Dispensor's NZ vacation.

[griffin]

My lovable mascot Dispensor was really upset that I forgot to take him to BotCon in LA this year, so I had to make it up to him by organising a trip to one of our nearest neighbours - New Zealand.

(for those who don't know who/what 'Dispensor' is, it was a short-lived character in the 2007 Movie, that was born from a Mountain Dew dispensing machine at the end of the movie - and a single non-convertable figurine was released as the only toy of this character, which I use as my avatar in the header above)

My friend Jimmy (known as Counterpunch on this forum), came to my aid, because he knew how difficult Dispensor can be when he doesn't get what he wants or isn't the centre of attention.

Last year actually, Jimmy suggested a Snowboarding trip to NZ, but we never got around to it (and BotCon was late last year, so wouldn't have been able to fit both in). This year though, BotCon was real early, leaving me with more time to affort the NZ trip I had been hoping to do this year anyway (my 2009 resolutions were to go to NZ, visit the last two AUS capital cities I haven't been to yet, and pass 25 hundred TFs - so far, I've managed 2 out of 3). And why go to NZ snowfields instead of an Australian one? Well, believe it or not, the total cost of everything ends up actually being cheaper to go to NZ.

So back in August, a last minute NZ snow-trip package (flights, accomodation, car hire, snowgear hire) was arranged for the middle of September, and I even managed to get time off work (which was considered last-minute, so I could only get certain days off).

As such, we weren't able to be at the snowfields on a weekend, to try out the night skiing one of them had on offer (on Fridays). For those wondering, a small part of the ski field is flood lit, but would be interesting to be up at that altitude in semi-darkness (and not worry about being sunburnt).

I also figured that while we were in NZ, on the south island, we should try to meet up with forum member Zippo (near Dunedin). And closer to departure, I found out about the Cadbury factory in Dunedin, and decided that we MUST visit it.

So the plan was fly into Christchurch (north east of south island), drive to Queenstown (south west) for the snowfields, and then at the end of the week there, drive to Dunedin (south east) and back up to Christchurch to fly back to Brisbane).

Jimmy met at my place Saturday afternoon (12th Sep), and made our way by taxi to the airport for our 6.20pm flight to Christchurch (on the south island).

The taxi drivers are getting really bad, or we just had bad luck - the one to the airport missed the turn-off to the international terminal, while the one on the way back home followed a GPS, which took longer but was cheaper because it was the shortest distance (going through some back streets instead of some major roads most people would use).

The flight (Pacific-Blue) took 5 hours 20 minutes, arriving in Christchurch at a little before midnight NZ time (which is 2 hours ahead of Brisbane).

We grabbed our hire car, which was upgraded to a diesel 'offroad' Prado, which worked out to be a lot cheaper over there - diesel is priced at about 60% of unleaded petrol (worked out to be about AU80c per litre!). We almost used up 2 full tanks of fuel, saving us heaps.

So leaving Christchurch (north east of the south island), we headed for Queenstown (south west). It took about 6 hours, arriving just as dawn was breaking.

(to be continued, with pics)

[griffin]

(Sunday 13th, cont.)
We drove around a bit first, and took some photos on Jimmy's camera.

Looking across the lake (Wakatipu) to Queenstown (on the right) just before sunrise.



At the turn-off to one of the snowfields (The Remarkables).
The two nearby snowfields are The Remarkables and Coronet Peak.
We went to both.



And on the way to the hotel (to see how long we needed to wait to check-in), so nice shots of clouds lit up by the pre-dawn glow.



This one I like because the two different bits of cloud make the mountain look like a volcano erupting.


The Hotel entrance (leads onto a pentagon shaped structure of all the rooms).
The big open central courtyard had a pool?!?! When would it get warm enough for using an outdoor pool?



It was still before 7am, and the hotel people said we had to wait at least 3-4 hours at the earliest to get a room.
We were allowed to wander around the Hotel though, to check out what it had to offer.

The hotel looks out over the lake, and I took this from one of the viewing windows.



We went back into the centre of Queenstown (is a very small, seasonal town, so didn't take long to check out).

Dispensor conquers the main street of Queenstown.


We grabbed some breakfast, got measured up for our snowboard gear, looked for anything interesting, and got some groceries for the week.
Returning to the Hotel at around 11am, as soon as we got our room, we both had a sleep for about 5 hours (we drove through the night).

This was our room (later in the week - it wasn't always this messy).
Oops, sorry... this was Dispensor's room...



When we woke up in the late afternoon, we picked up our gear, grabbed some dinner and found a Toyworld (didn't have anything I wanted).

The hotel internet was $34 per day (which I didn't use), and they had 3 regular TV channels and 3 cable channels (movies, news, sports).
So there was good incentive to not be in the room.
But on the first day, we were too tired to be out too late.

Monday (14th).
Queenstown actually got to a rather 'warm' 19 degrees, but got very windy.
So windy, both snowfields were closed by midday.

But we got up early, and drove off for The Remakables, arriving half an hour before it opened.

The road to the snowfield turn-off.


On the mountain road, looking down onto the Queenstown airport.
It only just fits on the flat land between the lake and a cliff that drops down to a river. And wouldn't be easy to approach either.
I saw a plane land, and it had to descend down into the valley above the lake, then come around that bend on the left to line up with the runway.
Very little margin for error.



Further up the mountain road, looking down.


And a bit further.


Almost there, now that we reached the snowline.
(near the end of the season, and no snow in the preceeding week, meant a fairly receded snowline)



And finally, Dispensor (and his two human slaves) reached the basecamp at The Remarkables.



And a photo from Jimmy's camera.


This was half an hour before it 'opened' (the lifts start up), so we were one of the first there.
With just a couple weeks left of the snow season, and warmer conditions, the snow barely covers the basecamp, and that lower covering would be artificial snow.
As long as it gets below zero at night, they can still cover the ground with the fake stuff.
But once it gets too warm for covering the basecamp, the lifts would be useless - limiting access to the entire snowfield.

Jimmy had been snowboarding about 3 years ago, so not only had to 'refresh' his own memory, he had to give me some pointers (it was my first time).
I had skied before, but this was completely different.
I had to start out by learning how to balance on the board.
Then learn how to stay up while moving forward.
Then it was learning to move in reverse.
And then learning to turn from fowards to reverse.
Since this was my first time, I didn't know which was my leading foot, so practiced both, leading left foot and right foot, both forwards and reverse on each.

This was done on the beginner section at the basecamp.
Jimmy took some photos of my early efforts.





Don't worry, there are some of me crashing out, later.
Put simply, I fell down a lot on that first morning, but within about 3 hours was confident enough to use the chairlift to go on one of the beginner runs.
Unfortunately, the wind had picked up so much, the one chairlift that was operating that morning was shut down (there are 3 lifts there).
We decided to walk up about halfway, to get some boarding action (the learner section was starting to get a bit slushy in the heat of the midday sun).

From as far as we walked (which was really exhausting), looking down at the second chairlift.



We boarded back down to basecamp, and with no sign of the wind letting up, we decided to head back to QT (Queenstown).
We had been assured that our (expensive) lift pass voucher could be traded in for a different day if both snowfields were closed, so that was the plan.

Journey back down the mountain.


We returnd to the hotel (about 2pm), and changed (socks, gloves, and clothing under the snowgear was all soaked from all the snow that got in every time I fell).

Into town, we got new liftpasses for the next day, for the other snowfield (Coronet Peak).

Dispensor, the attention seeker, had me take a photo of him on this statue in QT (he's on the ass end of the sheep).


Soon after, I then found a TFs movie poster in a music shop, which I bought. I liked the poster, and at least meant I came back with something TFs related from NZ.

We got some pizzas from a place that had some creative options on their menu. One even had onion rings on it.

(to be continued)

[griffin]

Tues (15th).

Not as early today, but still early enough to get to the other snowfield (Coronet Peak) before it 'opened'.

The road there (this one was a sealed road).
Once again, Dispensor guided his fleshling slaves to the snowfield...



At the carpark looking back down at the lake (QT is on the other side of those central hills).



From Jimmy's camera, are a few photos of me at Coronet Peak.
First, warming up and getting some more practice in (didn't fall down much at all on this second day).



And after a couple hours, we headed up the beginner section, accessable from one of the smaller chairlifts.
(they had 4 at this snowfield - one to the peak, 3 to midway areas)









And as much as I was slowly getting the hang of it, and losening up a bit, I still had a few falls.
And Jimmy made sure to catch a few of them on film...





After that first full day of boarding, I came away with two sore wrists (from pushing myself up onto my feet), sore thighs (from squatting while balancing) and a sore knee (twisting it as I turned).
The other injuries from the next day was a heavy fall on my tailbone (felt like a kick to the groin, that lasted about 20 minutes, and is still sensitive to sit on), and muscle strain on my right arm.
At least I didn't come back with anything broken. I did make sure I took out travel insurance though, just incase.

By the end of that first day, we even went up to the peak on the main chairlift, boarding down the intermediate run.

I didn't take my camera up with me on that first day (in case I fell on it too much).
Pics shortly from the second day...

[griffin]

Wed (16th).

Waking up Wednesday morning, I found that it had actually dropped to 3 degrees that night in QT, but no snow for the snowfields though.

We were a bit late getting out, but we picked up our liftpasses on the way back to a second day at Coronet Peak.

An hour warming up and refreshing my limbs on the beginners patch, we spent most of the day using the 2 main chairlifts and the various intermediate runs.

Some pics from my own camera this time.

View from the beginner's patch.


And another one, of the same view, just a little to the left.


From the basecamp, looking up to the peak.
The chairlift that goes to the upper right of the picture is just one of the smaller ones (only goes a third of the way up the mountain).
The one to the peak can be seen running along the ridge of the top of the photo, terminating at the highest peak in that shot.
The peak is 1.65km high, and that was where we went up to on both days.



The view back down from the peak.


And halfway back down, I stopped to take this shot.


And these were two photos Jimmy took from somewhere up the mountain.




We left at about 4pm (the closing of the lifts), like the day before, and decided to spend our last day of boarding (tomorrow) back at the Remarkables for something different.

On the way back, we bought some more groceries and something cheap for dinner.
(the night before I had room service, but the nachos were pretty bad, and weren't cheap - a cheap easy alternative for Wed was definitely prefered)

(to be continued)

[griffin]

Thursday (17th).

The mornings were getting later, but as worn out as we were feeling, we were still keen to get back out there.
After all, we only had three days (would have been four if the first day wasn't so windy.

Back at The Remarkables, we pretty much hopped on the first chairlift after just a couple warm-up runs of the beginner's patch.

Photo of Jimmy, taking a photo of me...




(from Jimmy's camera)


And this time, Dispensor demanded that his fleshling slaves take him out onto the snowfields...



From the top of the first chairlift, looking down to basecamp.
To the left, you can just make out the main chairlift that goes to the peak.
Off to the right was the third chairlift (which was in my Monday photos).



We spent this last day on the snow, going up and down the 2 small chairlifts, and boarding back down the beginner and intermediate runs.

Jimmy wanted to do the intermediate run from the main chairlift, but I didn't feel ready for it, so just went up without my board (as a tourist).

Dispensor made me do it...





One of Jimmy's photos he took up there as well.


And from the top of the main chairlift, you can walk/climb your way up to the peak to the Lookout.
The snow was too icy for my flat-soled boots, so I didn't go all the way.
I did manage to get to the ridge leading up to the peak, and took two photos.
First is looking back over the snowfield. The second is looking the other way, over the lake and Queenstown.
This peak is 1.95km up!




(that one above is now my desktop background)

That was about all from the snowfields.

Next up - our last night in QT.
AND, Dispensor wasn't satisfied with just terrorising Queenstown. Next he took on Dunedin, and the Cadbury factory.

(to be continued - later tonight when I get home from work)

[griffin]

Thursday (17th) continued.

So we came back from the snowfield after it closed, and returned our gear to the hire shop. We also stopped off at a Warehouse (thanks to a tip from Zippo), and I found a TFU Ratchet (not released in AUS, and it was one I was missing).
We then returned to the hotel and cleaned ourselves up, and went off to find somewhere to eat that was on our 'voucher' list.
The lift pass vouchers were also exchangable for other activities, and meals - we had one left each (we had four vouchers for four days of liftpasses, but not using one on the first day left us with a spare). Since they cost us about $70 each, we couldn't just waste them. We also didn't have the time left to do anything else before the end of this last evening.
This left only a meal option, and a casino option.
We decided to do both.
Each voucher was worth $60 in trade towards food or Casino credit, and when it came to food, we would only need one for the pair of us.
We ate at a restaurant that was inside the Sky Casino, and the food looked really good. But my pasta was overcooked (was mushy), so they gave us a free desert to make up for it.
That left us with one voucher each for the adjoining Sky Casino. $60 of gaming chips on a blackjack table didn't last very long, but it filled enough of the evening, and we had to get up early the next morning to leave for Dunedin.

Friday (18th).
Aiming for a 7am departure (to give us a bit of time with Zippo before he had to work), we ended up getting out of QT a bit past 7.30.
The drive across the south island from west to east took about 3 1/2 hours, arriving at Zippo's place just on 11am.
Spent about an hour talking and looking over his toys, and gave him a present from OZ (3 packs of chicken Twisties - which they don't have in NZ, but I remembered that he said he liked them).

About 10 minutes later we were in Dunedin, checking out a Toyworld and a Warehouse (found myself Devastator, Robot Heroes battlescene packs and a legends mudflap).

Then the other highlight of the trip - the Cadbury Factory tour. The tour itself was over an hour long, and then there was the history area, which took about another half hour to go through. The smell at the factory was divine, and the cost of the tour included samples (a little bag of several choc bars we collected along the tour).

We weren't allowed to take in any small objects with us, so Dispensor had to stay in a locker while we went on the tour.
And I never heard the end of it, with his whinging all the way back home about it.

I did manage to get a couple of photos of him outside of the tour itself.

Him pretending to be a hood orniment of a vintage Cadbury truck.


And in front of a Crunchie bar mountain.


We had about 9 hours spare to fill, and unfortunately, Dunedin wasn't much of an exciting place to spend much time in, so at about 4pm we ended up just driving off for Christchurch, and worry about filling in the extra 9 hours when we got there.

So a four hour drive later, and a pit-stop at a Burger King (must sample the local junk food), we parked in the CBD of Christchurch and spent the evening amusing ourselves until we had to make our way to the airport a little after 4am (Saturday).

Checking in at around 5am, our flight departed 7am, landing back in Brisbane 9am (4 hour flight, 2 hour time difference).

[Jetfire]

Fantastic shots. Thanks for posting.

I spent my honeymoon there last Nov. Didn't do any skiing but loved every minute of our stay. Would love to go back. I liked it so much I'm planning on retiring there now Magic place.

[bruticus]

ahhh...Nice pics..
brings back a lot of good memories when i was last there....

but i dont remember the slopes being that deserted....

[Fungal Infection]

I'm not really a snow person so aside from skiing/snowboarding, is there anything else to do in NZ? Themeparks? Shopping?

[Jetfire]

Well I didn't skii but I did the following:

Queenstown - The capital for the adrenaline junkie; bungy, jet boats - a plethora of things to do there

Glaciers (Fox Glacier.. be careful, I was there a week before if flooded, and then another week later 2 people died)

I did a Lord of the Rings tour that went to a bunch of locations where the movie was filmed

I just enjoyed the scenery and driving from town to town. Went to wildlife parks. North Island did the mud pools and glow worm caves. Eat, drink, be merry.