Day 14 - Skiing The Remarkables
Friday, July 17
Heading down our favorite run for the last time…
Today we took the bus up to The Remarkables. This was the place we drove up to early in the dark on Wednesday. Because Queenstown is a hub / resort town for skiing, they have an efficient bus system to carry skiers up to the two areas nearby (Coronet and The Remarkables). It’s so popular that you have to buy your ticket (for a specific time) days in advance. We were on the 9:00 AM bus, and we were there early which meant we were at the front of the line!
And with a beautiful blue sky, we ascended the mountain up the switchback road again.
The skiing was fantastic! The snow was good, the sun was shining, the lines were not too long, and of course the scenery was breathtaking.
Early afternoon we took the bus back down the mountain, turned our skis in to the rental place in Queenstown, and went back to the condo to begin organizing for packing before going out to dinner for the last time before we leave tomorrow.
It will be hard to say good bye to this view from our deck in the morning!
We ate dinner at an amazing restaurant: Botswana Butchery
Tomorrow morning we fly home (to Wisconsin). Queenstown - Auckland - San Fransisco - Chicago. With the International Dateline we leave tomorrow, travel for a day and a half and arrive tomorrow! So this will be my last post, except for the missing heli skiing post that I’ll get to as soon as I can!
Final Thoughts
We have been quite moved by the warmth of the people of New Zealand, and their love for their country and eagerness to welcome the world to her shores. The reason we came at this time and to ski was because our friends (Bart and Richard) were coming to ski and invited us to join them. And for this invitation we are most grateful. Who knows how long it would have taken us to get here! Now that we have experienced the generous hospitality of these people and the spectacular beauty of this place, we know that we will have to return.
