Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Mt Hotham
This post is for all of you who think that Australia is only about kangaroos and deserts and golden beaches. Well, thats not exactly true: there is a little bit of snow to ski on and in fairness, its more than you expect.
Speaking of myself - as a snow bunnie/junkie - I was a bit worried when I was considering moving down under and at the end, I said to myself "what the hell, I'm gonna go to NZ once in a while for a skiing fix". This season, however, it was quite opposite: Australia's having a great season with massive snowfalls whereas New Zealand has not got much so far.
The Majority of Australia's skiing rsort are concentrated within Alpine National Park, a mountain chain in the conjuction of Victoria, NSW and ACT. All of them having an altitude of 1600 to 2000 meters.
Now, a little bit about Hotham; Mount Hotham has always been known as a "serious skiers" mountain, this was in part due to the roads into Hotham and in part due to the nature of the runs at Hotham. Well the road has now improved and is sealed all the way to the village, and the runs, well there are just more of them, lots more! Mt Hotham probably has the most variety of advanced and expert runs of any resort in Australia (40% of its total skiable area!)- http://www.ski.com.au
Its about 4.5 -5.5 hrs drive (depending on road condition) from Melbourne. Its only in the last 60K that you get a feel of winter... (similar to "barikeh e Meigoon" with more trees in the background)
Tree skiing; Not a good idea if its the first run of the season, if the track is not familiar, if the visibility is not good enough and above of all, if you're skiing alone. I know... but its fun to be compulsive sometimes...
Future plans: NZ, Japan and China!
For more photos to follow here.
Speaking of myself - as a snow bunnie/junkie - I was a bit worried when I was considering moving down under and at the end, I said to myself "what the hell, I'm gonna go to NZ once in a while for a skiing fix". This season, however, it was quite opposite: Australia's having a great season with massive snowfalls whereas New Zealand has not got much so far.
The Majority of Australia's skiing rsort are concentrated within Alpine National Park, a mountain chain in the conjuction of Victoria, NSW and ACT. All of them having an altitude of 1600 to 2000 meters.
Now, a little bit about Hotham; Mount Hotham has always been known as a "serious skiers" mountain, this was in part due to the roads into Hotham and in part due to the nature of the runs at Hotham. Well the road has now improved and is sealed all the way to the village, and the runs, well there are just more of them, lots more! Mt Hotham probably has the most variety of advanced and expert runs of any resort in Australia (40% of its total skiable area!)- http://www.ski.com.au
Its about 4.5 -5.5 hrs drive (depending on road condition) from Melbourne. Its only in the last 60K that you get a feel of winter... (similar to "barikeh e Meigoon" with more trees in the background)
Tree skiing; Not a good idea if its the first run of the season, if the track is not familiar, if the visibility is not good enough and above of all, if you're skiing alone. I know... but its fun to be compulsive sometimes...
Future plans: NZ, Japan and China!
For more photos to follow here.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
New Zealand
Auckland; Very lively, vibrant and somehow friendly. Its really easy to start chit chatting with any random person around you.
During my one night stay, I consume large amounts of beer and wandered around various pubs, enjoyed live music of the local bands and was even invited to sneak into a stand up comedy show which turned up to be marvelous.
Auckland to Taupo
Taupo is the central volcanic plateau of northern island. Its the host of Tongariro volcanic peaks and also the andrenalinized action capital of NZ with loads of opportunities for skydiving and bungy jumping etc.
Taupo is about 5 hours drive from Auckland. NZ is perfect for driving with magnificent navigation-friendly roads and constantly changing landscape.
Me drivin' to Taupo and then all the way down to South Island... :P
Tongariro Hike; the best one-day hike in NZ
Imagine arriving somewhere like Taupo, already overwhelmed by the beauty of the place and then hear everyone talking about this bloody walk with magnificent coast to coast panoramic views. Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to try it no matter how sleepless I am after driving for 5 hours, having a crazy night with some English blokes and staying awake all night long watching FA cup final.
Well, it did'nt turn up to be the case, NZ weather is notoriously changeable and given the fact that its mid autumn in southern hemisphere, it was all fogy and miserable! It means that we ended up walking up a challenging track for 8 hours soaked to the bone and not seeing much of the promised landscape. It was a good laugh though... what can I say?!
Taupo to Wellington
Another 5 hour drive towards the south to Wellington, political capital of NZ. This time I was accompanied by Sam, a mate I met at Taupo. He was supposed to come with me all the way down to Christchurch, but during our one night stay at Wellington, he managed to drink enough to miss the early departure ferry.
Sam, hope you're still alive mate!
Interislander Ferry; Wellington to Picton
3 Hours cruise through the Cooks Strait, with fabulous scenery: priceless.
I spent most of the time on the upper deck floating on the wind since it was strong enough that I could float my big bum without much effort!
West Coast; Picton to Franz Josef
Jumping off from the ferry, I rushed towards Franz Josef in the hope of catching the next day helihike to the giant glacier.
By the time I arrived at Franz Josef, it was dark and raining. Franz Josef is a small village with 7 meters annual rainfall (yes 7 Meters!!!).
Well, I cant tell much of the glacier cause once again I was struck with the bad weather. Helicopters don't fly in bad conditions and one cannot see much of the glacier in clouds;)
So instead of crawling on the glacier, I succumbed to quad riding in the rain forest. See? This country never let you down and there's always a convenient alternative. I love it!
And here's a distant view of the Glacier for below, I imagine how wonderful it should be from the top...Next time!
Franz Josef to Christchurch
Pukekura; The bushmans Cafe and Bar
Somewhere along the way to Christchurch, I passed Pukekura and had a yummy burger at Bushmans Cafe which was an interesting rustic place with a genuine hatred for possum :P Think I was lucky to see the notice below before ordering an espresso.
Christchurch
Unfortunately I was running out of time and could'nt spare more than a night for Christchurch. Such a pity, It looked like a city with character...Anyway, next time!
I spend the night at Samuel's, a friend of Nazgol, and enjoyed the French hospitality, nice Pinot Noir and comfy bed . Thanks!
Hmmmmmmmmmm, its getting cold down here in Christchurch and the snow is calling. I'll be back soon.
During my one night stay, I consume large amounts of beer and wandered around various pubs, enjoyed live music of the local bands and was even invited to sneak into a stand up comedy show which turned up to be marvelous.
Auckland to Taupo
Taupo is the central volcanic plateau of northern island. Its the host of Tongariro volcanic peaks and also the andrenalinized action capital of NZ with loads of opportunities for skydiving and bungy jumping etc.
Taupo is about 5 hours drive from Auckland. NZ is perfect for driving with magnificent navigation-friendly roads and constantly changing landscape.
Me drivin' to Taupo and then all the way down to South Island... :P
Tongariro Hike; the best one-day hike in NZ
Imagine arriving somewhere like Taupo, already overwhelmed by the beauty of the place and then hear everyone talking about this bloody walk with magnificent coast to coast panoramic views. Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to try it no matter how sleepless I am after driving for 5 hours, having a crazy night with some English blokes and staying awake all night long watching FA cup final.
Well, it did'nt turn up to be the case, NZ weather is notoriously changeable and given the fact that its mid autumn in southern hemisphere, it was all fogy and miserable! It means that we ended up walking up a challenging track for 8 hours soaked to the bone and not seeing much of the promised landscape. It was a good laugh though... what can I say?!
Taupo to Wellington
Another 5 hour drive towards the south to Wellington, political capital of NZ. This time I was accompanied by Sam, a mate I met at Taupo. He was supposed to come with me all the way down to Christchurch, but during our one night stay at Wellington, he managed to drink enough to miss the early departure ferry.
Sam, hope you're still alive mate!
Interislander Ferry; Wellington to Picton
3 Hours cruise through the Cooks Strait, with fabulous scenery: priceless.
I spent most of the time on the upper deck floating on the wind since it was strong enough that I could float my big bum without much effort!
West Coast; Picton to Franz Josef
Jumping off from the ferry, I rushed towards Franz Josef in the hope of catching the next day helihike to the giant glacier.
By the time I arrived at Franz Josef, it was dark and raining. Franz Josef is a small village with 7 meters annual rainfall (yes 7 Meters!!!).
Well, I cant tell much of the glacier cause once again I was struck with the bad weather. Helicopters don't fly in bad conditions and one cannot see much of the glacier in clouds;)
So instead of crawling on the glacier, I succumbed to quad riding in the rain forest. See? This country never let you down and there's always a convenient alternative. I love it!
And here's a distant view of the Glacier for below, I imagine how wonderful it should be from the top...Next time!
Franz Josef to Christchurch
Pukekura; The bushmans Cafe and Bar
Somewhere along the way to Christchurch, I passed Pukekura and had a yummy burger at Bushmans Cafe which was an interesting rustic place with a genuine hatred for possum :P Think I was lucky to see the notice below before ordering an espresso.
Christchurch
Unfortunately I was running out of time and could'nt spare more than a night for Christchurch. Such a pity, It looked like a city with character...Anyway, next time!
I spend the night at Samuel's, a friend of Nazgol, and enjoyed the French hospitality, nice Pinot Noir and comfy bed . Thanks!
Hmmmmmmmmmm, its getting cold down here in Christchurch and the snow is calling. I'll be back soon.
