NEWS # 044
Hi everyone!
I follow the jump with a ride up and down the Shotover River Canyons in a
high-speed jet boat, which involves travelling at high speed, often in very
shallow water, within inches of the canyon walls. We race up and down and
get very wet but I feel safer than I did on the previous challenge.
The jet boat deposits us back at the pontoon and we walk up to the rafting
centre where we are kitted out in thick wetsuits, two pairs of boots,
jackets, life jackets and hats. We are then bussed up the mountains where we
meet our helicopter. The flight is short, around ten minutes but swoops low
over the mountains and drops into the river canyon to deposit us on the
floor.
By this time we have picked up another twenty people and we wait whilst the
rafts are flown in and assembled. We are all given safety instruction and we
are off down the river.
The decent takes around an hour and we go through such rapids as Jaws, The
Revenge and The Toilet Bowl, so-called as it wipes many people out. We all
survive unscathed. The last part of the trip involves us going through a 170
metre tunnel and we almost lose it in the large rapid at the end.
It has been a fantastic day and well worth the money. I go home well tired.
My Awesome Foursome has got to be one of my best days so far. I had a great
time and got absolutely scared out of my wits, at the same time. It seems
as if this is the year when I shall face all of my fears, in one way or
another. I crash out not too late on Friday night as I have planned to start
snowboarding tomorrow.
Saturday dawns bright and sunny. I'm up at seven as I have to get the eight
o'clock bus up to the slopes. I'm going to an area called Coronet Peak and
have booked a one day introduction package, to see if I will enjoy it,
before splashing out any more money. My day's pass costs about thirty five
pounds and includes lift pass, snowboard and boot hire and two hour and a
half lessons.
There is plenty of snow, apparently the best start to the season for many
years. One night a few weeks ago, it snowed nearly a metre!
I get fitted up with boots and board and head off to the learners area. It's
just like surfing, all my mates have told me. Having your feet stuck to the
board and not being able to move either them or your ankles, seems rather
strange but I persevere and by the end of the day, I have the learner slope
under control and can ride both it and "The Magic Carpet" (a rather strange
lift, which resembles a conveyor belt!), without collecting half the snow
from the slope up my jacket.
I have a great time and decide that I will continue for the rest of the week
but that I will continue to have a lesson, each day, to keep me on the
straight and narrow. I return my gear to the hire shop and get the bus home.
In the interest of international relations, I decide to go to the pub, with
all of the other people from the bus, in order that we can watch the
football and console one another regarding our aching bodies. I ache in
places where I didn't realise I had muscles!
The next five days are filled with a Snowboard Evolution Pack, which
includes gear hire, lessons and lift pass. I'm collected each morning at
eight and returned at five by the Serious Fun Bus. On the Sunday, the
weather in dreadful and the cloud hangs over the mountains. We learn to use
the chairlift and the green, novice slopes. Monday morning is much the same
and we seem to be advancing quickly. Our instructor feels that we are ready
for the quad lift and the blue, intermediate slopes, so off we go. I am
rather concerned by the height once again. At one point, our instructor
says, "OK guys, Follow me!". He then heads off down the mountain. After one
turn, he disappears into the mist and we have to find our way down almost
blind!
We all make it to the bottom but it is rather challenging. Still, there is
an upside to the fog, as I cannot see more than thirty metres, I am
unconcerned by the height! In the afternoon the mist clears and we are
bathed in beautiful sunshine. I have a great time and gradually feel better
racing down the hill. Over the next few days, I grow in confidence and spend
more time on the mountain. I find the lessons invaluable. Huge thanks to
Dan, Richie, Nick and Mark, all of whom give me great confidence. The
instruction makes me decide to put the same skills into practice in my
surfing in the future as they bring me from complete beginner, to someone
significantly more confident and capable, in only a week.
My last day is the most fun, despite being the most challenging. Mark takes
me onto new terrain and I get well scared more than a few times. It has
snowed overnight and there are several inches of fresh snow on all of the
new runs, which haven't been skied much today. I decide that I will leave
Queenstown in the morning and head south for a week, returning here on the
12th for the Winter Festival, when the kids have gone back to school.
I go back to my hostel, worn out and go out for a few beers with the guys,
before turning in early.
Seeya,
Halesy
