To reward all the hard working team leaders, the mountain treated us to a cruise on lake Wakatipu on the historic Earnslaw steam boat followed by dinner and a sheap shearing demonstration. Naturally, the sheep shearing is what attracted me to this whole affair... sure.
Turns out, I was way underdressed for a masterful evening of wine and good food. I ended up at the naughty children's table with three of the boys: Joss, Spiers and Ceasar. We were the table snickering at the others, demanding that the classical piano player serenade us with "Tiny Dancer" and hoarding all the yummy cheeses. A fabulous time was had by all. Except the people that missed out on all the cheese at our table.
The Earnslaw in all its glory.
Joss with the yummy wine we shared.
The sheep shearing that actually ended up being quite entertaining.
As much as I love Queenstown, it was awesome to get out and explore. With friends, we packed up two rental cars and drove up to Methven (about 5 hours North). Now, I thought that the mountains we work at were intense... boy was I misguided!
Our mission was to ride Craigieburn, a club field accessible entirely by rope tow. Yes, an infernal device commonly known as the Nut Cracker. Before you can even get to what seems like an instrument of torture, one must first brave the narrow and broken trail up. Picture the width of one and a half cars with a cliff to one side and trees to the other. Our trusty Toyota sedan got us up thankfully.
We were greeted by gale force winds, snow, low visibility and a heck of a mountain. It was the best skiing I've done all season and arguably one of the most exciting mountains in New Zealand.
On the drive there.
Our chain mounting debacle.
KEA!
Phil and his... Nutcracker.
The brave clan!
Nut crack'n like the best of'em.
View on the drive back to Methven. An ominous sky.
"Look pretty!", says Pete.
"Quick, look intelligent!", exclaims Keri.
Due to poor weather, our plans to explore Mt Hutt failed. We were then faced with a challenge: how could we have just as much fun, and still make it home for work the next day? Phil came up with a plan where each car became a team with a list of tasks to fulfill. Here is a sample:
"Find a random object"
"Build a snowman"
Pete and Rob destroying another team's creation
Swiftly replaced by our own
"Picture with a small church"
"Photo with Japanese tourists making peace signs"
Here's the best news of the last few weeks: OUR FLATMATES SUCK!
Long story short, they treated us like children so we're out and soon to move in with better people. Any last words guys? Oh wait, something along the lines of "Pay your f"ing rent and shut up"? No thanks, see ya suckers.
Oh, the glory of the red uniform... :)
Kisses to family and friends, love you all!
