New Zealand - Skiing Trip

The trip to New Zealand was awesome! I left on the 17th for Christchurch, which is located on the east coast of the South Island. It is definitely a city of contrasts, and a vacation worth going for! Christchurch seems like a place where its residents enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle due to its natural environment, world-renowned for its beauty. A growing cosmopolitan ambience also adds a touch of excitement without overt flashiness. Everywhere there is an understated elegance that speaks of times gone by, very fascinating. I arrived in Christchurch at midnight. The weather there was freaking cold, I kid you not!

Since Christchurch is so tiny, the airport is only around ten to fifteen minutes away from my boi's place. Yeah, part of the reason why I went to Christchurch was not just for a vacation, but also to meet the fockers. Hehehe. I've met his daddy before when he came over to visit in Brisbane, but not his mummy. When I got to his place, his parents were still up watching tv, and there were heaps of food placed on the table, tempting my starving body. We met, talked, and I gave them the gifts I bought for them, mainly from Swarovski, and then his mom shooed me to the dining table to eat. His mom sure is a superb cook! Taiwanese dishes are mostly stewed, a little different from Malaysian food, but it's still scrumptious!

Jackson, my boi's best friend, also came along with us, so yay! The more the merrier! Something came up with other friends so they didn't manage to make it. Oh well! We proceeded to plan our schedule since I was only going to be there for just a week. Skiing was definitely a first, followed by other activities, which I will blog about later. I took hundreds of photos, of course the vast amount comprised mainly of the scenery.

Our first trip we made was to Mount Hutt, which was about an hour an a half, to two hours drive. When googled, it is said that Mt Hutt sits high on the eastern rim of New Zealand's awesome Southern Alps. With a stunning backdrop of range after range of snowclad peaks and staggering views across the patchwork quilt of the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean, Mt Hutt definitely captures the essence of the New Zealand experience. It is also said to be the best ski field in the southern hemisphere, because of it's light dry powdery snow which makes it a playground for skiers and snowboarders alike, in conjunction with it's long season and reliable snow coverage backed up by modern snow making facilities, giving the mountain a season from the beginning of May to the end of October. Intermediate to expert skiers and snow boarders can enjoy the stunning wilderness of New Zealands mountains with a day of heliskiing. Professional guides will take you by helicopter to ski or board untracked snow, amongst world class mountains and glaciers.


Baby and I

It was the first time skiing so I had absolutely no control whatsoever of my skiis. Every time I tried to move I kept sliding backwards due to the downward angle of the slope. I was the only one skiing, while my babes and Jackson decided to snowboard. We rented our clothes, skiis and boards the day before our trip. I started out with the kiddies slope first, managing not to fall. Then after one go, Jackson decided that we should all head for the intermediate slopes. I guess he was getting abit impatient and yeah la, he is good at it.


All geared up!

We left the kiddies slope after, and headed to the chairlifts to go to the intermediate slopes. To me, I thought that the intermediate slop was alot more like advance level, due to the steepness of it. I was scared shitless but I thought to myself, it looks so easy, I should be fine. I fell a few times, because I didn't know how to brake! MY boi fell a few times too, and I made him pause to take a picture of him. Tee hee.


Poser baby

I'm not sure if I was happy because of the fact that it was my first time skiing, or was it because it was the first time I've seen snow. Well, snow on the ground. Hahaha! Unfortunately, it wasn't snowing when I was there, so it was basically exmtremely hard ice on the ground. It didn't snow too when I went to America!


Ahh.. snow!

Once I got to the top of the intermediate slopes, I knew I was going to regret coming up. Jackson assured me that I'd learn faster if I came up here. Sad to say, I've been had because I soon found out that he actually meant I'd be falling alot faster, not learning! Grr! I think I kinda fell my way down the slope, not skiied hehe. I was persistent though, kept climbing up and trying to skii, after which I'd fall because of the fast speed I was travelling at. It was absolutely crazy! The slopes were so steep, I felt like I was flying! Haha, except I kept crashing.

It got to a point where I lost my courage to go on any further, and I was hurting really bad because I kept falling on the same side to break my speed. I decided to take off my skiis when we got to the steepest part of the slope, and while trudging to the side of the slope where it wasn't as steep to slowly walk down, I slipped and I started sliding down the slope at an increasing pace! At first i thought to myself, it's okay! It's just sliding down, no worries.

Then visions of hugeass rocks started to appear, and soon many more started appearing before my eyes. Thank god for reflex action, I sat myself up straightaway while sliding down the slope. Had I not, I think I'd probably wouldnt be able to stand up anymore after that incident! Hehe, yes, the bottom bit of my back and my bum had to go through the rough coarse, and yes, it hurt so damn bad! The picture does no justice for me as the steepness of the slope cant be seen here, but yeah, you get my point. Here's a photoshopped picture of a so-not-to-scale me placed into the picture of how I fell.

Scary shit I tell you

This is the dude on the right side! Hehe, oh well, at least he was nice enough to carry my gears while I was sliding on my way down the slopes.


Jackson I hate you 0_o

I stopped skiing after that incident, because I was hurting so bad! After awhile, the pain slowly subsided and then babes decided that we should just go on the chairlifts to see the scenery on top of the mountains.


Feeling happier!

I was shivering so bad! It was getting colder and colder as we proceeded higher and higher. The mountains were covered with snow, very very beautiful! This a picture of baby and I on the chairlift. We were like, don't drop the camera, don't drop the camera!



The scenery at the top of the mountain is picturesque! Hehe, sorry for repeating but, it is so beautiful up there! There were many people taking pictures up there. Some were even geared up with video cameras.


Say cheese!

Look at the scenery, I'm so glad I decided to go to New Zealand. Oh well, it sure is worth the fall isn't it although it wasn't suppose to happen. Had I not gone to the intermediate, I'd probably be learning alot faster at the kiddy slopes. I didn't really want to go to the intermediate actually, but I didn't want to be alone at the kiddies slope either while the two boys headed to the top.


I'm lovin' it

It is pretty scary trudging along heaps of rocks on top of the mountain. Imagine if you lost your balance. Heheh, okay it isn't that bad. As long as you don't walk on the edge!

Big smiles and hugs!

We were there from approximately 9am till 4pm. There is a cafeteria that supplied very expensive food for tourists like me, whilst the others who often went skiing brought their own thermos and sandwiches. Oh well, overall I had a really great time, and boi...

the scenery sure took my breath away!