We woke up at 7am today. I had garlic butter toast for breakfast. While we were having breakfast, Jeremy (K's cousin) called and told K that his car just spun out on the snow mountains. He advised that we put chains on our wheels before going up. We managed to borrow the wheel chains from our land lord at the motel, and left for the ski slopes around 830am. The drive up took about 30 minutes.And because we have never done it before, the boys had difficulty fixing the wheel chains. As it turned out, the chains were not the right size for our wheels, so we took another set from the shed at the stop point, and EK and K managed to fix those on.
As we drove uphill, we saw more and thicker snow. It was beautiful.
When we reached the ski slopes, the 3 of them bought $100 passes each for 4 hours of skiing and snowboarding beginner lessons, while I bought a $20 pass for unlimited rides on the chair lifts. We took a really long time to prepare ourselves for the sport. First, the 3 of them had to change into ski / snow boarding clothes, then rent and put on the equipment before we could all walk out into the actual ski / snowboarding areas for the lessons. There were already so many people there when we arrived that I was half worried I will get knocked down by some skiing or snowboarding people rushing down the slopes.
The snow was about 15cm thick, and temperature was -4 degrees C. But there was sunlight so it didn't feel that cold on top of the mountains.
I hung around and watched and took photos for about an hour, then got bored eventually and went inside the cafe, where I ordered apple juice and freshly baked chocolate muffin for myself. = ) I sat at a table for 4, and people watched.for about 45 minutes before hoards of people started coming into the cafe. I looked out the window and realized that there was a blizzard. So I switched on my walkie talkie and paged for K.
No response. So I walked out to the ski slopes, where the wind had gotten so strong that the snow kept hitting my face hard and visibility was so bad I couldn't see anything at all except a thick fog of white snow blowing across. Before I walked further out into the blizzard, I asked a girl along the way if the snowboard / ski lessons were still ongoing. She said she didn't think so. So I U-turned back to the cafe and walked up to the second floor of the cafe. I got pushed around a lot in the crowd, cause I don't think I looked very pregnant in my winter jacket. I even walked back to the toilets near the car park to look for K. The whole time, I kept pressing the comms button on my walkie to page for K, but still no response. After about 15 mins, I actually panicked a bit, like a kid who has just lost his parents in a crowded shopping mall. I walked back to the cafe again, cause I had told K I will be there when I left the ski slopes earlier. By then, there were even more people. It was kinda impossible to do anything in the blizzard so EVERYBODY was in the cafe. Then, I finally saw EK and S, and heaved a sigh of relief at seeing someone I know. About 2 mins later, my walkie rang. Apparently, K's instructor was crazy enough to continue lessons cause when K paged me, he was still in the ski field and his lesson had just ended. The 4 of us finally met up and had lunch at the busy crazy cafe.
After lunch, EK and S went back for their 2nd ski lesson, while K and I sat in the cafe cause K didn't want to learn snowboarding in this crazy weather. We sat for about an hour before we got bored and went out to play with snow and look for EK and S. By then, a lot of people had gone back to the slopes. The wind was still really strong though, and a lady was walking around the cafe and shouting to everyone that the chair lifts were all closed. Which meant people couldn't go up the slopes and won't be able to ski or snowboard down either.
The 3 of them snow boarded / skied a bit at the foot of the slopes while I stood at one corner and watched them. The 4 of us had a mini snow fight before we were told that the slopes were closed cause the blizzard didn't subside. So we headed back, returned our gear, changed shoes and clothes, took some last minute pictures, removed wheel chains etc.. So troublesome right! I think only EK enjoyed himself. S kept complaining, and K simply cannot understand why people would go through so much trouble for the sport.
Penguin mascot at Cardrona
EK and S on their first ski lesson
K on his first snow boarding lesson..
My boots after walking around in a blizzard with 15cm snow
After our snow experience, we went to the supermarket (usual thing). Dinner was minced chicken porridge and steamed egg. Plus leftover pizza. It was my first time preparing the steamed egg, but it turned out quite nice I think!
After dinner, K and I met up with Jeremy for drinks. We were running late halfway through preparing dinner, so EK and S cooked the remaining stuff: Stir fry spinach with carrots and mushroom, and leftover spaghetti from yesterday. We had drinks with Jeremy at a bar in town called Shooters. Turned out it wasn't just Jeremy, but some of his friends as well. And his friends were all guys, his girlfriend didn't even turn up! It was rather awkward for me at first, but after a while I warmed up and started chatting with them. We left around 930pm, headed home, showered and slept.. Tomorrow is our last day in Wanaka. And we are going to Puzzling World and Toy and Transport Museum. I am already planning French toast for breakfast!!
As we drove uphill, we saw more and thicker snow. It was beautiful.
When we reached the ski slopes, the 3 of them bought $100 passes each for 4 hours of skiing and snowboarding beginner lessons, while I bought a $20 pass for unlimited rides on the chair lifts. We took a really long time to prepare ourselves for the sport. First, the 3 of them had to change into ski / snow boarding clothes, then rent and put on the equipment before we could all walk out into the actual ski / snowboarding areas for the lessons. There were already so many people there when we arrived that I was half worried I will get knocked down by some skiing or snowboarding people rushing down the slopes.The snow was about 15cm thick, and temperature was -4 degrees C. But there was sunlight so it didn't feel that cold on top of the mountains.
I hung around and watched and took photos for about an hour, then got bored eventually and went inside the cafe, where I ordered apple juice and freshly baked chocolate muffin for myself. = ) I sat at a table for 4, and people watched.for about 45 minutes before hoards of people started coming into the cafe. I looked out the window and realized that there was a blizzard. So I switched on my walkie talkie and paged for K.
No response. So I walked out to the ski slopes, where the wind had gotten so strong that the snow kept hitting my face hard and visibility was so bad I couldn't see anything at all except a thick fog of white snow blowing across. Before I walked further out into the blizzard, I asked a girl along the way if the snowboard / ski lessons were still ongoing. She said she didn't think so. So I U-turned back to the cafe and walked up to the second floor of the cafe. I got pushed around a lot in the crowd, cause I don't think I looked very pregnant in my winter jacket. I even walked back to the toilets near the car park to look for K. The whole time, I kept pressing the comms button on my walkie to page for K, but still no response. After about 15 mins, I actually panicked a bit, like a kid who has just lost his parents in a crowded shopping mall. I walked back to the cafe again, cause I had told K I will be there when I left the ski slopes earlier. By then, there were even more people. It was kinda impossible to do anything in the blizzard so EVERYBODY was in the cafe. Then, I finally saw EK and S, and heaved a sigh of relief at seeing someone I know. About 2 mins later, my walkie rang. Apparently, K's instructor was crazy enough to continue lessons cause when K paged me, he was still in the ski field and his lesson had just ended. The 4 of us finally met up and had lunch at the busy crazy cafe.
After lunch, EK and S went back for their 2nd ski lesson, while K and I sat in the cafe cause K didn't want to learn snowboarding in this crazy weather. We sat for about an hour before we got bored and went out to play with snow and look for EK and S. By then, a lot of people had gone back to the slopes. The wind was still really strong though, and a lady was walking around the cafe and shouting to everyone that the chair lifts were all closed. Which meant people couldn't go up the slopes and won't be able to ski or snowboard down either.
The 3 of them snow boarded / skied a bit at the foot of the slopes while I stood at one corner and watched them. The 4 of us had a mini snow fight before we were told that the slopes were closed cause the blizzard didn't subside. So we headed back, returned our gear, changed shoes and clothes, took some last minute pictures, removed wheel chains etc.. So troublesome right! I think only EK enjoyed himself. S kept complaining, and K simply cannot understand why people would go through so much trouble for the sport.
Penguin mascot at Cardrona
EK and S on their first ski lesson
K on his first snow boarding lesson..
My boots after walking around in a blizzard with 15cm snow After our snow experience, we went to the supermarket (usual thing). Dinner was minced chicken porridge and steamed egg. Plus leftover pizza. It was my first time preparing the steamed egg, but it turned out quite nice I think!
After dinner, K and I met up with Jeremy for drinks. We were running late halfway through preparing dinner, so EK and S cooked the remaining stuff: Stir fry spinach with carrots and mushroom, and leftover spaghetti from yesterday. We had drinks with Jeremy at a bar in town called Shooters. Turned out it wasn't just Jeremy, but some of his friends as well. And his friends were all guys, his girlfriend didn't even turn up! It was rather awkward for me at first, but after a while I warmed up and started chatting with them. We left around 930pm, headed home, showered and slept.. Tomorrow is our last day in Wanaka. And we are going to Puzzling World and Toy and Transport Museum. I am already planning French toast for breakfast!!
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