SI Winter Road Trip 2022

  When I was at the University of Otago I visited Coronet Peak several times to go skiing.   In fact, it was where I learnt to ski.   We stayed in a university ski lodge on the mountain and you could literally ski to the front door.   At that stage all I could do was snow plows to turn but eventually I learnt the skill of parallel turns.     There was a reasonable crowd on the mountain and the conditions looked superb although I suspect a bit icy in places and slushy in others.   It certainly looked great and for the first time in a long time I really wished I was skiing again.   The feeling of controlled sliding on the snow is just heaven especially with the crisp cold air making it invigorating.   Alas I had neither the gear nor courage to see what I could do after almost forty years since skiing.   One of the changes was the gear that people wore.   For instance, nearly all the skiers we saw were wearing he...

  View from the top of the Lindis Pass The car was covered in frost when we got up and readied ourselves for departure.   It was about 3 degrees when we left the apartment but already the frost was melting, helped no doubt by the sun.   I could have quite easily stayed another night as there were plenty of other things we could have done there and it was lovely accommodation.     We called in for a coffee at the little mall area that turned out to be rather lousy.   After a search for the cheap service station (which took longer than intended) we headed south toward Omarama.   There is a salmon farm on the way and we called in there to get salmon for a meal while we are in Queenstown.     Balancing coffee on a moving platform at the salmon farm They had a café there, so we tried for another coffee which was a big improvement on the last one.   It was rather nice sitting outside in the sunshine drinking our coffe...

  Aoraki Mt Cook Aoraki Mt Cook was photographed rather frequently as it was such a stunning site on what proved to be a perfect day to be in the mountains.     It was cloudy as we headed to Mt Cook Village alongside Lake Pukaki.   However, over the mountains it was clear with the sun shining on their white flanks.   The road to Mt Cook Village was really good and it felt like we were the only people on it.   When we got to the village, we called into the DOC centre (Department of Conservation) to get some information.   There was a very helpful man on the desk who told us about the various day walks around the area. (Some were not accessible due to recent bad weather).   One that took our fancy was to the Sealy Tarns but it involved a lot of climbing.   The walk entailed going up vertically about 600 metres, or about 2000 feet in imperial measurement which I relate to better.   That seemed rather a lot.  ...

  The Church of the Good Shepherd, Tekapo On the way out of Christchurch we called into the supermarket to get some supplies so I could cook at the apartment we are staying in at Twizel.   The sun had appeared and everyone seemed quite cheerful.   As we proceeded south we encountered low cloud which descended lower and lower until we were driving through fog.   At the turnoff to Geraldine the fog lifted and suddenly the snowy mountains were visible.   I wanted to get some meat to cook a nice meal in Twizel and I noted they had a butcher in Geraldine.   The service was great and the butcher obligingly sliced some bacon and provided a couple of steaks tailored to meet my request.   It reminded me of days gone by except there was no wooden butcher’s block on which the meat was cut as I remember from my childhood.   Mask compliance in shops and cafés is very optional in South Island, certainly compared to Wellington.   We n...

  Goose Bay in the misty rain It was still raining when we headed out for breakfast in Picton.   Nonetheless, it still looked quite pretty with the misty clouds around the hills.   After packing up we began on our journey south.   We had a long coffee and lunch stop in Blenheim.   It was cold and wet so there was not much point doing anything else.   The drive along the Kaikoura coast was pretty, even in the misty rain.   I was going to stop along the way for a bit of a walk but the weather precluded that.   After a brief coffee break in Kaikoura we proceeded towards Christchurch.   At Goose Bay I stopped for a minute to take a picture of the coast. The beach was very stony but I rather liked it.   The engineering that has been done to stabilise the hills along this stretch of road due to a significant earthquake in 2016 is amazing.   The speed and standard at which it has completed, is a testament to the skil...

  Marlborough Sounds from the air - (file photo) It is a long time since I travelled in the South Island when it is cold, and the snow is on the mountains.   The last time I recall doing it was when I was in my early twenties.   Bev thought it was a good idea, so the road trip was born. The plan was to travel to Picton, then to Christchurch via St Arnaud and the Lewis Pass,   then onto Twizel for a couple of days and Queenstown for three nights to see what it is like when the snow is all around.   Then it will be Oamaru for a night and catching up with a friend in Christchurch, a night in Kaikoura and finally a night in Blenheim before making our way across the ditch to Wellington.   The morning on which we were about to depart heralded the first change to our plans.   An announcement on the radio said that not only was the road via Nelson closed but the road to St Arnaud was also closed due to the major rain storm that had oc...