Along the Away

Skiing was a big deal for me as I have only done it once in my lifetime, and it was on the disaster scale. I was seventeen, on a student trip to the USA west coast on the G’day USA program. We went to the snow somewhere in the extreme north west of the country, I can’t even remember the name, it was south of the Canadian border. Our group instructor seemed bored and not that bothered. He gave us a half-hearted lesson before putting us all on the chairlift up to the top (it seemed like a ginormous mountain, but I concede that time may have increased the dramatic scale in my memory). The chairlift was fun, but when we got to the top I didn’t know what to do! I put my feet down, slid off the chair and then kept sliding. Down. The. Mountain. The good news is that I didn’t crash. The bad news is that I didn’t know how to turn or control my speed at all, so I picked up speed until I was literally airborne for half of the descent. When I neared the bottom I saw that it leveled out to end in an excavation pit where there were trucks and bulldozers (again, memory scale maybe be slightly distorted). So to avoid skiing off the cliff, I had to throw myself sideways, where I cut my cheek on the ice. Epic ski fail.

Cut to 15 years later and I thought I’d give it another go.

Because I was on my own I visited Snow Biz the afternoon before to book in a gear hire beginner package which included ski and clothing hire, lessons and bus transport up the mountain. I rocked up very early the next morning to get fitted for skis, pants and jacket then was one of the first to get in line for the buses, which depart right outside the shop. There are two options – The Remarkables and Coronet. I did some googling which would be best for a beginner and decided to go to The Remarkables.

The bus ride was easy, though pretty intense considering the steep, winding climb on a narrow, snowy road! We arrived and I felt a bit out of the loop on what/how. Everyone was there in friend or family groups and seemed to know what they were doing. The intrepid solo traveller is not immune to occasional pangs for the comfort and ease of being with friends. But the only option is to brush it aside and make it work. I watched for awhile and then changed into my ski boots there in the car park and then trudged up to the people-conveyor-belts (what are they called?) and to the building with everyone else.

I figured it out from there – I put my bag in the storage room, leaned my skis on one of the numbered stands, went to the cafeteria for a coffee, snapped some photos and then it was time for my first lesson!

Luckily there were some other solo peeps in my group so we quickly forged a bond of support to keep each other’s morale up and clapped and cheered our gradual improvement. Our instructor, a twenty-something Welsh guy, was absolutely wonderful. Funny, kind and understanding – he played a huge part in building my confidence. We had a two hour morning lesson, stopped for a lunch break and then had an afternoon two hour lesson.

I couldn’t believe that by the end of the day I was capable of skiing down the beginner slope, controlling my direction and speed and most importantly STAYING UPRIGHT!

I had a blast the whole day, the lessons were fun, the environment was stunning and I felt pretty proud for having tried something new that pushed me out of my comfort zone. I would love to come back another time for a week or so, and I have to say, I think it would be a lot of fun with a group of friends. Add it to the travel list :-)

My time in Queenstown was jam-packed with activities – fittingly so, as Queenstown has the reputation of being one of the world’s adventure tourism capitals.

I skiied! I luge-ed! I horse-rode! I danced!

I loved the winter village feel of Queenstown. The streets were bustling and everyone was rugged up warm and cheerful.

Every direction offers a postcard view – it’s the mountain horizon that does it. Even the view from our apartment was pretty special.

I explored with some friends from the bus tour over the three days we were there. On one night I went with Mel and Michael to a fabulous whisky bar with a big fireplace and hard-core bartenders who laboured intensely to create a very fancy Old Fashioned for my friend and an expresso martini for me – both were awesome.

We kicked on to meet a large group at the quintessential backpacker nightclub, The Buffalo Club, where we drank cocktail jars and danced the night away.

The next day I rode the Skyline Gondola up to Bob’s Peak on Ben Lomond Mountain, which was well worthwhile for the amazing views at the top.

While I was up there I figured I may as well ride the luge – it was fun for novelty’s sake and not expensive, but the view is definitely the highlight.

We traveled back down and walked into town to meet some others at Fergburger – the famous burger hotspot. Being a vegetarian I wasn’t sure if I’d get the same experience as it’s the Fergburger original that everyone raves about – but they had a few veggie options so I tried the “Bun Laden” – a falafel burger. It was pretty damn good actually!

In the afternoon I wandered around on my own for awhile – time for some solo time-out! The evening was beautiful down by Steamer Wharf, I even appreciated the chill as I walked around, it lent a special atmosphere.

That night we went to the Below Zero Ice Bar – which, you guessed it, is made of ICE! Including the cups…

And the decor…

And the light fixtures…

Basically everything! It was fun to visit for awhile, we stayed for about two hours. To be honest, it’s not really that cold (compared to being outdoors in NZ haha!) There is a photo booth in there plus an ice puck table and vodka on the rocks – plenty to amuse oneself for a couple of hours.

For dinner, Mel, Michael and I kicked on down to Steamer Wharf where we’d independently walked around earlier that day and seen some interesting restaurants.

We walked back and forth a few times before deciding on ‘Public Kitchen‘ which was quite special. Their menu is based on collective dining and sharing food, so while we all ordered our own ‘main’ meat or seafood we ordered a number of delicious veggie side accompaniments – yummo! We were there for a few hours, chatting and laughing and sharing tales from their life in Darwin (fascinating – I want to go even more now!) and my travel stories from India. Seriously, it’s the people you meet while on the road that make the most lasting memories; it was one of my favourite nights.

I’ll share more in my next couple of posts about my skiing and horse riding adventures. I would love to return to Queenstown again, either in winter so I could properly learn to ski, or even in Spring or Summer to go hiking and enjoy these great outdoors.

If I HAD to pick one single highlight of my trip to NZ it would probably, most likely, OK definitely be the glacier heli-hike I did on Fox Glacier. It really was one of those top-of-the-top travel experiences. Sure, everything you do when traveling is a special experience and rates high on the life scale far above the base line of sitting at home on the couch. But there are some once in a lifetime epic experiences that skyrocket off that scale to be seared into your memory forever. The glacier hike and opportunity to poke around in some ice caves was absolutely amazing – plus, you get there by helicopter!

There was a lot of debate on the road and even amongst travellers online about whether it’s worth doing the half day (4 hour) heli-hike, which is expensive at NZ$400, or doing a much cheaper half day hike or even a drive-and-hike instead. I understand that there’s a point where you just can’t multiply the dollars in your pocket, but if you do have the cash and you’re just weighing up where else you could spend it – don’t hesitate. This is one of those things you have to do while you’re there.

I went with the company Fox Guides. They fit you out in any gear you need; I was wearing water resistant hiking pants already but opted to wear one of their water-proof, insulated jackets plus their leather hiking boots. I had my waterproof Palladium boots but because you wear crampons on the ice I preferred the assurance of a perfect fit and performance on their own hiking boots.

We were assembled into groups based on on our individual weights and then had to stand together on a massive scale to check we weren’t over the helicopter requirements. I went with a few of my travel buddies from the bus tour which was great – we were all giddy with excitement! We were group 2 out of 4 helicopter loads, so we got to watch the group in front of us follow procedure as they ran to the helicopter and hopped in. It took off in a thunder of noise and arc-ed up and disappeared in between the mountains. The excitement mounted for our group as the second helicopter landed and it was our turn to beeline for the door, jump in and enjoy the ride!

It was a very smooth flight, all of us grinning ear-to-ear with our headphones on and eyes pinned out the window. The mountains loomed up and around us, the higher up we went it dawned on me just how high and big they are, a perspective you just can’t fathom looking up from land or birds-eye from a plane.

The glacier is an expansive long stretch of ice holding apart the opposing stark mountain sides that it runs between.

I was studying it for a long time before I noticed that a couple of the specks below were actually the other helicopter and the first group standing on the ice! Seriously, just as you think you’ve wrapped your head around the scale of the area it knocks you over again. We circled around as the group below all crouched down with their heads tucked and hands over their ears.

The helicopter lifted off the ground and drifted away back to pick up another group. Ours descended to the drop off spot and we touched down lightly. I stumbled out and beelined carefully over the ice to the group, we crouched and braced as the helicopter lifted off sending gusts of wind and sheets of ice across our huddle. Once it was gone we gingerly stood up and with the help of our guide put on our crampons which was not too difficult.

What a godsend they were! As soon as they were on I felt sturdy and safe, I could walk on the sleekest patch of ice and stay totally in control.

We followed our guide in a single file, taking care to step where he stepped (don’t want to fall through into a cave!) It was unreal, unlike any other environment I’ve ever been on.

Fox Glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world with the odd distinction of ending in rainforest, 13km away from its beginning in the Southern Alps. It has both retreated and expanded over the years – the vegetation revealing its past.

My favourite thing about the hike was walking through the ice tunnels.

They’re cave-like, but not far below the surface, most of the time you can see the sky through gaps and holes in the ice above – they’re more like crevices I suppose.

They are just so beautiful.

Peaceful and ethereal.

Smooth and glossy, surprisingly dry to touch.

At times the tunnel was so tight I had to contort my body to slide through – and slide is the right word. If it weren’t for the smooth slippery walls of the tunnel I’m not sure I could have pushed myself through. I had to contort, lean into the wall and slide around, trying not to fall in a puddle once I’d made it through the tricky part.

Sometimes the ice was solid above me, but mostly I looked up to see a sliver of the sky between the curve of the ice above.

We climbed back up to the ground level of the glacier and crunched our way back towards the helicopter pick-up point, stopping for some group happy snaps.

Our guide chopped up the ice so that once we took our crampons off we didn’t slip and slide.

We repeated the whole crouch and brace routine again before it was our turn to hop on for our ride back to base.

Lucky me – I got to sit in the front! I was the ‘co-pilot’ (in my head). Susie looks a bit worried but was happy really.

The whole morning was just wonderful, I loved very minute! If you ever have the opportunity to go in your lifetime – do it!

Finally! An overseas adventure is on the cards! Yippee!!

I am off to New Zealand on the 23rd June for four weeks. FOUR GLORIOUS weeks of exploration around what I have heard, countless times, is a truly beautiful country.

I am starting off in Auckland where I will catch up with a travel friend, Leah, who I met when travelling India. Then I’m going to head north to the stunning Bay of Islands – I plan to go on the Rock the Boat overnight cruise while there to see the islands from the best vantage point, plus mosey around with my camera and soak up island living.

Then back to Auckland to travel south through the North Island and down to the South Island. I will fly back to Sydney from Christchurch on the 18th July.

Things I am super excited about:

• Overnight boating in the Bay of Islands.
• Hiking Fox Glacier (first time exploring a glacier).
• Hanging out, cafés and art in Nelson, what I have heard is a kinda groovy town.
• Soaking in thermal baths!
• Milford Sound.
• Queenstown fun.
• Giving skiing a whirl.
• Being on the road, meeting interesting people.
• Getting a massive nature hit and being outside all the time.
• The crisp cool air and mountain views.
• The SNOW!!
• Using my new camera – excited!!

Of course I’ll be blogging as I go. Finally some decent travel action for this travel blog… It’s been too long.

So right now I am juggling tying up last minute work stuff, other projects on my hands and conducting some very important, all consuming online shopping for things I need in my travel wardrobe (I don’t often travel to cold places). This hat is still under consideration (initial reaction from my housemate was a bit cautious).

I am intentionally winding down toward holiday mode. Too many holidays have started out in the brink of exhaustion in recent years, this one I am committed to starting raring to go… Countdown is on :-)