Ion Chef

Mad Hatter Tea Party and STEREODAYS

On Saturday was Olwyn's birthday along with STEREODAYS. Olwyn had everyone over to her flat with left over bottles of spirits and had us make "Mad Hatter" brews. Later that night we headed to Karangahape Road for STEREODAYS (a dance party at a club there).

Sadly the music wasn't that great and we ended up leaving a little earlier than normal... 3am. Nevertheless it was a fun night, and gave me a chance to say goodbye to some of the people I have met over here before I head home.

Quake moved New Zealand toward Australia

Its’ all well and good until one day Australia wakes up and finds itself being "Spooned" by New Zealand, without the courtesy movie and dinner!

I am sure I will get a flight itinerary update and a bill for the extra fuel in the coming weeks.

Ion Chef: Rib Battle - August '09

Fukui-san!
With the Ion Chef "Lamb" Battle going to Scott, and the Ion Chef "Shrimp" Battles being split between myself and Matt, the competition in Ion Chef Battle #4 is going to be intense. The theme ingredient will be Ribs and I have already received some challenging remarks from Matt, Scott and Hannah! Not that I am worried: “If my memory serves me correctly” they don't stand a chance.

Snow Trip of Doom

Well they managed to do it! Up by 4, we were on the road a while later heading south to the Mountain. The drive was uneventful, except for Chloe being Chloe and leaving her wallet on the roof of the car after a grovery stop. Being crammed in the back I tried to sleep as much as possible.

The mountain is surreal because we are used to driving through snowy country to get to the mountains. At Mt. Ruapehu the snow only starts 1000m up so the entire drive was green and wet. Up the mountain it was like a completely different world, with lots of snow (wet and perfect for snowballs) and not a single tree. We rented gear and headed to the Happy Valley for a couple green runs to get me comfortable. Next it was up to the Rockgarden so Derek and Jamie didn't get bored. Being the first time I have skied in ages it was a little shakey to start but managed not to injure/make-a-fool-of-myself/fall all day. The only major collision of the day was with Jamie standing up after we took the photo above a skier came flying past and took them both out. No one was hurt, and it gave the rest of us a good laugh.

The hill closed at 1pm due to 100km winds however and our skiing was cut short. We were all ok with it though as we were getting a little sore already and everyone welcomed a nap at the Uni Ski Club Lodge where we stayed. Waking up at 5 we had a few drinks around the fireplace while we waited for dinner and then trudged through the sleet and snow up to Lorenzo's Bar to watch the first test of the Tri-nations Cup. Luckily the All Blacks won maintaining their 24 year unbeaten streak at Mt Eden Park.

After a late start to Sunday morning, with the hill again closed due to the wind, we set about getting the car unstuck. We struggled in the freezing rain to uncover the car from the 3+ cm of ice it was coated with overnight. Luckily there were some Canadian's on hand with first hand unsticking knowledge. Instead of skiing Sunday we ended up doing some sight seeing instead. We drove around Lake Taupo to McDonald's and to the Huka Falls. They were impressive to say the least. After a quick soak in a Hot Spring we were on our way home to Auckland.
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Whakapapa (fa ka pa pa) Ski Area

Tomorrow morning we are getting up at 4 and driving South four hours to Mount Ruapehu and the Whakapapa ski area. This will be a hard start for my flatmates as they are all on semester break and haven't been up before 10 in ages. For me its only 2 hours early.

This will be my first time on downhill skiing on a mountain, all my previous skiing was done at COP. Actually this isn't technically even a mountain.. it is a volcano. Should be interesting, hopefully dormant weekend! I will take some photos (and hopefully not smash my camera) while skiing to post on Monday... that is if I am not sick. *COUGH*

Wicked Wednesday

Yesterday was a great day! Sold my car, finished my final Internship report, and went to see the new Harry Potter. I am running a little low on sleep however as I have been going to bed at 1AM trying to get the report finished and getting up for work at 6 to get to work for 7. Tonight I look forward to going to bed as soon as I get home to prepare myself for the big weekend at the snow: Mt. Ruapehu here we come! Hopefully I remember (what little I know) of how to ski.

Boat Sold

Great news... I am halfway done selling off my non-packable valuables in NZ. I sold my boat Friday for a slight loss, but the fun and paddles I had over the year were well worth the $300NZ depreciation. Last on my list to sell is my Toyota Starlet. I am currently auctioning it off on trademe.co.nz and have had heaps of interest. Fingers crossed it sells quickly.

Windy Welly

As I write this I am I am sitting in WLG on my iPod touch. Our flight home to akl has been delayed till 11:20pm. Should be a fun early start backed to work tomorrow. Went to Te Papa museum today and saw the colossal squid, it was really cool.