A Remarkables holiday!
When I last wrote, we had (narrowly) made the plane and were enroute to Queenstown, New Zealand. The plane ride was smooth and before we knew it, we were descending with snow capped peaks appearing through the clouds like isolated islands in a sea of white. Soon we were out of the clouds and flying down a corridor between the mountains, the rugged and rocky hillsides reminiscent of the mountain-flanked plains of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings.
It didn’t take us long to land, get through customs smoothly and soon we were in our hire car and away. A couple of wrong turns and finally we were heading into the right direction and away! Driving out of Frankton and towards Queenstown itself was amazing and highly distracting. Australia is a beautiful country, but I am not sure there is anything quite like the valley we were driving through, with snow-capped mountains on all sides, and the beautiful Lake Wakatipu wrapping its way between them. It was difficult to keep my eyes on the road, and the boys were equally awestruck at the view around them.
The mountains rising up out of the lake were breathtaking - as was the temperature of the water!
Arriving at our hotel we couldn’t resist walking down to the lake. It was a sunny afternoon and not cold like we expected it might be. The water of the lake reminded us that winter was not long gone though, the water was crystal clear and icy, the surrounding scenery spectacular. To the East the imposing line of the Remarkables dominated the view; the mountains we would be skiing at. They reminded me of the mountains of Mordor, vast and steep, and stretching away into the distance, their peaks looking every bit like the jagged teeth of a colossal dragon. There was snow right at the tips but not much on their Western face, with nothing resembling a skiable slope in sight, let alone a road that could possibly get up and over them!
The Remarkables form an imposing line of grey-brown cliff faces. Less imposing with the picturesque Queenstown houses and gardens in the foreground; clearly the orcs of Mordor have not pillaged here yet.
We were to find out bright and early the next morning. After skiing Mt Buller earlier in the year, and reading from the travel agent that it was a pretty busy season, I figured an early start would be needed to avoid getting caught in heavy traffic heading up to the mountain and having trouble finding parking. But once we were on the road heading up to the peaks, it quickly became apparent that I had grossly over-estimated this potential traffic. We had the road to ourselves with only hares and birds darting across it to keep us company as we started the climb upwards. It was a beautiful and scary drive, and I was actually felling pretty happy about having the road to myself so I could take it easy. The mountain was treeless and the drop on our left side imposing, with no trees to create the illusion of a safety net. The view was spectacular, if a little dizzying as the valley of Queenstown became ever distant Of course we made it up smoothly, winding up and around the northern tip of the mountain range and making our way into the valley behind it, which revealed the snow-slopes flanked by ski lifts spreading out in all directions.
We were embarrassingly early, with only one other car in the top car park looking every bit like it had stayed there overnight, and most of the ski-park staff yet to arrive. It did give the boys time to go and have a play in the snow though, first taking great delight in stomping on all the frozen over puddles in the car park, before slipping and sliding in the snow around the resort building.
Okay, so we got there a little early, evidenced by the lack of cars in this carpark! But at least I could get this photo!
By around 8am the crowds started to roll in and the resort came alive. We picked up our hire gear, I helped the boys struggle into their boots, organised a locker, applied sunscreen and soon we were heading up to the snow for our lesson. I had organised a private lesson for the four of us; figuring it would be about the same price as four group lessons, would go for a little longer and give us more individual attention, as well as keeping us together.
My theory of getting a jump-start on the boys by having had three days of snowboarding experience earlier in the year sadly failed to become a reality, as I was still the slowest to pick up the skiing! Like at Mt Buller, I found myself worried about losing control and wiping out others around me, and struggled to effectively stop. Well, without planting my body firmly within the snow at least! But the lesson went well and soon we were all managing reasonably and making our way further and further up the hill. The sun was out and it was hot; but the coverage of the snow was still great. The boys picked it up quickly, with Jacob in particular finding his ski legs early, and all were having a lot of fun. We stopped for lunch at the end of our lesson, and then headed back out for a few runs on our own before wrapping up a little early, feeling tired and sore but pretty happy with how the day had gone.
The second day was even better. It was another warm, sunny day, and we headed up a touch later. The drive up much more comfortable having done it once. We had another lesson booked in and the teacher we had this time was fantastic, keeping us all together whilst spending one on one time with each and really identifying the things we needed to work on. This was where I was able to properly work out my issue; my instinct was to lean backwards when I was trying to stop. But that took weight away from the front of my skis, robbing their ability to dig in and pull me up. So I was able to correct this issue and it took away my primary concern that I would wipe someone out.
Day two we graduated to the higher slopes. Chairlifts? Simples…
The boys continued to improve and soon we were heading up the first chairlift and making our way down the longer slopes. It was so much fun, and amazing sitting at the back of the group and watching the boys grow in confidence zooming down the hill. Jacob and Thomas were particularly strong on the second day, getting quicker and quicker, while the boys continued to enjoy my reasonably frequent falls and accidental 360’s!
The view was amazing, and Thomas had a ball tackling the slopes!
We had a break from skiing on the third day, going hiking instead, before settling in to watch the AFL grand final. I’ll skip much talk on that count (maybe next year, Swans) and instead focus on the hike. I had found a walk online that looked not too long, but was a good climb and in an amazing looking valley, and it lived up to the review I had read. My main mis-judgement here was Thomas’ ability to get up the climb after two days at skiing. He had coped really well on the climbs we’ve done at home (and loves them), but though this one was probably no higher or longer, it proved a little much for him. But Noah and Jacob were great; having pushed ahead, they back-tracked and offered to stay with him while I made the peak; not too far off. The views up there were stunning and I was really appreciative of them giving me the opportunity to get up there.
Another mountain and another lake; they’re everywhere! Sadly this was the highest the Swans got that day (courtesy of my hat!) But hard to be too disappointed having spent the day here…
With rain forecast to arrive later in the week and the snow showing signs of melting from the two hot days we’d had, we opted to ski for the next two days rather than have another day’s break as initially planned. No lessons this time, so we just headed straight up on the lifts, tackling ever bigger and longer slopes, starting to have a go on the jumps and obstacles that were dotted along the way. A fall slowed Thomas down for a little while, a bit of competitiveness creeping in at times, and a few dramas, but overall it was an amazing couple of days. I tended to camp at the back so that if anyone went down and got into trouble I was able to stop and assist. Noah and Jacob spent increasing time off on their own, and it was a joy to watch Thomas zooming along while doing dance moves, oblivious to me watching from behind. I wish I had the confidence to film while I was skiing – I would have loved to capture that on film to look back on!
Just finished the final day of skiing. I have a feeling these two will be back.
While I probably still had the most falls on the third day, I got a bit of a jump on the boys skill-wise, abandoning the snow plough and learning to keep my skis together and slow myself by turning and digging in. And my knee continued to hold up amazingly well given it was still less than two years since my ACL reconstruction! Much gratitude to my doctor and physio for helping me get back and able to go skiing and hiking!
Our last couple of days in Queenstown were a little quieter and more relaxed. Jacob had picked up a bit of a throat infection so we needed to lay low, and Thomas certainly needed the rest after four big days on the slopes. But it was an amazing experience for all of us, and one that I am sure the boys will look back on fondly, as well as give them the confidence to head out skiing or snow-boarding later in life. It may come back to bite me a little; as Jacob and Thomas in particular both began talking about “next time we go skiing”, with complete conviction that it would be sooner rather than later! Better start saving!
