July 31st – Leaving Tekapo
A bit of a heartbreaker! It started to rain heavily the night before and eventually turned to snow. By the time morning came around, it had turned to snow and several inches had fallen in Tekapo. My friend who runs a race camp at Roundhill/Dobson had warned me that most of the local areas (Dobson and Roundhill) likely would not open. Sadly, he was right. When I looked at the early morning snow reports, both ski areas were saying that they would be closed. Only Ohau was going to be open (how could they open and the others not when their road is super sketchy?). Unfortunately, we’d been to Ohau the day before (we really wanted to check out Dobson as we hadn’t been there yet) and given we had to drive to Christchurch later that day, Ohau was in totally the wrong direction. Mt. Hutt was shut too. So, frustratingly we had to admit defeat and head back to Christchurch. That was a bitter pill to swallow.
The roads were fine heading out of Tekapo. On the way to the city we stopped in Ashburton for a last pie and a trip to the Ashburton Aviation Museum. That was a nice couple of hours, checking out the military and civil planes they have on display. I chatted to some of the volunteers in one of the hangers and they let me climb inside one of the planes. That was pretty cool. Then we had a couple of hours to get to Christchurch and back to Hotel 115. We had a really nice dinner at one of the restaurants in the pedestrian street behind the hotel.
1st August
We were both feeling like taking it easy, so I caught up with some work in my room. That evening we walked a few blocks back to Himalayas Indian Restaurant for some awesome Indian food. The food was really good and we personally had to say thanks to the chef for preparing it for us. I strongly recommend Himalayas if you are in need of a curry in Christchurch.
2nd August – Exploring Christchurch and Leaving NZ
My flight to Auckland wasn’t until 6pm (Eric’s was at 5pm), so we had some time to kill. After breakfast, we went souvenir hunting. I bought my wife a nice greenstone necklace and some bee venom moisturizer (which she actually liked! I always struggle at picking presents for the wifey….). We had a late checkout at 12pm, so I had some time to finish packing my bags. Tony, the owner of Penny Rentals came by to pick up the van. He hooked me up with an even lower price and came to me, what great service. Thank you, Tony.
Next up, we jumped on the sightseeing tram. It’s $25 NZD for a full-day of access and you can hop off and hop on as many times as you like. It’s not cheap, but I think well worth it, if you are a first-time visitor and want to get the lay of the land quickly and comfortably. The tram does a loop of the city center and you can see all the major sites. I wish I had done that on my first day in Christchurch at the start of the trip.
We didn’t have too much time as we had our lift to the airport coming for us at 3pm. The priority to was to head to see Quake City (stop 15 on the map) and then the Botanical Gardens. Quake City is a museum/display that chronicles the two catastrophic earthquakes that destroyed much of Christchurch, in 2010 and 2011. It costs $20 NZD per person and is well worth seeing, if you want to understand what happened to the city and how devastating the quakes were, plus learn about what they are doing to rebuild and guard against future shocks. It’s an amazing but sobering experience and it’s all very well done. There are several interactive displays, video’s and plenty of information and pictures. I definitely recommend that and I appreciated greatly the perspective it gave me.
The Botanic Gardens were only a couple of blocks away, so it only took about 5 minutes to walk there from Quake City. It must be really nice to have free, public gardens right in the heart of the city. Unfortunately, the gardens were not blooming, given that it is wintertime, but there were a few blossoms starting to come out on some trees. The native NZ garden was really cool, with beautiful Silver Ferns and lush trees, creating a jungle-like atmosphere. I looked for some Kiwi birds but couldn’t find any….
Then we had to head back towards the hotel. There is a pop-up food truck area on Friday afternoons in the square near the destroyed church, so we had a late lunch and then headed to meet our ride. It was a quick 20 minutes to the airport. We checked in and then Eric’s flight was first (after a 45-minute delay) and then mine at 6:10pm. It was a mad dash to get from the domestic terminal to the international terminal in the wind and rain. Then my gate was at the far end of the airport, with a stop for a bunch of security questions from the airport staff. I only just made it in time.
The flight was fine, I slept a bit and got a couple of movies in. When I arrived in LA, we were a little late and our ski bags took a long time to come out. I was able to check in my two checked bags onto the next flight and head to security. They were training a baggage inspector so the line was moving super slow. They were inspecting each bag in minute training. It took forever. Finally, what was supposed to be a 10-minute walk, turned into a 30-minute hustle to get from the International Terminal to Terminal 7 with all the renovations they are doing. I made it to the gate as boarding started. It was a 1 hour 40-minute flight back to Denver and finally I could get some sleep. That was the end of the NZ adventure!
Glad the ski areas got some much needed snow, a little sad we weren't able to get amongst it.
Why get face-shots when you can visit the Ashburton Aviation Museum?! Exactly! The BAE Harrier Jump Jet, my favorite exhibit.
The cockpit was tiny, there's no way I could have fit in there....
De Havilland Vampire
Skyhawk, the last NZ jet fighter.
My mission was to eat a lot of lamb in NZ and I'm going to say I was very successful in my mission. I have to say these lamb shanks at the 27 Steps Restaurant were the best of the trip.
The scenic tram, a great way to see all the major sites in the city, in comfort and convenience. At $25 NZD it was a little expensive, but definitely worth it for a first-time visitor to Christchurch, to get the lay of the land quickly.
Quake City, another must-see. This was a sobering reminder of the hardships faced by the people of Christchurch during the devastating earthquakes of 2010 and 2011.
I can imagine the Botanic Gardens are beautiful in the spring. It's a nice feature to have a space like that, for free, in the heart of the city.
My favorite part was the native NZ garden. The lush, dark undergrowth of the Silver Ferns was nice.
The River Avon that winds it's way through the city, would be a great time on one of the punts, in the summertime.
Scott of the Antarctic statue.
Pop up food trucks on a Friday afternoon, before heading to the airport.
- Matt
It was a 55 minute drive to get to Roundhill and another beautiful drive. NZ has definitely been the most scenic trip I've done so far. Here at Tekapo the scenery is slightly different to the Selwyn area, with big mountains, lakes and more open spaces. I've loved all the scenery. We didn't get the snow but we did get the views and the clubfield culture. 
Looking up at the ski area. That big open face has the nutcracker ropetow going up it, but it has not been open yet this season. They just needed one more dump. Looks like the current storm should give them that. 
One of the two t-bars that gets you up higher. Mellow terrain in these parts, but nice groomers and would be fun with some carving skis. It's a great setup for all the raceteams that go there. 
Some tasty backcountry, but they don't want you to exit the ski area to get to it.
We definitely wished that steep face was open. Apparently it has the biggest, continuous vertical of NZ/Australia? Looked good though and would definitely bring me back to Roundhill in the future. 
Eric, your trusty bartender, at your service. 
Love this little bar. Amazing views! 
Baselodge and the lower t-bar. They have snowmaking so have a long and consistent season. 
Church of the Good Shepard, the most widely photographed spot in Tekapo. 
That's the road, zig-zagging up the central peak. 
The base lodge and views of the main bowl. 
They have a poma, a double chair, plus decent snowmaking. They were getting the main run ready for all the international ski teams training there next week. 
I had a nice run through the rocks, in the upper left of the photo. 
At the top of the double chair, you can bootpack for about 15 minutes to get to the high point and some excellent sidecountry skiing. 
The view of the backside of the ski area. 
A nice sidecountry bowl that we skied the next run. I went a little higher in the picture and skied a nice steep face, through the rocks.
About to drop into a nice chute. 
The view from the base lodge. 
