The first few weekends, we just hung out in Dunedin. Craig has been paddling pretty much every weekend and we've enjoyed just relaxing by the fire at night. We decided to check out the Sinclair Wetlands one day, which turned out to be not much more than some flooded fields with a few ducks. Nice to be outside wandering around though. And we had to stop for a herd of cows crossing the road on the way home.
Cow Crossing
Last weekend we decided to finally hit the ski slopes. We went to Queenstown for the Rail Jam (ski and snowboard competition) on Friday night with our friends, Dan and Emily. They found this awesome 2 bedroom townhouse place to stay so we went there first. There was some problem with our reservation and we had to wait for the office lady so she upgraded us to a 3 bedroom place. It was sweet! 3 floors with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, living room with huge gas fireplace, and balcony overlooking Lake Wakatipu. Oh, and a garage! So, plenty of room for the 4 of us.
The view from our place
After checking in, we hitched a ride back into town with the office lady and hung out with a few beers watching the skiers and riders hit the rails. It was impressive but nothing spectacular so we took a break to enjoy some Japanese food. Then, a bit more skiing until we headed back to the hotel.
The next day, Dan and Em dropped us off at Cardrona to ski and they headed to Wanaka for the day. The snow conditions were fantastic by NZ standards so we were pretty excited by the end of our first run. Unfortunately, when we got down to the bottom of the mountain after our second run, they closed the lift temporarily due to high winds. After about 20 minutes, they announced that they were closing the mountain and that they would turn the lift on only to get us back up the mountain. Bummer! So, we texted our friends to come get us and headed back up. The lift ride was crazy because it was so windy so we were happy that the mountain was closing so we could get our money back. However, by the time we got to the top, they announced that they would be keeping one lift open (so they didn't have to refund any tickets). This was particularly annoying because our ride was already on the way. We took one more run, endured another crazy windy, snowy, frightening lift ride, and then headed home.
To make us feel better, we stopped at a place in Queenstown called Patagonia for the best homemade ice cream. Then some naps followed by pizza and wine, hanging out by the fireplace. Great night! The next day, after breakfast and a wander around town, we decided to hit some wineries on the way home. We went to 5 wineries but only tasted at the free ones (2). And one of them had free cheese tasting which was fun. So, a few bottles of wine later (purchased, not consumed), we headed home.
Craig and Emily surrounded by barrels of wine
Wednesday night, we went to a work dinner at an indian restaurant. Some of the indian PhD students told us which food to order and it was really good! This is surprising for me as I have never liked indian food before. They also told us all about their arranged marriages which was really interesting. They have 3000+ people at their weddings for 4 days straight! And they have to feed all of the guests that whole time. Unbelievable, especially considering the bride and groom don't even know each other!
Dunedin Sunrise
A few pics
We hope to get some more skiing in before the season ends. Otherwise, we're busy getting re-started with wedding planning, and planning our trip to Australia. Definitely enjoying our last few months here!
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