Hey all! Ended up not going to Milford Sound as the road was closed because of avalanches.  Such a shame that a massive dump of snow had to arrive when we all planned our big road trip.  Not to be defeated easily, we all decided to go East instead towards Dunedin (Scottish for Edinburgh) and the Otago Peninsula.  The latter is a big area of land just beyond the city and basically consists of a world renowned nature reserve.  Stunning is the best word to describe it.

 

So we all set off in two cars (9 of us altogether I think) and eventually got there after a few snack stops.  Walked around the city for a bit & stocked up on the all-important beer & food.  Then headed out towards our hostel - Bus Stop Backpackers.  I ended up sleeping in a hippy caravan, while Selena slept in a van & the others slept in the main house itself. What an awesome hostel.  I could see the stars through a skylight while in bed & awoke to the sun rising in the morning.  Couldn't have had a more beautiful view across the Pacific.

 

The first night we got there we decided to check out a beach that apparently hosted blug penguins at dusk.  Hung around for a while, got bored, most people went back to the hostel, decided to stay with Pierre & just as it was getting dark, low and behold five penguins swam into the bay and waddled up the beach towards us.  It was really humbling to see them come in.  The blug penguins are quite small (maybe a foot tall or slightly more) - but are beautiful creatures.  It was quite hard to distinguish any colour since it was quite dark, but it was an amazing experience nonetheless!

 

After a night on the beer, we all got up early & went trekking across some sand dunes towards a massive sandy beach.  Stumbled across a sea-lion sleeping in the dunes & lapped up the fresh sea air! Later on, we headed for Sandfly Bay which was also renowned for wild penguins - this time the yellow-eyed variety (apparently very rare).  When we got there, we headed up towards a wooded lookout to avoid scaring the animals away.  We only managed to see one on the hill in the distance & all wondered how the hell he waddled all the way up that distance! After learning that patience is a virtue from the day before, some of us hung around & braved a hail storm in the sand dunes until a few penguins eventually arrived through the waves & climbed up the sand towards us.  They were amazing looking creatures - much bigger than the blue variety.  Took lots of photos - check out the new albums!

 

So there it is - if you ever go to New Zealand, a trip to the Otago Peninsula is well worth it.  Think West of Ireland and multiply by about 4 in terms of beauty. 

 

No other news really- been skiing loads. Conditions are really good at the moment - almost a metre of snow has fallen in the last week, so still plenty of powder about.  Probably take a snowboarding lesson next week & also threatening to do a sky dive at some point. I'm shitting myself already.

Went shooting for the first time last week... A big group of us went along and did target practice & clay pigeon.  Wasn't so bad at the first (a good few blacks), but missed every single one of the clay shots.  The fact that I kept forgetting about the shotgun kick didn't help the cause.  Needless to say the ol' shoulder was a bit bruised at the end of the experience.  After embarassing myself completely trying to shoot guns, we all decided to go play crazy golf - was also a first for me.  We all had a great time despite the fact that all of us were miles over par (in fact all of us except one - Alex was under on pretty much every hole.. Maybe he cheated).

Decided to take it easy today - resting my leg after a big jump up the mountain yesterday.  I've been becoming quite fearless on the slopes and yesterday probably went a bit too far.. Jumped about 5 feet in the air over the edge of a groomed trail and landed on my leg.  Took me about an hour to recover completely... At least I didn't do serious damage.  We've been doing all the black runs which is great - some of them are naturally formed half pipes, so you can go down at tremendous speeds & get great lift over the edges.  It's a great adrenalin rush.  The other day, Orla & I decided to hike to the summit of Treble Cone and ski down.. The views were stunning (just put up some photos) and the snow was amazing coming back down.  We'll definately be doing more of those.

Not much other news really - looking forward to Milford Sound this weekend.  Eight of us decided to go down - think it takes about 6 hours to drive there. Should be absolutely stunning. Check it out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milford_Sound. 

 

 

It's been a while since I updated this blog - not sure where to start.. To be honest I haven't really been up to all that much. Apart from the usual skiing trips, I've been going out quite a bit and doing a few walks here and there.  Today I got a lift up to the Clutha river which runs into Lake Wanaka.  It was quite mystical with steam rising off the water (bright green for some reason) & the smell of tea tree was everywhere.  I've another couple of hours to relax this evening before a shift in the restaurant - hopefully it won't be too manic.  The place seems to be constantly full of people - it can be quite stressful at times & sometimes it just doesn't seem worth it, especially since tipping is unknown in New Zealand.  Then again I shouldn't complain - the ol salary funds my trips up the mountain.  Not much other news really.  I've put up a few new photos & hopefully will again soon.  Till the next time ciao ciao!