New Zealand - Take 3

I can't help but feel guilty. Here it is almost the end of October and I still have yet to finish blogging about our adventures that happened in July. Along with having the hunt of a lifetime, we also managed to do some snow skiing on the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Being able to ski in another country was on my bucket list of things to do in life...thanks to this wonderful trip, I can now say that one is crossed off the list. From my previous posts you might remember that we had some issues with wind and weather. For the first part of out trip, the mountain was closed due to lack of snow and windy conditions at the top of the mountain. Around day 6 or so, that changed and the weather cleared and allowed the mountain to open. The girls were excited to see snow and give snow skiing a try. That excitement would change a little bit, but that is another story for later on. Soooo day 6, about 9:00 AM, we loaded up the car with 4 adults and 2 kids to make our way to the slopes.


After an hour drive and a slight argument with some snow chains (which the men won!) we made it to the top of the mountain. I should have known when Ashtyn refused to turn around and take a picture that she was going to refuse a few more things before the day was over :)

                                                 Those were some tiny little snow boots...

                                               but they fit perfectly with these tiny little skis!

All smiles and ready for her ski gear!

First and only lesson with our ski instructor. All smiles!

Mom watching Kenyon during her lesson. Ashtyn playing in the snow, with the skis that were supposed to be attached to those cute little feet. Ashtyn got out in the snow, got the skis on and literally went about 1 foot before promptly throwing a fit and demanding that the skis be removed. Oh well...she was/is only 3...maybe in another year or 2.

Whoopsie :)

All good dad! I got this!

Going down the bunny slope with mom. Just as much for me as it was for her. I counted...it had been 15 years since I had been snow skiing. Good thing is it is like riding a bike...it all comes back to you :)

Kenyon and I did the bunny slope about 3 times, before she asked if we could go up the lift to the top of the mountain. I asked her twice if she was sure, and let her make the decision for us to go up. She handled the lift like a pro. Skiied right up, hopped on the seat, sat really still while we rode it up and then skied right off like she had been doing this her whole life.

After about the 25th fall coming down the mountain, Kenyon decided she was not so sure this skiing thing was for her. At one point in time she asked me if I could carry her down the mountain, or if she could walk down the mountain. We had to have a few talks coming down, but in the end she made it and promptly asked to go sit with daddy and Ashtyn in the clubhouse.

Skiers extraordinaire!

A Kea. The world's only mountain parrot. The only true alpine parrot in the world can only be found in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. They feed on everything from vegetables to carcasses, and evidently what ever skiers leave behind. In 1986 they were placed under full protection as their numbers had dwindled to less than 2000. They are still protected today.

Woo Hoo!!!!! I would say that just about rounds up our New Zealand adventure. I still need to move on and post our trip to Cairns, The Great Barrier Reef and Hamilton Island. Not to mention there will be gymnastics competitions, carnivals, and ballet recitals coming up. Oh my...