It's funny how ideas come about.  Going skiing in New Zealand wasn't something I had thought about doing this year.  But, after a close friend arrived a little 'intoxicated' to a cocktail party I was hosting, and excitedly announced that we should go skiing in New Zealand, the wheels were set in motion.  Plus, my friends know that the mere suggestion of travelling somewhere is all the encouragement I need...

So, a little planning, and 3 months later four of us were off to New Zealand for a skiing adventure - myself and my flatmate had skiied before - over a decade ago, and my other two friends had never even seen snow, so skiing was going to be a very foreign experience. We flew into Christchurch, hired a car and hit the road to Queenstown.

It was a pretty long drive - about 6 and a half hours, but it was just like the roadtrips I remember taking as a kid.  Arriving in Queenstown in the early afternoon, we saw snow on many of the mountains around us - especially The Remarkables, where we were to have a ski lesson the next morning. So, the first step, after checking into our accommodation, was to go and hire ski gear!

The drive up the mountain to The Remarkables ski area is no picnic for city slickers used to driving on dry bitumen roads that have no sheer cliff face drop-offs...  Needless to say we were taking it very slowly, and the only male on the trip decided to take the first shift of navigating us up the steep, slippery mountain road.  We had chains if they were needed, but a guide stationed half way up the mountain informed us that we wouldn't need them today. Our ski instructor was a tiny dynamo from Japan.  She was very certain as to what we would learn from our lesson, and after 2.5 hours we took off as though caterpillars turning into butterflies - ok, so maybe we weren't quite that graceful, but we began tackling the now very hectic major beginner slope with a degree of confidence.  The most difficult part about the skiing process wasn't the skiing itself, it was managing to stay on our feet as the chairlift deposited us on the top of the slope!

The skiing bug is infectious and we all spent a good 6 hours on the slopes for the next 4 days.  When not kicking up the powdery snow, we were exploring Queenstown and its surrounds.  This is an adventure-town, with hundreds of players, from young dred-locked backpackers to the more mature adventure-seekers, who were young at heart, but with a few more experience lines adorning their faces. The view from the top of the gondola is beautiful, and though just another stunning view (of which there are so many in New Zealand), it's still worth a look.

Deviating from skiing for just a moment, but in-keeping with the adventure spirit of this holiday - the group decided to go quad biking on our last day in NZ.  I had never been on a quad bike before, but had always wanted to ride one, so this was even more exciting for me than skiing.  This photo is of me on a quad bike, riding through a muddy puddle and having an absolute ball! What began as a comment made in passing, turned into a fantastic holiday with four friends exploring their adventurous spirit in New Zealand!!