Tag Archives: skiing

Girls Gone Mild

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It’s hard to believe it has been a year since I’ve dusted off the passport and headed to foreign climes. This holiday is a little different to times past, however, because it is a “girls own adventure” with my friends Paige and Eileen. We’re hitting the ski slopes and New Zealand is our destination of choice (and a very good choice it is).

A bottle of vodka and a spa... what could possibly go wrong?

A bottle of vodka and a spa… what could possibly go wrong?

I must have the luck of the Irish or something because our first day of skiing in Queenstown was nothing short of perfect. Perfect in that we had blue skies and clement weather. Perfect in that we all looked absolutely amazing. Perfect in that we had a ski instructor with an accent and who was, by all accounts, pretty hunky. What more could a girl ask for? Oh yes, mulled wine après-ski and a hot spa to ease away our aches. Sheer bliss, but our conversation cannot be reproduced in this blog for fear of incriminating the guilty.

For someone who needs to be alone a lot I haven’t had any melt downs… yet. I rather think Paige and Eileen might come out of this holiday thinking I’m relatively normal, although it is early days. The same can’t be said for my computer which gave up the ghost on the second day*. RIP 11″ Mac Air. You served me well.

*I’ve had to survive on my iPhone and that is a special level of hell for me. I very nearly went out and bought a brand new computer before sanity prevailed. It was a close call however…

The high life

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Almost a perfect day

Almost a perfect day

Is Zermatt a town you want to go to if you’re on a budget? Hell no! I think that this long weekend skiing in Zermatt has cost us more than the rest of the holiday put together – but talk about picture perfect. The pricier hotels will even pick you up from the train station in a horse drawn carriage – sleigh bells and all. We’re not staying in one of those (although in Zermatt everything is pricey), but the lovely Hotel Phoenix instead. I’ve got to stop saying it’s a winter wonderland, but snow just makes me giddy with delight (as do turtles).

Skiing has been a bit of a challenge with just two days to do it in – my first day was mostly spent falling down. One time I even managed to stack it so that I ended up on my back, upside down on the slope with skis in the air just before a pack of ski instructors whizzed past – all with grins on their faces. It was actually pretty funny, but I’m glad there was no photo evidence all the same. I have been skiing once before but the ski instructor I had would invariably catch me before I fell. This one just lets me fall so I learn quicker. Well it worked – the second day I conquered my fears and that dastardly slope without falling over once!

I wouldn’t say Zermatt is particularly beginner friendly though – and I’m definitely not a natural skier. Those who have seen me on the basketball court won’t find this at all surprising. I certainly like the apres-ski side of things however, although I’m flabbergasted at the cost of dinner in some places – and don’t get me started on the clothes shops – yikes! This is one holiday where I’m too scared to go into the shops for fear I might be tempted to buy that $300 beanie (not even exaggerating a little here).

…so that’s it for a while. Now it’s back home to Australia for xmas and to plan my next adventure. Tahiti looks nice 🙂 .

Worth mentioning:

  • Snowboat – a yacht club in Zermatt? Well it looked hokey but was really nice. Not cheap, but then nothing is in Zermatt except, one assumes, McDonalds.