NZ wrap-up 2015

Just got home from a trip to NZ which had both on and off-mountain highlights, with a few shitty moments thrown in for good measure

We started out arriving in Wellington a couple of weeks ago where I had a couple of days work lined up. Things got off on the wrong foot when I landed on Wednesday, but my board bag (including all of my clothes) did not - thanks AirNZ.  Luckily I had enough clothes to get me through the 24hr period until I could claim $250 for necessities - jocks, socks, jeans, shirt & Cons - it doesn’t go as far as you first think!

We headed over to a mate’s brewery, Garage Project, where we scored some free tastings and a brewery tour - pretty cool set up!

We headed to the Green Man afterwards which do some good spicy wings - and they had a stout infused with stag semen - yes we tried it

Anyway, by Friday morning I was done with work and we had the first highlight of the trip to look forward to - Beervana!  If you like craft beer then this is the event for you - 5hrs of walking around a truly huge beer event sampling some amazing beers from NZ and beyond. 

Great food trucks were all over the place doing sliders, crab burgers, tacos etc.  And a pretty cool Land Rover with a friendly bar girl who kept our glasses full:

Needless to say by the time 4pm came around we were fairly hammered.  It was at this time that AirNZ called me - my bag was going to arrive by midnight - great success!  Off to a curry joint and several bottles of red wine to celebrate - awesome!

The next day we got on the plane to Qtown only to be told that our hire car was cancelled - no idea why or how. After an hour of negotiating we finally managed to get the same car for the same price - and they had unknowingly included chains and a board rack   Things were looking up!

We drove over to Wanaka where our (free) accommodation was on the Saturday afternoon and began debating Sunday’s move - Cardrona or TC?  In the end Cardrona won out and it was a good call. Some fresh tracks and not super crowded. And of course this place to finish the day:

Monday we hit TC. This was my second time up there and I have to say I’m not a fan. Narrow, icy and full of skiers flying all around you.  The saddle basin had a few nice runs (South Ridge was cool) and a couple of the guys hiked up to the summit - good for them.  Unless there’s a fresh dump, I won’t be headed back here.  Made a friend though:

Tuesday was a down day as it absolutely pissed down in Wanaka - but the freezing level was down to 900m so it was happy days. Sat in the pub all afternoon smashing beers and talking shit with the locals - met some great people, really friendly.

Wednesday was a bluebird day, as in a true bluebird day - fresh dumps and a blue sky.  Had a great day, Captain’s bowl was cool - pretty empty and we got some great freshies:

The following day was heli and despite seeing footage of the Avalanche death from the previous week, we were still fairly pumped, and a little nervous.  Our chariot awaits:

If you’ve done heli before you no doubt know how good it is. Depending on your guide, it can be really awesome or hard work. We were led into a couple of situations where we had to unclip and hike out for varying distances, but it was all in the name of safety so I was cool with that. Leg-burning though!


It was without a doubt the high point of the trip.

Once that was done, we headed back to Qtown for the weekend.  There’s a bit of a debate going on there about who has the best burger, I’ve done Ferg before and have to say that Devil Burger was better with less crowds. Just my 2 cents, but if you haven’t given it a shot, try it next time you’re there.

Flew home on the Sunday night with Shitstar - booked with Qantas points so didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.

And then they lost my board bag…..shit.