first..we got up at like 5am and left dunedin. the ride to queenstown in the marvie (our ghetto ass crazy car truck thing) went pretty fast. we got to cardrona around 1045 (under 3.5 hrs!). but let me tell you...the road up to the mountain, sooo sketchy! you see...theres this thing, you get to the resort, and you have to drive about 35 minutes up a dirt access road..which is basically you and your car scaling up the side of a mountain with huge cliffs and no guard rails! you go through crazy switchbacks the whole way up and to make it even worse its the bumpiest washboard dirt road in the world...ever. the road to cardrona is SO bumpy we thought the wheels were going to fall off..but the road up the side of the mountain to the remarkables is far more sketchy with 100 foot dropoffs and turns everywhere...next time i go i WILL get pictures so you can get an idea of what i am talking about. anyway, we got to cardrona and it was SOOO windy. 60kph winds with even worse gusts (think about 35-55 mph). they ended closing the mountain after we rode for only 2 hrs! so after that short, icy adventure of riding..we went down to queenstown and checked it out. it was soo beautiful, fun and lively..just a great vibe, and everyone walks around in snowgear and everything. we went to kevins house (a great kid from ireland) after, and he had the most beautiful view of lake wakatipu (see pics) as well as the queenstown airport and the remarkables. we even watched airplanes land and takeoff right in front of us....pretty sick.
the drive to queenstown
still driving, early morning
lake wakatipu
cardrona
view of lake wakatipu from kevs
plane taking off...view from kevins balconythat night we went out on the town and i had one of the best nights i have had in nz (minus smashing my knee when i got out of the taxi and slipped on the grit on the road). i made james and kevin play wingman girls and help me try to hit on some guy, which they tried to convince me was norwegian but i doubt it..maybe...haha anyway, either way it was a really fun night and im definitely going back to queenstown for my birthday! the next day we got up and rode the remarkables. it was even more windy this day and we were even being blown UPhill at one point..pretty wild. the park was mellow and fun...and im starting to feel more comfortable on the snow here. but its so hard pack and it was just as icy as vermont. they promised it isnt always like that...anyway, after that we went home and i crashed early. i cant wait for next weekend..snowboarding on my birthday july 31st...now THAT is a good birthday!
more soon. miss you all!
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