« June 2005 | Main | August 2005 »
July 31, 2005
The final curtain
Deb has finished the mamoth task she started two months ago - she has finished the Curtains ! I think we've pretty much completed our mods to Colin now - consider him pimped.
I think the list of mods is:
- Removed great big cupboard
- Added new fold out bed
- Added 240v power
- Added battery charger to charge house battery from 240v
- Fixed sticky locks
- Added new tyre
- Fitted and sewed 12 new curtains
- Added new fridge
- Fixed the horn
- Fixed the windscreen washers
- Added 6 new shelves
- Added a mini B/W TV (not quite the dropdown LCD's !)
So have a look at the fitter healthier Colin and see what you think ... (and compare with the original Colin here).
[2 Colin galleries here and here]
Posted by robl at 07:18 AM | Comments (5)
July 28, 2005
Snow worries mate
We finally got a little bored of just snowboarding every day and decided to go on a quick jaunt over to Queenstown (only an hours drive away). It's like Wanaka but bigger and with more shops - you should have seen Debs eyes light up (I also wasnted to go and pick up the latest Harry Potter as it had sold out in Wanaka !). We spent a day in Queenstown and went up the Gondola - which is the spot most of the pictures are taken from and were lucky enough to see a nice rainbow poking out of the lake above Queenstown.
After a days rest we decided we needed to get back on the slopes again - this time we've taken a few pictures and we're going to keep adding and removing pics from this gallery as we improve and get better snaps ... We've only got a month left in NZ now and only two weeks of that on the slopes - it's gone so fast !
I'm practising my Japenese already ....
"noodles please"
?
"NOODLES PLEASE"
[2 Snowboarding galleries here and here]
[2 Queenstown galleries here and here]
Posted by robl at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)
28/07/2005-07:19:30
danger deb
Posted by robl at 07:19 AM | Comments (0)
28/07/2005-00:02:52
rainbow above queenstown
Posted by robl at 12:03 AM | Comments (0)
PPP-Pick Up a Glacier
This weekend we took a break from snowboarding and took Colin on a trip to see some of New Zealand's finest glaciers. We also went on the hunt for penguins but they must have decided to take a holiday to the UK (where apparently the weather is much finer this time of year) as they were nowhere to be seen.
Tramping is the rather affectionate sounding name that Kiwis use to mean walking or hiking; our weekend involved quite a bit of this too, Running Richard would be proud/ shocked.
After a quick stop off at Thunder Creek Falls and Knights Point, our first major stop was to see the penguins. We walked for 1 1/2 hours in the hope of seeing them but all Rob ended up with was wet feet as he got lured into the sea by the promise of penguins hiding in the rock pools. Still, it was a fine day and a pleasant walk.
After spending the night at Franz Joseph township, we started our day by walking to the glacier terminal front. From a distance, the glacier looked a bit like a lump of dirty snow but it was worth the walk to stand right next to the glacier where you could really see it's humungous size.
Next we drove to the Fox Glacier where we embarked on another 1 1/2 hour walk to the Fox terminal face. Not having seen enough glaciers we then decided to try and see the glacier from a different angle and drove up a road apparently not fit for campervans (it was nothing after having driven up Cardrona mountain) to the start of our hike to the chalet lookout. This walk was rather good fun as there were a couple of largish streams that we had to cross and Rob was a complete gent and carried me across.
We got up early the next day to embark on another walk, this time around Lake Matherson to see unforgettable views of Mounts Cook and Tasman reflected in the water.
[2 Glacer Trip galleries here and here]
Posted by deb at 07:31 AM | Comments (1)
July 17, 2005
17/07/2005-05:57:41
knights point on the way to franz joseph
Posted by robl at 05:57 AM | Comments (0)
Beautiful Wanaka
Afternoon! As predicted, Rob and I have spent quite a bit of time snowboarding, however we have managed to get a few photos in for the chaps at home. More about these in a bit.
The mountain is getting to be loads of fun - snow is predicted for every day of next week and they have now opened the remaining chair lift (which also happens to be the biggest and fastest one) so things are getting rather more interesting... this coupled with the fact that we've bought ourselves new helmets, our snowboarding styles are getting more adventurous and actually, I think we both may have even improved a bit.
Anyway, some more about helmets; Rob has bought himself a rather funky one called "Bad Lieutenant" - and it is actually a Lieutenant style helment which sounds cheesy but it looks rather cool. Mine is a more of a traditional style which makes my head look more alien shaped but really this is the only look I can get when wearing any helment. It has already saved my head about 4 times already so I am as happy as larry.
Back to the photos. This first set is a mixed bag from around Wanaka and up the mountain at Cardrona. On one of our days off from boarding, we took a walk around the lake (which really is beautiful by the way, I can't stop looking at it/ taking photos of it). The other photos are from yesterdays trip up the mountain... New Zealand Ski resorts are not like European ones, you have to drive up a mountain road every day to get there which is an experience in itself (an 8km gravel track mountain climb - Rob).. There are also a few photos of the campervan site where we are currently staying. Naturally you would think that staying in a campervan and snow do not mix that well but this park makes it all ok - it has a spa, sauna, great lounge and kitchen area with log fire and lovely views of Wanaka...
The next set of photos are from Puzzling World where we visited today. Must say I wasn't expecting that much from this place but it turned out to be loads of fun. We spend about an hour and a half trying to find our way out of a maze, most of it involving me chasing Rob who kept trying to find his way out/ lose me, I wasn't quite sure which. There was also a room called the "illusion room" which is tilted at 15 degrees but the furniture etc isn't which causes your brain to get very confused indeed. I still can't quite work it out.
Also, if you are wondering why the segway photo has jumped so rapidly to the top in popularity then see here ...
[2 Wanaka galleries here and here]
[2 Puzzling World galleries here and here]
Posted by deb at 04:54 AM | Comments (2)
July 09, 2005
09/07/2005-00:32:33
lake wanaka
Posted by robl at 12:32 AM | Comments (0)
July 01, 2005
01/07/2005-07:42:14
in helmet heaven
Posted by robl at 07:42 AM | Comments (2)
Wanaka-ka-ka
We've finally made it to Lake Wanaka where we will be based for the next month and a half for snowboarding at Cardrona.
Our first stop on the way down here was at Nelson where we had a nosey at the Art-Deco Cathedral and a quick stroll around town.
Next was Blenheim, vineyard country, where we both enjoyed some wine tasting at the cellar doors. We dropped in on the Cloudy Bay Vineyard where we sampled practically the complete range and Rob ordered a case of wine for his dad. Then we went on an excellent tour of the Montana Winery where we saw wine being brewed on a large scale (non of this single demijon stuff we do in Otley) and we sampled yet more wine but this time we were instructed on how to wine taste in a more civilised fashion (so we gurgled it round in our mouths and spat it out).
Next, we headed for Christchurch and on the way we stopped off to see a huge colony of seals which we spotted on the beach at the side of the road. We stayed in Christchurch for a couple of days - it's a lovely city, reminded me a bit of home (probably because there were some actual old buildings there).
Also, we've added a quicknotes section in the side bar of the site as we're not going to be updating as quick and fast as we have in the past as we're pretty much snowboarding now (however we've got a few weekend trips planned that should provide some stunning photos). So for those of you who like to know we're still alive and kicking, you should be able to get a quick update of what we are up to.
[2 TripSouth Galleries here and here]
Posted by deb at 06:30 AM | Comments (0)