Keeping "in touch"

After almost a year it was finally time for me to leave Queenstown. During the previous couple of weeks, Jon, Freya and Jim had all left to pastures new and it was about time I got away too. With a head full of fresh travel ideas and hopefully a bank account to match them, the door beckoned.

So, after handing in my 2 weeks notice to the wonderful Intouch (go there for quality products at low low prices) and saying a final farewell to my top notch colleagues and surrogate family, I packed my bags for the west coast. No more "da Milfor Soun" for me!

I was very sad to leave my home away from home, especially having to say goodbye to all of the crackin' friends I had met and made. Sadly me and Em parted ways as well; she intends to stay put for the time being at least until Christmas. Career, schmeer is what I say! She wanted to join me, but didn't think she could take any more of my awesomeness without suffer severe medical side-effects. It's going to be strange being on the road without my trusty sidekick nonetheless, she will be greatly missed.

The TSS Earnslaw; Queenstown's iconic steamboat.

Fly Cruise Fly

My lovely employers at Real Journeys were kind enough to put me on a plane to fly to Milford Sound. Milford is typically an enduring 5 hours in a car, one way, from Queenstown but for the rich and famous amougst you, you can take a 45 minute scenic flight there and back. And scenic it was! For a while we were lurking around the airport waiting for some dodgy looking cloud to shift, but eventually got under way.

The plane was pretty small and could seat only 12 including the pilot. A twin-engine Cessna apparently, whatever that means. Was a fun little plane, looked easy to fly too - reckon I could have managed if the pilot collasped.

The airstrip in Milford.

I see your rainbow and I raise you, a rainbow. We had a zeppelin follow us about all day as well, very daunting.

Unfortunately we didn't get to do the cruise because the weather was drawing in, granted I'd done a couple before, but we would have got a free buffet lunch on this one. Gutted.

The top end of Lake Wakatipu with Pig Island, on the way back. Pig Island contains no pigs. Fact.

Home sweet home.

Reet up the Peak!

As a final hoorah, I took the girls up Coronet Peak, QT's nearest ski field, for a day of snow-based enjoyment. We had quite a team of us as we had met up with some of the girls friends from Samoa. The mountain got dismissed and dominated simultaneously.

The view from the top.

Me looking snow-hungry. Didn't fall on my face at all either! Result.

Laura and Rach. Nice snow-plough Fernie, those lessons paid off then eh?

One for the Mams.

Sadly, they both had to leave the next day. Boo-erns. They will be greatly missed.

The Land of the Rings

While the girls were here we watched Lord of the Rings and felt inspired to visit some of the places where they did the filming, so off we went to Deer Park Heights. We thought about dressing up in costume and re-enacting some scenes, but then realised that only loser's do such things. I don't intend to die alone.

After angering several llamas and a goat, I had to flee. Run away!

It's my old mate Gary again. He's still a dude. Although he did headbutt me a little. Mmm spikey.

When Woody, Rach and I start our own band, this'll be the album cover. I know, it does look classy. I'm thinking some acid-jazz funk.

This is that rock that Aragorn fell off. Clearly we are more skilled as we can all jump in sync and still land safely.

Lord of the Rings - why not just get one of those eagles to pick up the ring and then drop it in Mount Doom from the off? Seems to me it'd take about 15 minutes tops, none of this 3 films to get rid of one piece of jewelry malarkey. Save everyone a lot of time and money. My precious indeed.

Happy Sky-Birth-Woodster-dive-day

Blimey, strange title. While she was here it was Laura's birthday, so to celebrate we all jumped out off a plane. That's just how we seem to do things around here, what can I say. All 3 of us had done at least one before, so there were no pre-jump nerves, just lots of enjoyment and grins.

That's some fancy glad-rags boy. Hang on, how tight are those straps?!

We jumped with NZ Skydive up at Glenorchy, which is just under an hour away from QT. The day was fine and clear (so clear you could see Mount Cook, 200 odd kilometres away), so it made for some breath-taking vistas (breath-taking vistas?!).

Little Woody being a turnip.

And relax.

Uncontrolalicious

There's a lot to be said about having a holiday. So much time to mess about doing stuff off the cuff, like:

Lugeing.

Mini-golfing.

Having an afternoon pint.

Haven't had this much fun since that time I got covered in tar and feathers. Let the trombones play!

Icy Skippers

And we're off! First activity of fun was the Skippers Canyon Jet Tour Thingy-ma-jiggy. We all piled into a big monster of a vehicle and a lovelly man drove around the local area telling us stories of gold, mining and giant gorillas.

Check out that beast! Not me, the vehicle. It could power through anything and literally crush mountains just by looking at them.

Next was a cheeky jet-boat trip. Skippers canyon was VERY icy and cold, so general body temperatures dropped significantly, lucky I had that cold blood transfusion.

Vroooom. Woody looks worried. I on the other hand look ridiculous.

Icicles. Brrrr.

Smiley faces. Fun fun fun.

Woodster and Ferninator

More visitors for me! My "sister" Laura came to stay for some good times after being in Samoa doing some Doctoring for a while and she brought with her Rachel who I'd never met before, but now am glad that I know very well indeed! I think I've seen more people I know from home since coming away than I would have if I stayed ay home. That doesn't make sense. Erm.

Rachel "The Ferninator" Fernie and Laura "Curly Woody, The Woodster" Wood. Stop saying Wood. Wood.

It's not often I get to share a bedroom with two beautiful girls, so the week off promised to be full of uncontrollable fun! Absotiddley.

Hot Air Balloonatic

It's not often you get asked it you want to go Hot Air Ballooning. I'm just a lucky boy I think. After having about 2 weeks of clear crisp cold days with brilliant sunshine the trip promised to be something pretty special. Early morning start though, it really does suck to be me.

Man inside the balloon. It was massive! You could play cricket in it if you wanted. Not while flying mind you.

There she blows.

The local lakes tend to be a lot warmer than the surrounding air at this time of year, so you get some really cool mists lying on the waters. Fun shadows too.

Fantastic views. We got up to a height of about 8000 ft, the weather being perfect. Awe-inspiring, if you will.

Toasty-nice! Mental note: next time take some sausages along.

Caples Place: Snow Palace

Finally, we moved house to somewhere warm. All sorts of mod-cons in this gaff - carpets, doors that fit into their frames, windows that close, heating in every room. Living like kings I tells you! The new place is a decent 40 minute walk out of town mind, up several hills so you arrive home out of breath and pretty cattled.

Moving house couldn't have come at a better time as well, a cold front hit us within days of shifting up the hill, followed by a good dump of snow. Snow fields have begun to open and winter begins! Fire the (snow) cannons.

So far winter has included; scrapping snow and ice from cars, worrying about black ice, getting snow-chains for your tyres, worrying about having to wear thicker socks, buying thicker socks, leaving new thicker socks by fire and burning them to pieces, complaining to shop assistant that new thicker socks aren't fire/thermo-nuclear fallout proof, loosing argument about socks, buying more thicker socks, getting stocked up on firewood, chopping said firewood with axe, making snowmen, needing 4 wheel drive and so on and on. A thousand curses on non fire-proof footwear!

Little John nearly got snowed in until I saved him. That boy is always getting into trouble and relying on me to bail him out! He lost his fishing rod though. Shame.

Believe it or not the view from the new place is even better than the last. Even at dawn. With low cloud.

Let's get snowballing!