23. August 2023 20:08
by Rene Pallesen
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The trip in New Zealand first landed us in Christchurch where we picked up our rental car and stayed the first night.
Next day we drove through Arthurs Pass to Franz Josef (a long drive) where we stayed for three nights. This was mainly so that we had a spare day in case the weather closed in and we couldn't fly to the glacier.
From there we drove to Queenstown via Wanaka and the Crowns Range (another long drive). We were lucky that this was open and that snow chains weren't required.
Here we stayed for 5 nights whereafter we went to Twizel near Mount Cook for two night.
Lastly we drive back to Christchurch to fly out.
Queenstown is a scenic place, but lost of other scenic places along the way.
23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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At Lake Pukaki there is this little beautiful chapel at the lake.
Again this is a really photographed location and much more busy than I remember it.
23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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At Queenstown we did 4 days of skiing at the Remarkables.
The boys did two days of lessons and were with me the other two days. Some friends of our joined us in Queenstown, so for the other days I had Tod to go with, who is a very decent snowboarder.
Aiden and Lucas are both becoming good skiers, but especially Lucas is getting really good to the point where I can bring him onto black runs.
Although Kim is still very much a beginner she still did two days of skiing sticking to the beginner slope where there is a 'magic carpet' lift. I did see some improvement to last year, but she is still too scared to go on the proper lifts.
I bought my own ski boots last year and brought them along (my feet are not compatible with rental ski boots).
Over easter we went to Glenworth Valley for Camping. This location is about an hours drive north of Sydney in an easily accessible but beautiful little valley.
It is private propoerty, so you have to book beforehand and it does get very busy. We were very lucky that we were located down at the end of the property where it was more quiet.
In the evenings there were beautiful sunsets.
In the morning it was a bit more misty in the valley.
The owners also put on a great easter egg hunt for the children. There were hundreds of children with 20,000 chocolate eggs hidden in a field and there was an easter bunny riding a horse.
We also spend time playing some ball sports. I'd brought a baseball bat and ball. Because we were four families, we had plenty of people to form two teams. It got very competitive and the bat took a bit of battering, so I had to go a buy a more solid wooden bat.
In the evenings we had the normal campfire and baked dampers on sticks, marshmellows and baked potatoes in the fire.
There are also lots of walks witin easy driving distance, including some walks with beautiful waterfalls.
Also, people come to the valley for horse riding, so there are lots of horses in the surrounding paddocks.
And wildlife such as Kookaburras!
And going for a short stroll in the mornings was a beautiful experience with the mist and light changing.
Because of lots of rain, the whole area had been flooded just weeks earlier. Where we were camping would have been a meter under water, but because of the river running through the area the water had fortunately receeded.