place called Puzzling World. This has been built by a local and is all about visual illusions. It is extremely clever. The building is filled with holograms, pictures, paintings and puzzles all themed around twisting your mind and eyes to think about what you are seeing. There is a room for forced perspective, hard to describe so well show you one the video when we get back. There is another room that has been built on an angle. When you walk into the room you are actually walking up a steep slope. It messes with your mind. Kimberley had quite a bit of trouble with dizziness and even Brett was feeling a bit queasy once we left. There is another room with faces on the wall, and when you walk around the room, the faces seem to follow you. Very strange.

We leave Wanaka for and head back to Queenstown. Because we had taken a day off skiing, we decided to book a Shotover Heliscenic tour which includes a jetboat ride on the Shotover River and a scenic helicopter ride. The bus picks us up from town and takes the eight minute trip to the Shotover Canyon. The river is up a bit but our driver says that the boats can travel in as little as 5-10cm of water. We are given long spray jackets and life vests and are herded onto the boat. Brett takes the outside seat in the second row and Kimberley takes the seat alongside hoping not to get wet. We take off and are almost immediately sprayed. It moves really fast! The driver gives the signal he will be doing a 360 which is fantastic. And we get wet again. We drive into the canyon and the driver takes us within inches of the rock walls and protruding rocks in the river. We do another couple of 360s and we get we again. The water on your face feels like it is burning in the cold wind. The journey is quick, and fast and brilliant. We do one last 360 just before stopping but this time we all get completely drenched, even the driver.

We all get out and make our way to another bus to take us to the helicopter pad further up the road near Coronet Peak. Both of us are given the front seats of the helicopter next the the pilot so we have great views. We take off from one mountain range and the pilot directs us over to the valley to the Remarkables mountain range. The view is great as the sky is clear and sunny. We travel to the top of one of the first of the peaks and the driver is able to land on a flat area for us to get out. We climb onto the snow and are greeted with a fantastic view of the mountains, valley and Queenstown. We are able to get some great shots and are back on the helicopter before too long for the quick journey to the airport below. We are both a little disappointed about not being able to fly directly over the mountains but, not too worry, we are bused back to the town center.

A quick walk back to the apartment for restful evening and to prepare ourselves for some more ski action on the slopes tomorrow. There is talk of snowfall from a front that is moving through tonight so it will be nice to see some fresh snow on the mountain.

Back up the mountain today for our second day of skiing. Since we passed the “Beginners” lesson yesterday, we are able to move onto level 2. We start down with the beginners slope on the longer magic carpet so the new instructor can see our ski level. Because we are both fairly confident, we are taken, along with some others, to the scary ski lift. Its one of the lifts that holds four people at a time, so when you get to the top, with everyone's skis and poles, things can get a bit crazy.

Thankfully we “dismount” successfully, and slide to the meeting area. The instructor takes us on the classic beginner train where we all follow the path she makes. Unfortunately, Kimberley gets a bit to much speed on a steeper slope and crash lands in the middle of the ski field. Once on her feet, we move on a little when she spots a small girl who has fallen over. Kimberley skis up to the girl to help her up and falls over in the process! Then she falls again but this time was in an awkward position an not able to pull up by herself. If you have skied before, you know how difficult it is to get up without your skis sliding out from underneath you. Unfortunately, there was no one available to help her as the group was already at the bottom of the slope and Brett was doing his best to step up the slope but its not a fast process. After much struggling, Kimberley ends up taking her skis off before slowing working her way down the slope.

We decide that this is enough for now and grab some lunch. Kimberley has become quite discouraged by her crashes and is in a bit of pain after twisting both knees in a fall. After much discussion, we decide that perhaps a private lesson is required. Neither of us is entirely happy with the instructor from this morning so we are able to gain a private lesson with Bonnie, our instructor from yesterday. Bonnie took us to the top of the chairlift and we skied down (without falling over) to midway down the slope. From there, we jump on another chairlift which takes us further up the mountain. There are several grades of slopes to take from here from easy to difficult and there is even a terrain park for the experienced tricksters. We slowly make our way down the mountain and Bonnie is able to look at our technique. Kimberley shifts her weight too much in the turns and is not able to keep both feet on the slope for braking where necessary, which is the reason for most of the falls. Brett's technique is good and Bonnie is able to give him some advice to move to the next level. We both feel more confident in the end and the lesson has proved valuable.

We decide to call it a day as Kimberley has quite a few bruises and both our knees are a bit sore. Worked out well cause the air was getting very cold and the idea of the spa back at the apartment was quite attractive.

Today is our first day on the slopes. We load our gear into the Tuscon and head up to the Remarkables Ski Field, 45 minutes from Queenstown. Fortunately, we have been blessed with brilliant weather – nothing but blue skies and sunshine.

The road up is not sealed, so it is slow going which is just as well because it is a long drop to the bottom. Before long we pull into the car park, which is nice and close, so we don't have to walk far. We put on our ski boots and make our way awkwardly to the base.

We have passes for the ski class already so we join up with the group and walk our way down to the beginner area. The instructor, named Bonnie, was great (Bonnie is a kiwi but speaks like a Canadian, a bit strange). The class starts out with the basics like how to stand up in skis, how to step up hills in skis and how to brake. Then we head up the smallest magic carpet (conveyor belt) to the top of the smallest slope (about 20 meters long) and do our first downhill run. Mind you, there was barely a slope, but felt good to be moving and we didn't even fall over. We repeated this several times throughout the morning, slowly building up our confidence. By lunch time we were able to successfully ski down the smallest slope on the mountain, stop and repeat.

We then break for lunch, during which we have our second encounter with the Getaway team and Kimberley's "boyfriend”, Jules. Watch out for a New Zealand special later in the year – you may even see us!

After lunch, we join the class again for the afternoon lesson. This lesson sees us move to the longer magic carpet and start to learn how to turn on the skis which we continue to practice for the rest of the afternoon. Pretty pleased with ourselves (although, it is a little frustrating to see a 5 year old girl speed past you), we ski up and down the second smallest run until the end of the day. By then our feet are in absolute agony as the boots are quite uncomfortable so we pack up and head home.

Not a bad first day and with beautiful blue skies to boot. Tomorrow, we'll look at getting on the chairlifts...scary.