Kia Ora from NZ

[AJM]

Another Kiwi from the depths of the Sth Pacific. I grew up skiing at Temple Basin (one our infamous Club Fields) with the occasional trip to Mt Hutt as a treat. I met my husband when I worked at Temple back in 98 and we now live in the foothills of the Craigieburn Range and mainly ski at Porters as its only a 30 min drive, hubby ski's the Clubbies as well and does a lot of back country and my son is a patroller with a focus on snow safety (he got his ARM L6 earlier this year). Due to injury the club fields are pretty much out for me now with their rope tows and nutcrackers and its T Bars and Chairlifts all the way but never say never.
I've been a Diva for a few years and thought it was time I joined the Ski Talk community so thanks for having me

 

[dbostedo]

Another Kiwi from the depths of the Sth Pacific. I grew up skiing at Temple Basin (one our infamous Club Fields) with the occasional trip to Mt Hutt as a treat. I met my husband when I worked at Temple back in 98 and we now live in the foothills of the Craigieburn Range and mainly ski at Porters as its only a 30 min drive, hubby ski's the Clubbies as well and does a lot of back country and my son is a patroller with a focus on snow safety (he got his ARM L6 earlier this year). Due to injury the club fields are pretty much out for me now with their rope tows and nutcrackers and its T Bars and Chairlifts all the way but never say never.
I've been a Diva for a few years and thought it was time I joined the Ski Talk community so thanks for having me

Welcome to SkiTalk!

I hope your season was good! (Is it over down there?)

 

[AJM]

Welcome to SkiTalk!

I hope your season was good! (Is it over down there?)

Thanks for the warm welcome !!
Sadly our season is over, although it is currently snowing at our place as I type.
Our season (in the Sth Island) was challenging to say the least with very little snow but everyone managed to limp through to some degree but a few areas called it quits a few weeks earlier than usual. Of course once they'd closed the snow came so the touring and back country has been great this Spring.
Hubbys just got back from 3 days in the Mt Cook area and it was sensational, he plans on another mission before he calls it and switches his skis for his tennis racquet.

 

[Tricia]

Hi. Nice to see you. What other sports do you do?

 

[AJM]

Hi. Nice to see you. What other sports do you do?

Well pre injury I was a mad keen hiker but thats now in the no go basket, hopefully not forever !!
I also Kayak as we have a lot of lakes close by, Im hoping to try and paddle board again this coming summer but that may also have to be put on the back burner and my dreams of surfing are definitely out.
Mountain biking is very big where we live but its not something I've ever gravitated towards ,I might have to re think that.
We're currently trying to come up with outdoor activities I am going to be able to do so any suggestions for someone with back and knee injuries will be gratefully received .

 

[Jilly]

Welcome over here!!

 

[Daniel]

we now live in the foothills of the Craigieburn Range and mainly ski at Porters as its only a 30 min drive,

Castle Hill?

 

[AJM]

Castle Hill?

Ha ... we used to live at Castle Hill but moved down to Springfield when it was time for our son to go to school. Hubby has built a lot of the houses up there and the prices have sky rocketed !! In hindsight we should never have sold
My avatar pic was taken there

 

[Philpug]

Soooo... you come from a land down under?

 

[AJM]

Soooo... you come from a land down under?

Thats more Aussie than NZ but yes I guess I do

 

[geepers]

although it is currently snowing at our place as I type

Welcome to SkiTalk.

Recent arrival to myself (wife originally from NZ) originally and good to see the kiwi population here expanding.

Looks like a good dusting on the peaks - TC currently has snow as far down as we saw during the season.

 

[AJM]

Welcome to SkiTalk.

Recent arrival to myself (wife originally from NZ) originally and good to see the kiwi population here expanding.

Looks like a good dusting on the peaks - TC currently has snow as far down as we saw during the season.

I know, the Torlesse and Craigieburns have both got a good dusting, more further west I think, where was this 6 weeks ago !!

 

[Daniel]

Ha ... we used to live at Castle Hill but moved down to Springfield when it was time for our son to go to school. Hubby has built a lot of the houses up there and the prices have sky rocketed !! In hindsight we should never have sold
My avatar pic was taken there

Kia ora from Utah! Since you have a substantial history at Castle Hill, do you remember a fairly young American couple from Jackson, Wyoming who resided there at one point in time. This would have been when there were only a handful of homes that had been built and, I suspect, they were renters not owners, though I can't remember for sure. My girlfriend and I met and stayed with them near the end of a 24.5-week-long bicycle tour around NZ. We were coming from Hokitika/Greymouth and descending from Arthur's Pass on our way to Christchurch to catch a flight to Sydney, where we were to spend another 26 weeks holiday making.

My only connection to NZ Club Fields pertains to Fairlie and Mt. Dobson. We had spent the night at a backpackers in Fairlie named "Tally Ho" while on our way to the southern Alps to mountaineer and tramp. The owner, Waka, had an opportunity to go deep sea fishing for a few days and inquired whether we would be willing to run the facility for a short period in his absence. He had a great music collection, a fridge full of food for us, the best room in the house, fair compensation for out efforts, and the next few days called for rain so not optimal for cycling, so we took him up on his offer. Judging by all the photos and information about Mt. Dobson in the backpackers and entries in the visitor's log book, it was a popular lodging choice for both visitors to and employees of Mt. Dobson.

 

[AJM]

Kia ora from Utah! Since you have a substantial history at Castle Hill, do you remember a fairly young American couple from Jackson, Wyoming who resided there at one point in time. This would have been when there were only a handful of homes that had been built and, I suspect, they were renters not owners, though I can't remember for sure. My girlfriend and I met and stayed with them near the end of a 24.5-week-long bicycle tour around NZ. We were coming from Hokitika/Greymouth and descending from Arthur's Pass on our way to Christchurch to catch a flight to Sydney, where we were to spend another 26 weeks holiday making.

My only connection to NZ Club Fields pertains to Fairlie and Mt. Dobson. We had spent the night at a backpackers in Fairlie named "Tally Ho" while on our way to the southern Alps to mountaineer and tramp. The owner, Waka, had an opportunity to go deep sea fishing for a few days and inquired whether we would be willing to run the facility for a short period in his absence. He had a great music collection, a fridge full of food for us, the best room in the house, fair compensation for out efforts, and the next few days called for rain so not optimal for cycling, so we took him up on his offer. Judging by all the photos and information about Mt. Dobson in the backpackers and entries in the visitor's log book, it was a popular lodging choice for both visitors to and employees of Mt. Dobson.

Well that's pretty cool and that's a heck of a bike ride !!

We lived there back in the 90's and left around 2003 and had many people stay with us over that time from all corners of the world but they were mainly in the winter and usually involved in the Ripcurl Heli Challenge, for some reason our place was the place to stay.... most of them we didnt even know but they were friends of friends of friends ..... fun times, I normally had around 12 people at the dinner table each night !! But hey we were a friendly bunch , its VERY different now with a few more permanent residents (not many) but mainly expensive holiday homes and still no commercial endevours apart from a coffee cart.

Mt Dobson is a great family run ski area and Fairlie a cool little town, I think "Tally Ho" might still be there but cant be sure.
Most visitors to NZ tend to go down south to Queenstown and Wanaka as they have more of a "Ski Holiday" scene but they miss all the best areas our little country has to offer which is a shame but hey it means those "best areas" arent as busy which is great for us .

 

[Daniel]

Well that's pretty cool and that's a heck of a bike ride !!

We lived there back in the 90's and left around 2003 and had many people stay with us over that time from all corners of the world but they were mainly in the winter and usually involved in the Ripcurl Heli Challenge, for some reason our place was the place to stay.... most of them we didnt even know but they were friends of friends of friends ..... fun times, I normally had around 12 people at the dinner table each night !! But hey we were a friendly bunch , its VERY different now with a few more permanent residents (not many) but mainly expensive holiday homes and still no commercial endevours apart from a coffee cart.

Mt Dobson is a great family run ski area and Fairlie a cool little town, I think "Tally Ho" might still be there but cant be sure.
Most visitors to NZ tend to go down south to Queenstown and Wanaka as they have more of a "Ski Holiday" scene but they miss all the best areas our little country has to offer which is a shame but hey it means those "best areas" arent as busy which is great for us .

You sound very much like the overwhelming majority of Kiwis we met during out cycling holiday: very friendly and outgoing, welcoming, and fun loving. We spent a very significant amount of time in and around Queenstown and Wanaka engaged in various forms of adventure and connected the two via the Crown Range Road during a time when we were traveling with a Canadian/Swiss couple. It was not sealed back then (I understand it is now) and I believe was reputed to be the highest elevation road in NZ. The night before we did the ascent up to the pass the four of us camped behind the Cardrona Hotel with the permission/invitation of the owner. I imagine you've been by that landmark a few times. We have heaps of great memories of our time in your country and the huge island nation to your west!