Right. Got back from working on the west coast on Wedensday. Work was good - a small team meant we had to do some proper work. In Queenstown Constuction there are a lot of big projects, which tend to mean temps are used as skivies.
Got back to Qtown, spent the next day fixing my car, which needed a new battery (hard to find) and the electric window had dropped. The window is held in place by 2 zip ties now, but works perfectly :-).
Add comment September 21st, 2007
Getting from Christchurch to Queenstown on Friday night proved a challenge. A huge storm hit, dumping 20cm of snow all over the South of the South Island, causing crashed, road and airport closures and other general mayhem. On the plus side, it meant that there was loads more snow on the slopes, so off we went anyway, hoping to find some open roads….. A quick call to the Land Transport hotline suggested there was possibilities (and also said non essential travel should not be attempted).
We drove most of the way to Dunedin before turning inland - without seeing snow. As soon as the road climbed though it started to get a little white and then more and more slippy. It all got interesting when we stopped on a hill and started to slide back - with 2 scared women in a 4×4 in front of us. I had to turn their car round for them as they were about to slide off the road (nerve wracking) and then I fitted my snow chains and began a really strange 200km drive on snow and ice.
All the way the car would snap into ruts, powerslide, lock up and just generally mis behave. Good fun! Eventually I arrived in Queenstown after 600km and 11 hours - and awake for 24 hours straight.
The next 2 days were spent on the slopes - I seem to remember how to ski which is a bonus! I suck in powder and on jumps though, so thats something to work on…..
Add comment June 24th, 2007
Coronet Peak will open on Monday! This marks the start of the 2007 ski season over here :-).
Add comment June 10th, 2007
Cathedral Square at night with the Cathedral and the rather strange sculpture. Best described as a giant metal ice cream cone I guess…
1 comment May 29th, 2007
The previously mentioned mischievous and mad alpine parrot. I suspect this one was trying to distract me while his friends were looking to steal my rucksack, but it made a cool picture!
1 comment May 29th, 2007
Its been 6 months now, but I finally ended up in the vicinity of a slot racing track on race night. Went to the Christchurch club last night, where they were racing Int32 with 16D motors. Thanks to all the guys there who sorted me out cars and controller for the nights racing - enjoyed it a lot. The track is tighter than I am used to - like the old Fylde track. I managed to pick it up though and was not last in either set of racing :-).
I also got another job on the car sorted - a working radio. Simply went into a Ford garage and asked them for the code - which they happily provided free of charge. I like the trusting nature of New Zealand! In England it would have cost and I would have been required to provide proof of ownership I bet…..
Otherwise it looks like I will be leaving Christchurch soon to go back to Queenstown - just need to find someone to travel with and pick anywhere I might want to stop off at. If the weathers good I may go over to Aoraki Mount Cook for a day and see where I can hike to……
Add comment May 23rd, 2007
Spending a few days in Christchurch while I wait for my new job to start. Drove up here on Sunday with a couple of random people - I went looking for people who needed lifts to Christchurch. The upshot of this is I split the fuel 3 ways and therefore am slightly less broke that I would otherwise be. Saw Twizel and the amazing blue of Lake Tekapo on the way up - also drove 400km before I saw a traffic light! Most of the way was 100kmh cruise control on and try to stay awake style. Not helped by 2 sleeping passengers!
No major plans while I am here aside from to catch up with a coupe of friends and have a good old browse round.
If I had my USB cable, I might have some more photos to show you, but I forgot as usual and it’ll have to wait untill I find a net cafe with a card reader or I get back to Queenstown.
I have started Geotagging my posts, and they appear on a map on my Map Page. Once I get this functioning to my liking I will write up how its done.
Add comment May 21st, 2007
Taken from a viewpoint over the Franz Josef Glacier, this photo shows the bush and the clouds - interesting view.
Part of quite a few new photos taken on my recent trips around the South Island - and finally uploaded to Flickr!
Add comment May 19th, 2007
On Novemeber 2nd 2006, I fly to Hong Kong From Heathrow, and after a few days in Hong Kong, I will be flying to Auckland. I have a one year Working Holiday Visa arranged for New Zealand, and fully intend to spend the year there. To this end, I have handed in my notice at work and I finish up on Friday 27th October.
As you can imagine, I am pretty excited about all this! I will of course be blogging about my travels here, and other stuff will appear over at www.backpackingnz.co.uk and outdoor activities will also go to www.spareweekend.com.
Add comment October 9th, 2006
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Jun | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |||