The flight down the coast was breath taking. I would say 95% of the flight there was a view of the spectacular New Zealand Alps.
When I stepped off the plane in Queenstown onto the tarmac I was in shock at the scenery. I just thought to myself that this is where I want to live one day, just to add to my parents' fear that I am never coming home. I hopped on the bus into town and meet a girl who lives and works at one of the mountains near by and I got a nice little guided tour on the public bus! I then checked into my hostel, although I feel it deserve a better name than a hostel. This place has everything you could possibly need from iPads to snowboards, and nicer bathrooms than I have in Auckland. It feels like a souped up dorm!
For lunch I went to the famous Fergburger where I consumed a burger the size of my face and it was delicious! I also got to explore the small city of Queenstown and walk around the lake.
In the afternoon I hiked up to the top of one of the mountains to see the complete views of Queenstown. This hike nearly killed me. I was on the struggle bus the entire way up but the views were worth it! I cheated and rode the gondola down.
The next morning I woke up nice and early again to head out to Cardrona mountain for a day of snowboarding. The bus ride that took me there scared me and I was not sure if I was actually going to make it to the mountain alive, but I did! The weather was perfect with not a cloud in the sky the entire day.
One of the first things I noticed was that even chair lifts run the opposite way! I luckily did not have any problems with getting off of chairlifts, which was a concern after not been snowboarding for about 2 years. I did however fall over in the line for the chair lift. Not really for any reason other than I lost my balance.
By midday I was back into swing of things a feeling pretty confident. So I decided to take my waterproof camera and have the video running while I went down the mountain. Well of course this would be when I have my first fall of the day on a patch of ice and I have it all on video. (the video will be posted when I get back to Auckland)
Overall I had a really good day on the mountain and went on pretty much every run, had a go in the terrain park (my butt is mad at me for that) and snowboarded for a good six hours. My legs are already sore and its not even tomorrow yet. I finished off the day with some wine at one of the cafes with a view and then headed back. Tomorrow I'm going Milford Sound, so look out for a post about that!
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