Amongst the snow on Coronet Peak

 

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 helmets.  In my day we either wore nothing or a beanie or balaclava depending on how cold it was. 

 

Our next stop was a winery/café called Kinross in the Gibbston Valley.  We sat outside and had a rather nice pizza and glass of pinot gris each.  They were interesting wines although the price per bottle was mouth-wateringly high for the quality.  It was almost warm sitting in the sun. 

 

After returning to our hotel in Frankton, we dropped the car off and took the bus to Queenstown.  The last time we were here we used the bus frequently but there was hardly a soul on it.  This time, both ways, the bus was almost full which was good to see.  Much quicker too as we didn’t have to find a place to park in the already congested town centre. 

 

Bev did some shopping while I read my book.  Then we went back to have a drink at one of our favourite places.  In contrast to last time, there was not a seat to be had whereas only six months ago we might have been just one of two or three patrons.  Instead, we went to another venue called Perky’s which is on a moored boat.  It has a lovely view of the harbour and waterfront. 

 

Then it was back to the hotel where I cooked us a meal from the fresh salmon we had purchased from the salmon farm.