The plan today was to take a scenic flight up the Mt Cook and the glaciers, however despite the weather being clear in Alexandra, it had deteriorated to a point where we could not fly there today. Unfortunately, the pilot we were going to fly with isn’t available on any other days, but he did put us on to a guy that flies out of Wanaka. The weather is supposed to improve by Thursday, so we will try again then.
It had been a frosty night, so the weather was nice and clear, so we thought we could revisit the skiing thing. Due to the frost about we aimed to leave a little later as there can often be ice on the roads, making driving a little tricky.
Anyway, we decided that after our failed attempt at skiing, we could try again at The Remarkables. It was a much better day for it, no howling blizzard, just some high cloud which kept the temperature up and the sunburn down. The drive up, while a bit stressful, mainly due to my well documented fear of high places was a much better drive that the Cardrona experience. The road was wider, well graded and no chains were needed. They run a shuttle bus from the car park to the main building were I got kitted out. They offered me the opportunity of a lesson, however I reckoned that I remembered most of what Mustapha taught me in Dubai Mall almost five years ago … good to go I say!
So that was pretty much it for looking good on the skis. I caught the conveyer up to the top of a gentle slope known as ‘The Carpet’ fell down exiting said conveyor. I flailed about a bit like a turtle on its back and some nice people helped me up, probably to ensure I was out of the way. I cast my mind back to Mustapha’s advice. The snowplough – toes in heels out will slow you down. I had of course completely forgotten the ‘body position’ part of this manoeuvre. So after ending up on my poorly padded behind a number of times, I realised I had erred and organised for some much needed tuition. Here I am being taught…
After a few more falls, I started to get the hang if ‘the snowplough’ and successfully completed an number of runs in the beginner areas. By now I was aching all over and decided that was enough for today. The question still remains – Would I do it again… probably, but not tomorrow! But I would recommend the Remarkables as a skiing destination – very well organised.
The drive back down the mountain offers stunning views over Queenstown and the Southern Alps.
Deb drove up back to Alexandra and is busy cooking me dinner after all my exertion on the slopes – well the ‘so called’ beginner’s carpet. Tomorrow, we are heading to the Millbrook Resort in Arrowtown. This is my 50th Birthday present from my work colleagues, so looking forward to that.
Until tomorrow
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